Reopening K-12 Schools During the COVID-19 Pandemic Prioritizing Health, Equity, and Communities (2020) / Chapter Skim
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5 Reducing Transmission When School Buildings Are Open
5 Reducing Transmission When School Buildings Are Open
Pages 51-68
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From page 51... ...
We begin with an overview of the "hierarchy of controls," a framework for approaching environmental safety in workplaces that is useful for organizing implementation plans. This is followed by a discussion of the most common mitigation strategies for reducing the transmission of COVID-19 in light of existing epidemiological data, published guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
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From page 52... ...
Implementing the full set of strategies may be difficult in many districts due to costs, practical constraints, and the condition of school buildings. As noted in Chapter 4, the decision tree provided by the CDC recognizes these constraints in saying that strategies be implemented "as feasible." While this gives districts flexibility in developing their plans, it also leaves district leaders with the challenge of making judgment calls about how much they should push to implement all of the recommended strategies and what the consequences might be of relaxing some of the strategies.
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From page 53... ...
. This hierarchy structures protective measures according to five levels: 1.
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, changing the configurations of classrooms to allow for physical distancing, and performing regular cleaning. Administrative controls change the way people work.
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Considering that face shields allow droplets and aerosols to escape into the surrounding air, it is unlikely that face shields alone can be as effective as other types of masks. Implementing all of the COVID spread mitigation strategies fully and faithfully will maximize protection of students and staff.
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TABLE 5-1 Summary of Mitigation Strategies 56
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From page 57... ...
• Before touching your eyes, nose, or mouth because that's how germs enter our bodies." To make these recommendations feasible in a school setting, the committee observes that at a minimum schools will have to provide handwashing opportunities after using the restroom and before eating, along with making alcohol-based hand sanitizer available in classrooms and shared spaces such as a gymnasium or cafeteria. Providing frequent opportunities for handwashing may be especially difficult in school buildings with limited or poorly functioning restroom facilities.
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This also means avoiding overcrowding at school entrances and exits at the beginning and end of the school day, potentially by staggering arrival and departure times. The specific strategies will depend on the characteristics of each school building and the number of students in attendance.
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Even with regular cleaning, it is important to minimize contact with shared surfaces such as manipulatives or other hands-on equipment in the classroom. Strategies for minimizing transmission via shared surfaces include assigning equipment to individual students to prevent multiple u sers, and disinfecting items between users.
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From page 60... ...
These additional strategies represent additional costs to schools, but they may be especially important for older school buildings with outdated HVAC systems, or for buildings with limited ventilation. Temperature and Symptom Screening Temperature and symptom screening is mentioned in two places in the CDC decision tree.
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The model for the transportation costs assumes running buses at 25 percent typical capacity to adhere to physical distancing guidelines. The costs do not include the extra funds needed to provide staff and students with training in the new protocols.
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From page 62... ...
Transportation & Childcare: Total = $235,144 Resume before/after-school child care programs (with physical $168,750 d istancing and cleaning protocols) Fog machines and cleaner for buses $55,860 Hand sanitizer for buses $10,534 Personal Protective Equipment: Total = $195,045 Disposable masks for students who do not bring their own (est.
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. NOTE: This estimate is based on costs for a district with 3,269 students, 8 school buildings, 183 classrooms, 329 staff members, and 40 school buses operating at 25 percent capacity.
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From page 64... ...
The fact that staff will need to monitor and enforce the guidelines around mask wearing, physical distancing, and handwashing opens up the possibility that patterns of enforcement of the new measures will follow the same trends that are seen in school discipline more generally. Should this be the case, Black students, boys, and students with disabilities will be particularly vulnerable to potentially harsh responses if they fail to follow the strategies consistently (Anderson and Ritter, 2017; U.S.
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From page 65... ...
distancing outdoor space, gyms, encouraged distance maintained and secondary school classrooms Arrival Designated routes No family members past No family members past No family members past No family members procedures to classes; multiple entry; staggered arrival/ entry; staggered arrival/ entry; parents report past entry entrances dismissal dismissal travel; staggered arrival/ dismissal Mealtimes Eat at desks or, Sit well apart while Eat at desks or, Assigned seating in Eat at desks; some if cafeteria used, eating; no shared food if cafeteria used, cafeteria with 1–2 meter use dividers seating is assigned in homeroom groups (3–6 feet) spacing homeroom groups enter in shifts Recreation Some schools have Students play outside as Students sent outside as Inter-school sports Sports and physical suspended physical much as possible; play much as possible; play suspended; small-group education suspended education limited to small groups limited to small groups; play time staggered within homeroom outdoor space divided and use is staggered Transport Using "customized school School buses allowed; Private transportation Still running buses and Still running buses and buses" with seats farther only one student per row encouraged; one student public transit public transit, cleaning at apart to limit proximity per row on buses least every 8 hours Hygiene Masks required, provided Frequent handwashing; Staff training on hygiene Frequent handwashing; Masks required, provided by the government; posters and videos standards; frequent posters and videos by the government; frequent handwashing provided handwashing; posters provided windows and air vents and videos provided left open LearningPolicyInstitute.org @LPI_Learning facebook.com/LearningPolicyInstitute SOURCE: Reopening Schools in the Context of COVID-19: Health and Safety Guidelines from Other Countries by Hanna Melnick and Linda Darling-Hammond, with the assistance of Melanie Leung, Cathy Yun, Abby Schachner, Sara Plasencia, and Naomi Ondrasek is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 International License.
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From page 66... ...
For example, by eliminating perfect attendance awards for students or making sure that staff know there will not be negative repercussions if they need to stay home. WHAT TO DO WHEN SOMEONE GETS SICK As the committee notes, even with all of these mitigation strategies in place, it is likely that someone in the school community will contract COVID-19.
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From page 67... ...
Local health departments of hospital health systems may need to partner with schools to provide nurse triage services within the school district to handle parental health calls/inquiries and to act as a referral resource for faculty and staff to maintain the optimal health of children. CONCLUSIONS Conclusion 5.1: The recommended list of mitigation strategies is long and complex.
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From page 68... ...
68 REOPENING K–12 SCHOOLS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC Conclusion 5.5: Even with all of the mitigation strategies in place and well implemented, it will be impossible to bring the risk of contracting the virus to zero. As long as the virus is present in communities, schools may be subject to transmission.
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