Questions, Concerns and Feedback from Teachers, Parents and Health Professionals: -When they say "local community spread", could schools in Delaware be in different phases of opening?.
Trang 1Questions, Concerns and Feedback from Teachers, Parents and Health Professionals:
-When they say "local community spread", could schools in Delaware be in different phases
of opening? For example, the community that Baltz Elementary is located in has an
increased rate of infections but Holy Angels in Newark has a low community spread Would they be operating at different levels or will all Delaware schools be on the same level of operations?
- As a parent of two students in the Red Clay Consolidated School District (HB du Pont Middle School and AI High School) I wanted to reach out as the process of school re-openings for the fall are being
discussed and considered I am fully in support of schools reopening and getting students back full time into schools buildings for the new school year
The past 12 weeks have been very difficult for all and when the situation of school closures was
suddenly enforced I more than appreciate the hard work that teachers, schools and district staff have put in to y and keep the students engaged but it has been hard on all and it is not only the face to face teaching that mine and every student has missed out on, school is so much more I fully supported that
we all needed to stay at home to flatten the curve and not overwhelm health professionals, and this goal has been successfully achieved and this is being evidenced by the current phased reopening of the state The next steps are in place with increased testing and contract tracing, and a good stock of needed medical supplies which I know were some of the key things required for school openings to be considered I have been following the rt live rate and thankfully in Delaware the rate has been ranging between 0.81-0.84 since April 21, 2020 which is another good indicator as to where we are
Looking at the daily Covid-19 data in Delaware, school aged individuals are small percentage of all positive cases to date and not withstanding underlying health issues are not in the at risk category for deaths Whilst any death is tragic the majority (80%) of deaths have been in the older community 65+ and those living in long term care facilities and/or with underlying health issues This demographic needs
to be considered when looking at the school reopening
The newer studies being published by the CDC and WHO are also showing that whilst Covid-19 is of course a transmittable disease but transmission from surface contact is not the major spreader, and that following good personal hygiene and avoiding touching faces including eyes and mouth are all key steps and easy to achieve These steps are no different to practices in place when flu season or GI illnesses hit school communities Many reputable doctors from around the word are now stating that the virus as it changes is becoming less potent with the risk of serious complications and death being reduced
The bigger picture of the impact on students and their mental health has to be addressed, as even happy and mentally healthy students are suffering and this needs to stop The students (as long as the curve stays flattened) need to be back in school buildings able to be taught in person, work with their peers, and engage in activities schools have to offer – sports, marching band, music to name a few These things cannot be replicated via distance learning and the thought of having to motivate students
to continue remotely in the fall in unimaginable at this time There has to be a way to safely get students back where they belong and to continue their learning rather than being in the holding pattern of maintaining their learning which they have now done for the past 12 weeks I have heard rumors about split days or part weeks and while every option needs to be considered I am unsure as to feasibly how these are going to be managed especially with middle and high school schedules, and again the impact
on the students would not be favorable
Kind Regards,
Ann Pollock
Trang 2- Scenario 2 – Minimal to Moderate Local Spread
It may be good to specify what constitutes minimal versus moderate spread While I appreciate that the utility of the working group recommendations will be in the practical ability to apply them, experience is there is a wide variation among parents how they see risk and deal with uncertainty
All schools should be very clear and upfront on the source of the information and protocols they are using Saying that we are going to follow the CDC recommendations isn’t good enough and given the inconsistencies from federal and local public health there needs to be an anchor for all schools, parents and students to operate from
Establish a set of principles that outline what the main goals are for reopening and getting back to our normal routines Some people may see one positive case as a reason to shut down again, while others may be okay with knowing that viruses spread and there are treatments available to help those who go
on to become sick
For example:
1 Quickly identify flair-ups of positive cases and provide support and services
2 Protect those students that have risk factors and need to take extra measures
a Asthma
b Diabetes
c Auto-immune disorder
d Metabolic disorder
3 Activate support and care for students, family and affected individuals
4 Maintain and foster a positive and constructive mindset to go forward as a community
Prior to school re-opening, identify those students most at risk See list a-d above These students will
be known to Parents and their family doctors and therefore, if a flair-up occurs, the plan of action would
be to support them first
As we enter the Fall and re-opening, there will be a number of students with seasonal allergies The sneezing, sniffling and runny noses have the potential to raise concern Care needs to be taken not to overreact and quickly determine that the symptoms are indeed allergy related
In terms of the Protocols:
Recommendations to maintain 6 feet distance and personal space / screens at the front of desks were developed months ago when there was much less experience with the disease Now that we have observational data over several months of gatherings, states opening up, crowds etc… with no
