Helping Your School During The Pandemic

The amount of confusion over school reopenings in fall 2020 has been astounding. The general public and parents hear and read information that is confusing at best or incomplete at worst. I read several news sources extensively every day to find out what's actually going on. This article aims to show you where to look for information about school reopening protocols, school reopening communications, schools that have closed, and schools with COVID-19 cases, among other COVID-19 related issues. The best source of COVID-19 information in a specific school is always a school's website, where generally you will find communications from the school to current families.

This video explains the CDC guidance for school reopening.

What becomes evident as you read your school's communications is that a tremendous amount of work and effort has gone into creating and implementing safety protocols to protect everybody in the school community. Everybody means the maintenance staff through to the head of school. Here are some of the items you should look for in your school's reopening protocols:

• testing
• sanitizing
• in-person vs. online instruction
• activities
• athletics

Most schools have spent the summer months planning for school reopening in the fall of 2020. Endless meetings have covered every aspect of daily operations. Most schools have relied on data and the advice of experts to develop their reopening plans. Politics rarely plays a part in those deliberations and decisions.

Testing

Coronavirus Testing

Disclaimer: I am not a health professional. I am a concerned parent and grandparent. This article draws attention to some of the questions I have about sending my grandchildren to school. ~Rob Kennedy

Getting your child ready for school in the summer of 2020 is a nerve-wracking experience for parents. We have always been concerned about our children's safety both at school and at home. We have taught safe behaviors since they were tiny tots. Suddenly, all those familiar scenarios seem so benign and distant. This COVID-19 pandemic is unlike anything you and I have seen in our lifetimes. The virus seems to attack people of all ages. It seems to lurk in hosts and find new hosts via droplets that hang in the air. It lives on common surfaces such as doorknobs and stair railings. It spreads to its new host when he touches his face. Worst of all, there's no vaccine for the COVID-19 virus. Scientists are scrambling to create vaccines, but it doesn't look as though anything will be available before early 2021.

I have listened to This Week In Virology podcasts for several months. I have concluded that frequent handwashing, wearing a 2-ply mask in public, social distancing, staying home whenever possible, are necessary steps to protect myself and others from the virus. That's what the health experts recommend. But what about children in school? Let's look at some of the safety steps and protective measures your child's school will most

Teachers and parents are concerned about the teaching that will take place post-pandemic. I have tried to cover their concerns in the following set of questions and answers.

Question: What happened in March 2020?

Answer: It was as though somebody turned off the power. One day, public and private school teachers were teaching in person in classrooms. The next day they were teaching online.

Question: Was there any warning?

Answer: Very little. The decision to close schools was made on a state-by-state basis by the governors.

Question: When will schools reopen?

Answer: That's a good question. Much depends on the coronavirus situation in your location. If the number of new cases and deaths from COVID-19 are decreasing, your governor will be more inclined to allow schools to open. In general, wherever possible, it seems as though schools will reopen in the fall. Of course, you can expect changes. Children's safety will be paramount, but so will the safety of vulnerable communities such as older faculty and staff. There will be lots of handwashing and hand sanitizer. There will be much less movement about the school. Teachers will move as needed from class to class. Students will remain in place.

Question What kind of protective measures will be in place at my children's private school?

Answer: Again, your governor's health team will recommend several measures that could include social distancing, wearing masks, temperature checks, and other measures. Most states seem to be

On March 27, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stimulus Act of 2020 (the "CARES Act"). What is the Act's purpose and who does it benefit? According to The National Law Review,

"Title I of the CARES Act establishes, among other things, the Paycheck Protection Program (the "Paycheck Program") providing for up to $349,000,000,000 in forgivable loans to business concerns which are backed by the United States Small Business Administration (the "SBA"). The Paycheck Program is a short-term program for the "Covered Period" from February 15, 2020, until June 30, 2020, and loans are capped at the lesser of 2.5x a borrower’s LTM average monthly payroll or $10,000,000 per borrower."

Shortly after that, we began to hear stories about businesses that received loans and didn't appear on the surface as the kind of company that should receive a loan. According to the Washington-Post, " Some large hotel and restaurant chains received loans meant for Main Street businesses, prompting calls for changes." So did several private K-12 schools, according to the Los Angeles Times. The reason why the media criticizes private schools for accepting CARES loans seems to be the optics. As UCLA education professor Tyrone Howard said, “That’s not a good look... There’s just something that’s not equitable about that.” Apparently, the private schools are being criticized because they have endowments. The popular thinking seems to be that if