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Around the Region

D.C. Parents Seek Clarity about Testing, Safety Protocols as Omicron Infections Multiply

Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer

Opinions about the post-winter break return to in-person learning vary among District parents.

While many have grown anxious about their child contracting COVID-19 on school grounds, others say their priority remains the emotional well-being of their children who yearn for interaction with their peers.

Earlier this week, one mother counted among parents who learned that DC International School in Northwest had temporarily implemented virtual learning after 10 percent of teachers at the public charter school tested positive for COVID-19.

Such an announcement, said the mother who requested anonymity, evoked similar news parents received at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 which led to an 18-month virtual learning experience. It also raised the question of whether students will ever get to enjoy some kind of academic continuity.

“Before Omicron, I thought that we were seeing a light at the end of the tunnel [with] students going to school and super low COVID numbers, but given the new state of affairs, I’m not so sure,” she said.

“I thought we could eliminate COVID but we might have to learn how to manage,” she added. “I try to do what health experts suggest like social distancing, masking and vaccination. That’s sort of how I manage it.”

Back-to-School Protocols Across the U.S.

Compiled by Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY & BALTIMORE COUNTY, MARYLAND

Students in Prince George’s County continued virtual learning this week and will do so, at least until January 14. The only exception involves special education students in nonpublic programs who receive transportation services. In Baltimore County, students resumed in-person learning on Jan. 3 as officials attempted to make KN95 masks available. Meanwhile, athletic activities had been postponed until Jan. 10 to allow unvaccinated athletes time to receive weekly COVID-19 testing.

NEW YORK CITY

On Monday, Jan. 3, the nation’s largest school district resumed in-person learning with safety measures in place, including the doubling of weekly testing of vaccinated and unvaccinated students. In the event a student tests positive for COVID-19, schools won’t pivot entire classes to virtual learning. Instead, their peers will receive two take-home rapid antigen tests within a week of their exposure.

ATLANTA

Amid a surge in COVID cases, Atlanta Public Schools started the week with virtual learning. This announcement followed that made by officials in neighboring Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton and Rockdale counties in Georgia.

CHICAGO

Chicago Public Schools conducted in-person learning on Monday, Jan. 3 without a system-wide test-to-return policy. Only students required to test included the unvaccinated who traveled to “orange-status” states over the break or maintained close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Vaccinated students who’ve been in close contact can attend school if they’re not showing any symptoms. Officials encouraged students who traveled to “orange states” over the break to quarantine for a week, regardless of whether they’ve been vaccinated. Vaccination status notwithstanding, students are required to test if they’re showing COVID-19 symptoms.

PHILADELPHIA

Public schools in Philadelphia resumed in-person learning on Tuesday, Jan 4 with COVID-19 mitigation strategies in place, including mandatory masking for students and staff, vaccine mandates for staff and student athletes, weekly COVID-19 testing for staff, frequent handwashing and installment of classroom air purifiers. As an extra layer of protection, students and staff could be sent home for the day if they don’t comply with the city’s mask and PPE protocols.

MIAMI

Students enrolled in Miami-Dade County Public Schools returned to in-person learning on Monday, Jan. 3 with COVID-19 protocols in place, including mandatory masking for employees, volunteers, visitors, vendors and contractors inside any school building. Students, however, were not mandated to wear masks, only encouraged. WI

COVID-19 MITIGATION STRATEGIES UNDER SCRUTINY

After an early Monday morning snowstorm postponed test-to-return activities, students, parents and teachers headed to various venues on Tuesday and Wednesday to take part in a process to determine whether schools would conduct in-person learning.

However, by Tuesday afternoon, DCPS officials scrambled to fix technological issues that prevented families from uploading COVID-19 results to an online platform.

Last month, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) announced schools, on a case-by-case basis, would make the pivot to virtual learning if a significant number of teachers tested positive for COVID-19. Per the DC Public Charter School Board, many public charter schools have implemented test-toreturn policies while postponing in-person learning until next week.

Since a pre-winter break COVID-19 surge sparked multiple school closures, the issue of how to ensure a safe return has dominated conversations among local leaders, including D.C. Councilmember Robert White (D-At large).

