Hmmmm.
https://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/reopening-schools/the-socially-distanced-school-day.html?fbclid=IwAR3Kl4hlDROIao-E9jRQM_scpXdFwZR24P_RLHR-brqoDx5D01DF_MQG5aU
Classrooms. Hallways. Buses. Schedules. Extracurriculars. Every facet
of the school day will have to be fundamentally altered when students
eventually return to school.
First in a series of eight installments.
These times are unprecedented. Through these eight installments, we will explore the steps administrators need to take to ensure the safety of students and faculty.
> Up next: Scheduling and Staffing
To prevent the spread of the coronavirus, school leaders must
ensure social distancing—limiting group sizes, keeping students six feet
apart, restricting non-essential visitors, and closing communal spaces.
Those measures run counter to how schools usually operate, with
teachers and students working together in close quarters, children
socializing throughout the day, and the buildings serving as a community
gathering space.
Anyone who’s been to a school knows it will be difficult, if not impossible, to guarantee “absolute compliance with any social distancing measure,” said Mario Ramirez, the managing director of Opportunity Labs who was the acting director for pandemic and emerging threats in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during the Ebola epidemic.
The goal, he said, is to “drive as much of the risk down as you can.”
To help district and school leaders navigate decisions and planning, Education Week spoke to numerous experts, from public health officials to superintendents, about ways that schools can adjust their operations to allow for a safe return to in-person schooling as the pandemic continues.
In the first installment on how to go back to school, we take a detailed look at social distancing and safety protocols, the starting place for every decision that school leaders must make. We outline recommendations, present different strategies, and weigh some pros and cons.
There are no easy solutions. Many of the recommended changes will come with new, sometimes hefty, costs.
The first step is protecting students and staff as much as possible
from transmission of the coronavirus. That starts with deep cleaning
buildings on a regular basis and making sure students and staff are
frequently washing and sanitizing their hands.
Then, school and district leaders will have to make more complex decisions: Will teachers and staff be required to wear a mask? Will students? Should schools screen for fevers before letting people into the buildings? How will high-risk staff members—including those over the age of 65—be protected? Education Week talked to experts about what school leaders need to do.
Maintaining six feet of social distancing in classrooms, buses, and
common areas, such as hallways and cafeterias, will be nearly impossible
if the entire student body is in the school building at once. District
and school leaders will have to make significant adjustments to the
schedule.
Planning for a hybrid approach of both in-person and remote instruction is necessary, but there are many ways that could work. Experts helped Education Week identify a list of a half-dozen potential models, some of which could be used simultaneously. They are: a phased reopening, a multi-track system, a staggered school day, a "bubble” method that keeps students in the same groups, a cyclical lockdown strategy, and converting to a year-round schedule.
School buildings are typically set up to foster student
collaboration, opportunities for socializing, and a sense of community.
But now, students’ day-to-day experiences will be dictated by social
distancing rules and recommendations from public health authorities.
That means school leaders will have to consider—and adjust—the morning rush, classroom setups, school supplies, lunchtime, recess, and extracurriculars. They will also have to pay special attention to the most vulnerable students.
Retrofitting schools to accommodate six feet of distance between
students and staff and sanitizing them at the levels that health experts
recommend to guard against transmission of COVID-19 will be a massive
and costly challenge for education leaders. They will have to rethink
every space inside and outside their buildings.
With help from the National Council on School Facilities and Cooperative Strategies, Education Week identified the major areas education leaders will have to address, as well as the estimated new costs.
Maintaining six feet of distance between students on a school bus may
be the most complicated roadblock when reopening schools. The U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has suggested limiting
ridership to one child per seat, every other row.
That would require significant modifications to the bus schedule. District leaders will have to consider how to put fewer students on the bus at once, as well as how to adequately sanitize the buses and protect the drivers.
Schools around the world have already reopened, giving education
leaders in the United States a sense of the challenges—and
opportunities—ahead.
Education Week spoke to educators in Australia, Denmark, and Taiwan to learn about the measures and precautions they are taking as students return to school. They range from reopening school buildings for just one day a week to requiring all students, even the youngest learners, to wear masks throughout the school day.
https://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/reopening-schools/the-socially-distanced-school-day.html?fbclid=IwAR3Kl4hlDROIao-E9jRQM_scpXdFwZR24P_RLHR-brqoDx5D01DF_MQG5aU
Published: June 10, 2020
The Socially Distanced School Day
—Stephanie Shafer for Education Week
About this Project
First in a series of eight installments.
These times are unprecedented. Through these eight installments, we will explore the steps administrators need to take to ensure the safety of students and faculty.
> Up next: Scheduling and Staffing
Anyone who’s been to a school knows it will be difficult, if not impossible, to guarantee “absolute compliance with any social distancing measure,” said Mario Ramirez, the managing director of Opportunity Labs who was the acting director for pandemic and emerging threats in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during the Ebola epidemic.
The goal, he said, is to “drive as much of the risk down as you can.”
To help district and school leaders navigate decisions and planning, Education Week spoke to numerous experts, from public health officials to superintendents, about ways that schools can adjust their operations to allow for a safe return to in-person schooling as the pandemic continues.
In the first installment on how to go back to school, we take a detailed look at social distancing and safety protocols, the starting place for every decision that school leaders must make. We outline recommendations, present different strategies, and weigh some pros and cons.
There are no easy solutions. Many of the recommended changes will come with new, sometimes hefty, costs.
SAFETY
Then, school and district leaders will have to make more complex decisions: Will teachers and staff be required to wear a mask? Will students? Should schools screen for fevers before letting people into the buildings? How will high-risk staff members—including those over the age of 65—be protected? Education Week talked to experts about what school leaders need to do.
SCHEDULES
Planning for a hybrid approach of both in-person and remote instruction is necessary, but there are many ways that could work. Experts helped Education Week identify a list of a half-dozen potential models, some of which could be used simultaneously. They are: a phased reopening, a multi-track system, a staggered school day, a "bubble” method that keeps students in the same groups, a cyclical lockdown strategy, and converting to a year-round schedule.
STUDENTS
That means school leaders will have to consider—and adjust—the morning rush, classroom setups, school supplies, lunchtime, recess, and extracurriculars. They will also have to pay special attention to the most vulnerable students.
BUILDING LAYOUTS
With help from the National Council on School Facilities and Cooperative Strategies, Education Week identified the major areas education leaders will have to address, as well as the estimated new costs.
- Deep Dive: What Needs to Change Inside School Buildings Before They Reopen
- Downloadable Guide: School Buildings and Social Distancing
TRANSPORTATION
That would require significant modifications to the bus schedule. District leaders will have to consider how to put fewer students on the bus at once, as well as how to adequately sanitize the buses and protect the drivers.
- Deep Dive: Managing Buses May Be the Hardest Part of Reopening Schools
- Downloadable Guide: School Buses and Social Distancing
LESSONS FROM OVERSEAS
—Photo courtesy of Dustin Rhoades/Taipei American School
Education Week spoke to educators in Australia, Denmark, and Taiwan to learn about the measures and precautions they are taking as students return to school. They range from reopening school buildings for just one day a week to requiring all students, even the youngest learners, to wear masks throughout the school day.
- Deep Dive: How Schools in Other Countries Have Reopened
- Photo Gallery: A School Play in a COVID World
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