appreciable flair-ups it seems that the recommendations can be modified (new data, new information, new solutions)
6-feet social distance can be modified to 3-4 feet
Personal screen – no requirement for a screen with young people who are very, very low risk
One way hallway traffic – maintain flow in the hallway, no prolonged lingering (casual contact not a high risk, prolonged contact with an active infection is added risk Keep in mind, not all of those people who
Trang 3were quarantined on the cruise ships back in February tested positive or contracted SARS-COV-2
infection after being exposed to a shared ventilation system)
Handwashing should be emphasized (as the guidelines do) and there should be a minimum of three times a day It should not necessarily require ‘hand sanitizer’ but soap and water and that will reduce risk among the students, teachers and administration
How about organizing a Parents orientation and clean-up event at schools? The basic idea is to get Parents involved with the clean up and wiping down of the school in preparation for their child’s
return Also, school administrators can review the plan and answer any questions The outcome
desired is for a group of parents to be assured (through a hands-on experience) that the school is ready
to re-open and has a plan Several parents will also have confidence that they helped clean the school the ‘right way’ and it is now okay to return Those parents should also be encouraged to voice any remaining concerns, become part of the ongoing solution, and share/post their experiences so other parents are confident as well
Consider through student council or sports teams that each school has a Student Action Team (SAT) to help any student that is impacted (tests positive, at risk and therefore has to stay away for a few days)
by getting homework, books, zoom study groups, interactions with student groups Part of building community involvement and civic responsibility mindset
Hope this helps and I realize that there are a wide range of views about how to approach
re-opening Hopefully Delaware has flattened the curve permanently and only minor isolated incidents occur
Best Regards,
Steve Buckanavage
Hitchens Farm
Newark, DE
- That meeting was a bit overwhelming Just my initial thoughts – I don’t think it will be reasonable to hit those guidelines (<20 students, 6 feet) without going to the staggered model I do like where the
conversation was going at the end of the meeting when they were discussing that some students would benefit much more than others by returning to the classroom due to lack of resources, supervision, etc I think the Risk vs Reward consideration is a smart approach That is how I have managed thru COVID What is the risk? What is the reward? The student who is an independent learner at home with
supervision and high speed internet will have a lower benefit gain from being in the classroom than a student that has no supervision and has to go to the parking lot to find an internet connection I think the challenge there will be with the identification of that population without violating a bunch of rules, regulations, and laws
Some other questions I head from listening in:
The data that was presented to determine which Phase the schools will be in Do you know if that is based on COVID incidence of the students/faculty in the schools or is it based on the general population that includes adults?
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If particular schools have a higher incidence of COVID, will the decision be made to just shut those schools down? And the other schools would continue?
Has there been any consideration for a “rolling start” …to test the plan with a smaller population of students? The “kick-the-tires” approach?
- Thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback regarding opening of schools in the Fall My daughter will be a Junior next year at RCCSD
First, I need to point out that virtual learning is not a successful long-term solution It does work well as
a temporary solution for a short period of time Even though my daughter who is top of her class and a great self-learner, she struggled with on-line learning Watching mundane Youtube videos of your teacher’s lectures with no opportunity to participate or engage does not work My daughter was in tears one night She loves biology, but she said she cannot learn this way and she also did not know the appropriate way to engage the teacher to let them know it was not working She said it comes out as a poor reflection on her and this wasn’t fair
Additionally, it was very hap-hazard which teachers were holding classes and which ones weren’t One teacher did not have one zoom, the entire lock-down - not even to say, “hello students how are you doing during this crisis or do you understand the assignments or do you need any help?
School is not only about the academics, it’s about the anecdotal information, inspiration, companionship and exposure the students get from the teachers and the their fellow students being in a classroom setting It is about growth It is for these reasons we chose public school for our daughter
School MUST reopen in the Fall
My suggestions are to minimize contact and require hand and desk cleaning during each transition in a Middle/High school setting; however, I don’t think 6-ft social distance is possible (It is also not occurring
in the ‘real world’ as the sate begins to reopen.)
wipe their desk before leaving This sounds redundant and it is supposed to be You never know how well the student before you is cleaning off their desk Hand washing stations are also a great idea, but probably not practical for every classroom
students come up for questions
to get sunshine, to refresh, to exercise, to ‘social disntance’ with friends – breathe fresh air )
o Note: if you provide a specified time for “social distancinb interaction” – wear
masks/stand apart then the kids will get through the school day better and are more likely to “folloe the rules” if they know they will get “free time”
supported to do home-schooling if they choose to do so
Trang 5· Sports and extracurricular acitivities should resume for those who want to participate This is what school is all about
Studies show people learn better and faster when they are young The experiences
of our youth shape who we are to become You only have one childhood and you will never get that time back.
