As the leaves are starting to change color, and more stores are having sales, it can only mean one thing: school is starting soon. In the past, school starting again was frightening for students and a celebration for parents. Yet, the upcoming school year of 2020-2021 is sending out a different kind of vibe.
With the ongoing pandemic and recent recoveries from the lockdown, the opening of schools is creating many questions: What will it look like? Will all students be virtual? Will learning be interrupted? How effective will the policies and guidelines put in place and recommended by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), New Jersey State, and the Kinnelon School District be for keeping COVID-19 cases to a minimum, or preferable, zero?
While all are valid questions, local school districts are complying with state rules and CDC recommendations regarding the reopening of schools, as well as student and parent concerns to give families and students as normal of a school year as possible.
However, the question which remains is whether or not the number of cases will increase when schools open. Due to the large crowds going in at once, the spread may increase because of the frequent and close contacts amongst students and staff.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) explained that going back to school was a necessity for children, considering the developmental impact it has on them. School, in these early ages, teaches skills that cannot always be learned outside of the classroom. A point was also made that children are at a lesser risk for contracting the virus as adults, and that typical, school-aged children are at little risk. That CDC concluded that if proper precautions are followed, the spread in schools should not pose a grave threat.
Our own school district, Kinnelon, has created a system of Group A and Group B cohorts in which students are divided into based on the first letter of their last name. As of now, Group A students will attend school in-person on Mondays and Tuesdays, and Group B will attend on Thursdays and Fridays. Both groups will have virtual classes on Wednesdays and whenever they don’t meet for in-person school. Moreover, Wednesdays will also serve as a day for the school to ready the classrooms by sanitizing the school for the next wave of students.
A requirement for the opening of schools is that all students and staff wear a mask. As students crowd the hallways and scurry from class to class, a mask, more specifically a cloth mask, is needed at all times. This provides a barrier between students to ensure that the germs do not spread throughout the air as easily as they normally would. Other protective devices, such as face shields and gloves, are optional, while a cloth mask remains mandatory. Furthermore, all students and staff members are encouraged to regularly wash their hands and utilize the hand sanitizer dispensers throughout the school to sanitize on the go an in between classes.
When asking a Kesini Shivaram, a senior at Kinnelon High School, her thoughts on if cases would increase with schools reopening, she said, “Yes, because if parents and students have it without their acknowledgment, it can easily spread throughout the school.”
Justin Lam, another senior at Kinnelon High School, takes a similar stance, saying, “No, I don’t believe it’s safe to return to school, as even the chance of catching it puts the whole of my family at danger.”
Freshman, Gabriella Owens, has a different view, stating, “I don’t think it will because the school is taking measures to make sure the students and staff are safe.”
As of now, the school is currently doing repairs on the HVAC systems in all the schools of the community to ensure the filtration in the schools are top-notch in preparation for the incoming wave of students in September. Furthermore, the school is upgrading their bandwidth to accommodate the live, virtual instruction that will take place at the school.
