CDC Guidelines For Reopening Schools: What Parents Need To Know

Normally this time of year kids would be looking forward to the summer break away from school. Thanks to the Covid-19 global pandemic our children have already been home and now actually eagerly await the return to the days of classrooms, beloved teachers and dearly missed friends. When will kids return to school and just what it look like? As parents, the health and safety of our children is paramount.

As school districts across East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia work on the best ways to reopen, the Centers For Disease Control And Prevention continue to update their guidelines so that we may take them into consideration before sending our children back into the public education system.

Guiding Principles to Keep in Mind

The more people a student or staff member interacts with, and the longer that interaction, the higher the risk of COVID-19 spread. The risk of COVID-19 spread increases in school settings as follows:

• Lowest Risk: Students and teachers engage in virtual-only classes, activities, and events.
• More Risk: Small, in-person classes, activities, and events. Groups of students stay together and with the same teacher throughout/across school days and groups do not mix. Students remain at least 6 feet apart and do not share objects (e.g., hybrid virtual and in-person class structures, or staggered/rotated scheduling to accommodate smaller class sizes).
• Highest Risk: Full sized, in-person classes, activities, and events. Students are not spaced apart, share classroom materials or supplies, and mix between classes and activities.- https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/schools.html

The CDC also provides recommendations regarding the use of face masks.

Cloth Face Coverings

• Teach and reinforce use of cloth face coverings. Face coverings may be challenging for students (especially younger students) to wear in all-day settings such as school. Face coverings should be worn by staff and students (particularly older students) as feasible, and are most essential in times when physical distancing is difficult. Individuals should be frequently reminded not to touch the face covering and to wash their hands frequently. Information should be provided to staff, students, and students’ families on proper use, removal, and washing of cloth face coverings.
  • Note: Cloth face coverings should not be placed on:
    • Children younger than 2 years old
    • Anyone who has trouble breathing or is unconscious
    • Anyone who is incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the cloth face covering without assistance
• Cloth face coverings are meant to protect other people in case the wearer is unknowingly infected but does not have symptoms. Cloth face coverings are not surgical masks, respirators, or other medical personal protective equipment. “- CDC

We live in an era of blended families, grandparents raising grandchildren, elderly members sharing homes with the next generation. One thing that can be said about the South, is that family truly is everything. Therefore it is not surprising that many are concerned about the very real threat of bringing this unrelenting virus home. Let alone the fact that we are only just learning of the mysterious Covid-19 Related illnesses now affecting children, Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome.

That’s what makes a survey conducted by USA TODAY/Ipsos not shocking in the least.

“Most Americans expect schools to reopen in the fall, but a stunning number of teachers and students may not be there.

In an exclusive USA TODAY/Ipsos poll, 1 in 5 teachers say they are unlikely to go back to school if their classrooms reopen in the fall, a potential massive wave of resignations. Though most teachers report working more than usual, nearly two-thirds say they haven’t been able to properly do their jobs in an educational system upended by the coronavirus. 

A separate poll of parents with at least one child in grades K-12 finds that 6in 10 say they would be likely to pursue at-home learning options instead of sending back their children this fall. Nearly a third of parents, 30%, say they are “very likely” to do that. “

Deciding to send your child to school falls squarely on the shoulders of parents. Knowing that, facts and authorized sources, as well as an understanding of your own personal risk, are your true guides. – Jinger Royal