If we don’t resume full schooling with activities, parents and the community should
be provided with a risk-analysis of the benfits/reward of not doing these things versus the long-term health effects and emotional/intellectual progress of our
children
Thank you for your consideration
Monica M Gerard
according to the state guidelines?
are distanced and the desks are apart, that should work Especially if there are already so many protocols in place
students I would suggest leaving that to the administrators to maybe to see students who need
it and have one person do that Or, one-grade level teacher can do that in their classroom
All eighth-graders have choice and they have to tour high schools and parents need to come
Thanks for all that you do I know this is a great forum for input and I know all parents (especially
mothers) , including myself want our kids to go back to school Mothers want kids to back to school and for the schools to do it safely All kids should be going back into the buildings full time They should have full days and five days a week The kids have to learn Delaware is already very low on educational numbers in many of our national comparisons Our kids are going to compete with 49 other states to get into colleges and if they don’t go back, there is little hope for our kids to remain competitive – especially those who don’t have numerous recourses -Laura Havens
- This popped up on FB today so thought I would pass along as we discussed our DE approach as in development yesterday on PTA call You probably already have this but
thought I would share it in
case: https://www.education.pa.gov/Schools/safeschools/emergencyplanning/COVID-19/SchoolReopeningGuidance/Pages/default.aspx?fbclid=IwAR3aU2brZYYZ1nvgsaVgkSt0c WGztL7CSeXJgAqwbjJd6KZ_b3T1Bz37rfs
Trang 6- I have been following the School Reopening Working Groups postings/updates on social media While I am pleased that our state is developing a plan for the safe reopening of
schools, I am concerned that teachers and school personnel have been excluded from the panels Our input is essential We know what is needed to keep our students safe and successful Our opinions and suggestions count Please consider making a change to these working groups Ask teachers, school staff and parents to participate We can help
Thank you,
Jacci Carr
First Grade Teacher
- School is partly social Having an actual backup distance learning plan in case
schools really have to close is certainly a good idea What happened this year was
useles But nothing in this document covers how distance learning should work if its
needed, despite that it essentially dictates that schools can't open at all, because there is no way schools are going to suddenly have classroom space to keep students 6 feet apart, and the only class I ever had that was less than 20 students was AP History
Some of this stuff is crazy Having all the windows on the school bus open to facilitate airflow? Was that written by someone who has never left Hawaii? We have school in the winter, wind chill is real, and I rode school buses on I-95 at 65 MPH even growing up in Brandywine, which is probably the most compact need to travel the least district in the state We still have discontinuous school districts in this state!
Under athletics, some sports are allowed but locker rooms are banned How does that work? Is gym class canceled too?
Humans are social creatures, school is a social setting If we are killing those aspects of life
we should probably stop investing in school buildings and buses, and get ready for the giant income tax hit when all the two income households become one income because one parent now needs to keep the kids focused on their e-lessons Michael Sadowsky
- I have 4 children in DE public schools in 4 different schools, I am a Pre-K teacher in the state and I am very concerned about the Covid school plans that are being
discussed today The modifications they want to put in place for our children make school
look and feel more like a prison
Yesterday, the Delaware Covid statistics were released The data shows that 0 children 0-18 have died from the virus It also shows not many children have contracted the disease We also learned that asymptomatic people rarely spread the virus and it isn't transmitted easily
on surfaces The provisions listed in the documents don't go along with the new data Our children should return to school as they normally would
Trang 7I know I speak for myself and others, if these protocol go into effect, I will pull my children and homeschool them Children should not wear masks in school, nor should they be forced
to stay in one classroom all day This is not good for any aspect of their development These measures, if instituted, will do more harm than good
I am hoping that during the meeting tonight, you can bring up the latest data in hope of removing many of these ideas If we are basing decisions off of science, the science shows children are rarely affected
Our children have suffered enough the past few months Everything was taken away from them They deserve a normal school year with all their extracurricular activities Carney has done a complete overreach and continously extends his authority I truly feel the children are going to pay the price in the fall with this political game that is being played Thanks for your help
Lisa Hughes
- Hello, I am writing this letter as a mom of incoming 5th and 7th graders in the Red Clay School District Looking at the potential guidelines presented for the upcoming school year,
has me EXTREMELY concerned Not only do most of these rules go against the scientific facts available, they are also detrimental to the development of our children If the children are not permitted to sit together for lunch, need physical barriers to separate them, and are not allowed
to move freely throughout the day, we will have psychological issues to deal with You know as well as I do, that these rules are only being considered for political reasons, and have NOTHING
TO DO WITH DISEASE TRANSMISSION We have a group of moms working on a petition right now, and we have already sought legal council
No medically related decisions should be determined by politics, especially when it comes to our children! If you intend to implement these outlandish guidelines, I suggest you back EACH AND EVERY one of them up with scientific evidence to support those decisions We are prepared to counter with ACTUAL FACTS, and we will not allow our children to be used as pawns in this sick game
Lisa Malatesta
302-438-7844