What the CDC Guidelines for Opening Schools Really Says
As this school year ends with virtual episodes and passing celebrations, parents around the world are asking themselves: What will school look like in the fall? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) weighed in this week on a list of guidelines that school leaders should consider when they reopen during a pandemic – but their advice is more like “just do your best” than “this is what you should make. … “
The CDC begins its paper with “considerations,” stating that their recommendations are intended to supplement, not replace, any state or local laws, rules or regulations:
Schools can determine, in collaboration with state and local health officials, to the extent possible, whether and how to take these considerations into account, adapting to the unique needs and circumstances of the local community. Implementation should be guided by what is feasible, practical, acceptable and adapted to the needs of each community.
In other words, how the school looks in the fall will depend on many factors. Every school, every district, and every community is unique, and what is doable for one may not be possible for another. This is probably not what any of us want to hear, but it is the reality of experiencing this pandemic.
Guidelines
By now, we all know that COVID-19 spreads mainly through respiratory droplets that are released when people talk, cough or sneeze. The CDC says the virus can also spread to the hands from an infected surface and then to the nose or mouth, causing an infection. Thus, the more children, teachers and school staff are together and the longer they interact, the higher the risk of spreading the infection.
So while this is probably common sense right now, the CDC explains the range of risks associated with how schools might reopen:
- Lowest Risk: Students and teachers participate in virtual classrooms, activities and activities.
- Increased risk: small face-to-face classes, activities, and activities. Groups of students stay together and with the same teacher throughout school days, and the groups do not mix. Students stay at least 6 feet apart and do not separate subjects (such as hybrid virtual and face-to-face class structures, or staggered / rotated schedules to accommodate smaller class sizes).
- Highest Risk: Full-size personal activities, activities, and activities. Students are not separated from each other, share teaching materials or supplies, and mix between classes and activities.
Encouraging Spread-Reducing Behavior
Given that we know how the coronavirus spreads and that 25 children and one teacher will squeeze into one classroom – plus amenities such as cafeterias shared by the entire student population – this is a riskier proposition than finding a way to break everyone down, the CDC reiterates as follows. that schools can encourage this behavior to try to reduce the spread. These include:
- Informing staff and families about when to stay at home
- Learning and fixing on proper hand washing
- Encouraging to cover up coughs and sneezes with a tissue (or elbow if a tissue is not available)
- Use a cloth bandage whenever possible, especially for staff and older students (and never for children under 2 years of age), especially when physical distancing is difficult.
- Offer frequent reminders not to touch their face coverings, and advice on how to use, remove, and rinse off masks.
- Provision of essential supplies, including “soap, hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol (for staff and older children who can safely use hand sanitizer), paper towels, wipes, disinfectant wipes, cloth covers for face (if possible) and contactless / trash cans with pedals “
- Placing signs in high-traffic areas that promote these preventive measures, regularly broadcasting messages to strengthen them through the school’s public safety system, and communicating them to staff and families via the school’s website, social media, and email.
Maintaining a “healthy environment”
Perhaps the most daunting part of the CDC’s advice is a list of strategies schools must consider to maintain a healthy environment. These strategies include what you would expect: cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces and shared objects, and avoiding shared objects that are difficult to clean.
But then the recommendations get more complex: space tables six feet apart whenever possible. If this is not possible, turn the tables to face one side rather than facing each other. Have students sit on only one side of the table. Place them on the school buses, with one child in each row and skipping the rows whenever possible.
And what’s even more difficult: Install physical barriers, such as sneeze fences, in places like check-in counters or between bathroom sinks – anywhere where physical distance is difficult to maintain. Use the tape on the floor as a guide to help staff and students stay six feet apart as they line up. If possible, close public areas such as cafeterias, playgrounds, and libraries, or rotate their use, cleaning them between each group. Use disposable meals and serve lunch in classrooms.
CDC also offers advice on protecting staff and students who are at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19, conducting virtual tours, limiting non-essential visitors to school, and huge drop-off times.
All in all, this is a fairly extensive and downright overwhelming list. But it’s helpful to keep in mind that the CDC is not saying that “all schools should do all of this.” What they say, the more of these measures that can be implemented, the lower the risk of spreading within the school community.