White, who criticized Bowser for not expanding hours of operation and number of public spaces for rapid antigen test pick-up, recently attempted to introduce emergency legislation that compelled DCPS to ramp up COVID-19 protocols.

Provisions of the bill include a creation of specific metrics that determine whether schools temporarily cease in-person learning. the 24-hour release of data about positive on-campus COVID-19 cases and a quicker dispatch of COVID-19 coordinators to schools.

An email exchange between White and D.C. Council Chairperson Phil Mendelson (D) later revealed Mendelson’s apprehension about debating the legislation during Tuesday’s legislative meeting.

Flight cancellations prevented White from attending Tuesday’s legislative meeting. However, he continued to champion a bill he described as an extra layer of protection against a virus that shows no sign of slowing down.

“We can’t afford to burn teachers out by asking them to do more and more,” White said. “The COVID coordinators are funded; it’s just a matter of making it happen. We’re two years into the pandemic. Any notion that we can continue the policies we had weeks ago is foolish.”

“Omicron reminds us that the virus is outpacing us so we need to make the necessary changes or we’re going to be dealing with the pandemic for years to come,” he said.

PARENTS EAST OF THE RIVER HAVE THEIR SAY

Meanwhile, a contingent of DC Public Schools [DCPS] teachers and parents continue to press for a systemwide transition to virtual learning. Even so, Bowser, following her counterparts in other major cities, has affirmed her commitment to keeping children in school, even in the midst of discussions among teachers about a peaceful protest.

At least one parent expressed

SCHOOL RETURN Page 21

Teachers, Administrators Continue to Reject Bowser’s Back-to-School Plan

Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer

Thousands of students and teachers spent much of this week braving a winter storm and long lines at local schools and firehouses to pick up and electronically submit the results of their rapid antigen tests – all part of D.C Mayor Muriel Bowser’s plan to safely reopen schools.

Bowser’s plan, which includes a testto-enter policy for all public schools and most public charter schools, incited fury among many teachers who, for weeks, demanded a systemwide pivot to virtual learning after the Omicron variant forced a string of school closures just before winter break.

In maintaining their fidelity to in-person learning, Bowser and DC Public Schools [DCPS] Chancellor Lewis Ferebee continued to encourage more than 90,000 District students to submit their rapid antigen tests on time to ensure that officials can determine, on a case-by-case basis, whether or not schools will conduct in-person learning.

However, for some people, including a DCPS employee who supports in-person learning, there’s no avoiding disaster with a plan that attempts to please various parties.

“You can’t serve two masters,” said the high school administrator who requested anonymity.

The high school administrator, who’s taught in other school districts during the pandemic, referenced situations where education officials passionate about in-person learning conducted virtual learning within the first couple weeks after winter break to allow students and teachers time to quarantine.

Given Omicron’s severity and the likelihood that some students and teachers visited family over the break, the DCPS administrator predicted an eventual shutdown of several schools. They believe the jump between virtual and in-person learning will further complicate efforts to engage teachers and maintain instructional continuity.

“Testing more students is going to shut down more schools and if you’re shutting down more schools, more people are going to be impacted,” the administrator said. “DCPS doesn’t have a clear way of dealing with COVID. It will put more work on administrators and teachers [and] make it more confusing to parents as they send their children to school.”

SCHOOL RETURN from Page 20

concern about the mayor’s fervor for testing more than 90,000 young people in the aftermath of a snowstorm that has made acquiring rapid antigen tests even more difficult for residents living in portions of the District that haven’t been cleared by snow plows.

Patricia Stamper, a Ward 7 resident, said District officials didn’t explore various methods of distributing rapid antigen tests to ease the test-to-return process. On Tuesday, she checked on neighbors, walked to and from a local convenience store for amenities and pondered how best to acquire tests for her children without traveling on unsafe roads.

“If the city can mail out books and campaign material, why can’t they mail rapid tests to people’s houses,” Stamper said. “Mayor Bowser can activate Serve DC to mail out to different wards, or even set up hubs to mail rapid tests from each ward. That would’ve been much easier. And the website [to upload COVID-19 test results] has been down. I don’t know [how] they can start school by next Monday.”

Another Ward 7 parent, who requested anonymity, shared similar thoughts. After Monday’s snowstorm, she struggled to figure out how to secure a rapid antigen test for her son.

