Concepts And Realities For Schools During Coronavirus
- Damita Levy
- Jul 20, 2020
- 8 min read
Updated: Jul 22, 2020
Two major issues facing Americans today surround how to open schools in the midst of the Covid-19 Pandemic. What concepts and realities would the students and staff members face if schools were to open for full-, part-time, hybrid, or offer online instructions this Fall?
The federal government has alluded to possibly withholding federal funds if schools do not open fully this school year. The CDC Director, Robert Redfield, offered interim guidelines for reopening K-1th grade schools and child care centers on the CDC.gov website. Basically, virtual schools are safer than in-person schools. Social distancing, hand washing, masks are all needed. If someone is sick or has tested positive, then that person should stay home.
Some school districts across the country have already announced their plans, while others are still meeting with administrators, teachers, and/or parents and discussing what to do. Some schools have stated that they will open schools by offering 100 percent, online learning, programs.
Other schools are offering hybrid learning programs where parents get to choose between full online learning four or five workdays each week or two or three in-person days of school with online lessons and self-directed learning on the other days of the week. For example, the Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) in Northern Virginia had asked parents to choose between full, online learning or a hybrid of classroom and online learning for their children. However, this week due to mounting pressures and concerns, FCPS announced that they would solely utilize a 100 percent distance learning plan for the first quarter of school which runs to the end of October.
The PWCS (Prince William) decided to start the new school year with an all online program this Fall, and may go to a hybrid program later. The New York City Public Schools, the largest in the country, is proposing a hybrid learning style where students have access to classroom and online learning.
According to the White House’s Coronavirus Task Force, 18 states may roll back reopening their schools this Fall due to surges in Covid-19 cases. Washington D.C. Schools have decided to open on August 31st and offer some type of online and hybrid learning, but has yet to work it out in detail. The Los Angeles Unified Schools and the San Diego Unified Schools have both stated that they will begin the new school year with online learning programs only. Neither will offer hybrid or in-class learning programs.
Why haven’t school districts spent the spring and early summer months working out how they will offer temperature or Covid-19 testing of staff and children? If schools do not regularly test, then there is no possible safety net to prevent others from contracting the viruses. Obviously sick individuals will most likely stay home, but some individuals could be asymptomatic or may believe their sickness is a cold and come in anyway. Is it the responsibility of schools to offer testing or can they honestly and fairly leave that up to the families and workers? What will happen to those staffers testing positive if they work on contracted, part-time, or substitute bases?
Some schools will open this Fall. What happens to the regular and per diem staff there? Will workers who do not receive health benefits be expected to take care of their own health care if they test positive for Covid-19? Having part-time, contracted, or substitute staff who may not have access to quality health care to treat themselves if they get sick leaves these workers at risk. Schools will need to keep an ample supply of masks, sanitizers, and gloves. Gloves will be needed if adults are wiping surfaces and/or changing children who have soiled themselves or who need added care.
Schools will need to have added expenditures for gloves, masks, and sanitizers. It can be hard enough trying to get children to keep their hands out of their mouths, noses, or trying to make sure some wash their hands, let alone trying to get them to keep a mask on throughout the school day. What happens to children who take off their masks consistently? Will someone sit with them throughout because it may be hard for them to socially distance from other children whose parents expect them to be kept safe.
What happens with organizing the classrooms? Splitting up medium to large size classrooms to accommodate for social distancing is a lot of work, but is necessary. Some schools have large and small classroom sizes, so what should a teacher do if they have about 10 students stuck inside a super small classroom with a teacher and an aide? If students are split over a course of a day – for example, some students come from 8:00 am to noon with others coming at noonish to 4ish, then how can you distance them from one other?
Will outside areas, gymnasiums, or cafeterias be used for lessons? Will plastic separators which can be wiped down (instead of cardboard ones) be used to socially distance students? What happens when scores of students need to do national or state testing – where do they go?
Debates have loomed over how and if schools should open at all for in-school classes. The one fact that percolates constantly is that there is no cure. Even if students are not as susceptible to the virus as some epidemiologists contend, there are still the adults who will come into contact with these children and could become infected with the virus.
It is great if all staff can truly have choices on whether to work virtually or in-school, but a local Virginia school district was in the news stating that staff choices may depend on need, tenure, and students’ choices. There are many concepts and realities to consider when opening schools and childcare centers.
I suspect that childcare centers and other community sites, providing a safe haven for students whose parents need to work outside of the home, will be in greater demand when schools are partially or totally closed during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Families need greater support and will seek out the schools for help, and may have form small groups of their children who ban together. Other families may seek support from their community organizations and services.
Regardless if schools offer fully online services, fully open schools, or a hybrid of mixed lessons, there are still concerns to be considered. I have listed many of the concerns below.
*Everyone knows that no school can guarantee the safety of all the students and staff in the schools during Coronavirus. If the health of those coming to schools, as well as the health of their families cannot be guaranteed, then learning options must be available for students and staff.
