Reply to How could a school the size of Blair reopen?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

I think it's likely that we're going to see very different solutions for elementary vs. high school.

There's evidence, but not yet proof, that kids under 10 aren't spreading the virus, or doing so in smaller numbers.  So, it may be that there's a decision that masks start at a certain age.

It's also more realistic to set up routines so that elementary students are only exposed to others in their own class.  Whether that's specials being done virtually (e.g. teacher projected on whiteboard), eating in the classroom, staggered arrivals and dismissals, assigned seats on the bus so kids are next to others in their class etc . . .

On the other hand, from an economic point of view, reopening elementary schools is key.  Right now, if schools are closed, 12.5 percent of the workforce can't work.  So, getting those parents back to work means getting care for their kids.

On the other hand, I think we're more likely to see some kind of blended solution for high schoolers.  I can imagine, for example, going to a block schedule (4 classes that last a semester, rather than 8 that last all year, or even 2 classes that last a quarter).  So, a student might have 4 classes, 2 of which meet on campus, and come to school every other day.

But we're months away from reopening, and hopefully we'll have a lot more information by the end of that period, about whether and how kids spread the virus, and what kind of interventions have the most power to slow down spread.  [/quote]

From an education point of view, having school is key. And I don't mean distance learning. It needs to be a high priority for schools to start again in the fall.

[b]From a public-health point of view, there is surely no benefit to high school kids going to school every other day instead of every day.[/b][/quote]

From a public health standpoint, half as many kids in the school on a given day means more social distancing in the classroom.  It means kids aren't sharing seats on school buses.  It means more space in the hallway, especially if combined with other strategies to stagger transitions.

I'm not saying this is what MCPS will do or even should do.  But there's no question that from a public health standpoint, reducing the number of people, while keeping the building size the same, would slow down the spread of the virus. [/quote]

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