“I don’t see alternatives to support students [with single parents] or homeless and foster children. Even when the streets are clear, everyone doesn’t drive,” the Ward 7 parent said.

“Are parents still going to have to go to schools to pick up rapid tests? If students can [do a] rapid test on the first day back knowing they can’t stay [if positive], that would be good. But I don’t see enough options and that concerns me a bit,” the parent said.

WI @SamPKCollins

TEACHERS CONTINUE TO ORGANIZE FOR THE VIRTUAL OPTION

A snowstorm early in the week compelled Bowser to postpone the return to in-person learning by one day. At press time, safe return activities, scheduled for Jan. 3 and 4, were slated for Jan. 4 and 5 with the first day of school to start on Jan. 6.

Rapid antigen test results collected on Jan. 4 and 5 determined whether schools, on a case-by-case basis, would conduct in-person or virtual learning moving forward. As explained by Bowser at a late December press conference, administrators would make that decision in consultation with DCPS leadership based on the number of teachers who tested positive for COVID-19 at each school.

Ferebee said in the event that a school pivots to virtual learning, parents would be notified by 8 p.m. of the preceding night. The virtual learning experience would then take place over the course of 10 calendar days.

Other aspects of the District school reopening plan include: continuation of masking and social distancing policies; a ramping up of on-campus asymptomatic testing in consultation with the Office of the State Superintendent of Education; and greater attention to air filtration systems.

Those who criticized Bowser’s decision to reopen schools said before the pre-winter break COVID spike, teachers and administrators struggled to uphold COVID protocols amid staff shortages.

On Sunday, the DC Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators [DC CORE] hosted a 90-minute virtual town hall during which 250 teachers and parents expressed their anxiety about returning to in-person learning. The event followed the release of a petition for a systemwide implementation of virtual learning and numerous attempts to engage leadership within the Washington Teachers’ Union.

A poll conducted on the evening of DC CORE’s town hall revealed more than 80 percent of participants disagreed with Bowser’s plan to reopen schools. Concerns ranged from whether city officials could collect and analyze data from 90,000 students in two days to the accuracy of the rapid antigen tests, which have been known to give false negatives to people not showing COVID-19 symptoms.

DC CORE members also mulled next steps to take, including a wider survey of teachers and forms of nonviolent resistance.

“Teachers are talking about the dread they’re feeling,” said David Ifill, a middle school music teacher and DC CORE member.

“They’re upset as to why leaders waited so long and last minute to do this. Leaders didn’t give anyone enough time to properly quarantine and properly mitigate what was going on,” he said. “They’re rushing to put us in overcrowded classrooms. It will open up an explosion of new cases.”

5 DC Public Schools students and teachers line-up at Petworth Library in Northwest to 5 DC Public Schools students and teachers line-up at Petworth Library in Northwest receive home test kits for COVID-19. (Roy Lewis/The Washington Informer) to receive home test kits for COVID-19. (Roy Lewis/The Washington Informer)

DEEPER ISSUES AT HAND

In the days since Bowser and Ferebee revealed their back-to-school plan, critics have included D.C. Councilmembers Robert White (D-At large), Trayon White (D-Ward 8) and education consultant Andre Davis, all of whom plan to run against Bowser in this year’s mayoral race.

As has been the case with other D.C. residents, the mayoral candidates’ qualms lie with the feasibility of Bowser’s back-to-school plan and her earlier lifting of the mask mandate. They have also expressed solidarity with teachers who’ve called for virtual learning since COVID-19 numbers first skyrocketed.

A District educator who asked to remain anonymous said they’ve long advocated for virtual learning because it’s much needed during the winter months when young people carry germs. Even with her support for that move, the teacher questioned how students, especially those lacking resources, would be able to learn without the appropriate technology.

“D.C. should’ve done a better job of preparing us to go virtual,” said the teacher who works at a public school in Ward 7.

“We’re still sharing devices. Certain schools have one-to-one laptop ratios but mine doesn't. Per usual, it depends on where you attend school. Everyone feels we’re not safe in school but we’re unprepared either way. It’s a lose-lose situation,” the teacher said. WI @SamPKCollins

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