*What happens to the Classroom Assistants or Public Health Training Assistants who work with special education teachers? Are they employed in an online learning situation? Will schools guarantee that they can also do virtual work, if desired?
*Certain staff can be more exposed to the virus – some elementary teachers, teachers with very young students (instruction, cleanup, snack, sometimes bathroom help), some special education teachers especially those with students who have multiple and severe disabilities, maintenance workers, and special education assistants or public health training assistants who provide hands-on support to special education students (feeding, helping direct movements, bathroom assistance and clean-up).
*Will very young children and students with disabilities be able to fully learn using an online educational mode of learning?
*More staffing is needed, especially to make sure that the students (except for the kindergarten students with a bathroom in their class) are washing their hands.
*Schools need to provide face shields, extra masks (quality ones with 3 or more layers), hand sanitizers, and plastic or cardboard separators unless they can ensure a minimum of 6 feet separation (about 2 arm lengths). It is not enough to count on others to bring their own supplies because masks could fall to the ground or some poor children might not have masks or other supplies. Some students depend on schools to feed them so how can schools expect everyone to have their own supplies?
*Is every regular staff (part- or full-time) getting their full hours of pay if schools shift to a partial day or an online learning program? It is also likely that hybrid and online styles of lessons will require more hands-on work to accommodate the different students.
*Distance learning opens up a whole new set of problems. FCPS did poorly with distance learning last spring which is surprising because online schools like the K-12 Online Public School and Connections Academy have been providing online services for a while. Distance learning means that children need a safe, quiet learning environment. Will all children needing laptops or I Pads have access to working ones with enough hard drive to accommodate working on programs? I have seen some old computers, with dust and missing keys, being used in some schools. Since public schools get funding from local property taxes, a number of students getting less educational services tend to be black and brown, so the issue of equity in education presents a concern. This matter needs to be taken into consideration. A computer without an internet connection is just a typewriter, so will schools help poorer families pay for Internet connections, Wi-Fi Routers, and anything else needed to help students access the lessons?
*Will teachers be able to do scaffolding (teaching to the different needs of students) with the lessons?
*Will students be able to get extra help from teachers when they do not understand a lesson or problem?
*What about Substitute Teachers/Substitute Counselors? Recent news’ articles highlighted that there could be a growing need for Substitutes, but substitutes have no contract, no health coverage, no sick time, etc. If substitutes are considered essential workers will schools offer them hazard pay or will schools offer them regular full- or part-time jobs with benefits?
*Who will pay the full medical if the worker does not have medical insurance and gets infected with Coronavirus?
*Districts and schools should hire more Social Workers or Counselors if there is a concern that some children left at home are subject to some abuse.
*Districts and schools could stand to hire tutors who would work with students who need more attention.
*Will students be required to wear masks in the school buses when School Bus Drivers and their assistants are taking them to and from home?
*What happens with the Music Teachers who give instrumental and/or singing lessons to students?
*What happens with the Physical Education teachers if students are no longer using the gyms?
*Do the Art Teachers’ lessons, where they have tons of paper, ink, paint, glue, and other products, continue?
*What happens with the Physical Education/Gym Teachers and their lessons?
*What happens when intervention is needed for a child having a meltdown or in need of crisis or mental health services immediately?
*What happens with the I.E.P. (individual education plan), 504 (accommodations), parent and teacher conferences, principal intervention meetings that usually take place in a small, tight-knit room?
*What will happen with all the students needing tests in elementary through high school? Who will organize and secure the safety of the hundreds of students who will need to come and test? Or, will the testing be suspended?
* A portion of students are homeless in many school districts, so will the homeless students learn via a hybrid plan or through online learning? For example, in the New York City Schools, 1 out of 10 of their students are homeless, per the NYC Department of Education Chancellor Richard Carranza.
*Will the lessons be offered in 30-minute, 55 minute, or even one-and-a-half hour (known as block) increments for K-1th Graders? If the classes last over 35 minutes, then younger children could get bored.
*More people need to be hired to: ensure the safety of students and the buildings in school classrooms, bathrooms, halls, buses, to counsel students, to provide services to students, or tutor students in or outside the home.
*Perhaps, churches and community centers could open to provide distance learning education to poorer or homeless students.
No one size fits all when it comes to deciding the near future school lessons and access. While it is important that students benefit by being socialized when engaging with other students, there can also be a positive aspect of online learning. With online learning, parents get a chance to see lessons where their children excel or struggle. Students can do self-directed learning and feel confident in learning on their own. Many factors need to be weighed when considering school openings. However, three things need to be clear – that there is equity in learning so that all children, regardless of age, income, and disabilities can access a quality education, that all adult, school workers experience fairness in the workplace, and that the safety of the students and all of the staff are taken into consideration.
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