Today they hit 60 days of five-days-a-week, full in-person classes. Our area is at its highest COVID case count of the pandemic.
They have about 525 students this year. Four are currently out with positive test results. 14 total are out, including those four plus ten others in quarantine.
No teachers are out today.
They have yet to trace a transmission to the building -- contact tracing has not shown a transmission between/among faculty, staff member, or students.
Given the numbers in our community at large, good luck is undeniable. But how did they and the parents help?
1. They had a good plan. Before the year started, we had to review and sign a 20-page document outlining every step the school was taking and every guideline we as parents and families agreed to follow. They brought in military-style tents and took many classes outside. They had previously built some outdoor education facilities, which came in handy.
2. People have done their part. This starts with the teachers. My kids' teachers were asked to sacrifice their personal lives. They go to school, and they go home. That's it. I know a few of them pretty well after years at that school, and they have lived like hermits. When they're cleared to re-engage with life, they're getting more spa days than they'll know how to use. Parents have also been pretty conscious of keeping their eye on the ball, albeit not to the same extent. We try to ask ourselves if a night out is worth 14 days of quarantine. We wait until the kids wake up and complete our screening questionnaire after taking their temps. We've kept them home a couple times and tested each of them at least once. And the kids have done a fantastic job. They keep their masks on until they're back in the car, and they don't cheat. They learned in the spring that school doesn't suck so bad after all. They want to be there, and they'll pay the price of admission.
3. The school followed the plan, every day. Desks are separated, hall times are strictly staggered, lunch is eaten in classrooms, kids went outside, and communications have been constant. Daily or more, with full transparency. Contact tracing calls have been vigilant.
4. They're lucky. They have some classrooms with as many as 25, but they had the resources to partition desks where six feet wasn't possible. Generally they've had the resources and staff to run smaller classrooms. Weather has permitted good learning outside. They have access to technology that makes virtual learning possible in the short term without too much of a drop.
Above all else, it takes a lot of buy-in, from everyone. If getting to school and staying in school is the number one priority, not just at the school administration and teacher fronts, but among everyone going into that building, you have a shot.
What happens from here is anyone's guess, but these 60 days have been a blessing, and the kids know it.