Keeping Our Schools Safe and Open

 

When I was asked to sub as a special education paraprofessional at Southern Boone Primary to begin the new school year, I jumped at the chance. I knew, for the sake of my mental health, that a return to in-person school was exactly what I needed. Six months of being socially distant from my school family had left me feeling incredibly lonely. I missed my people.

The first week of school featured some pick-up and drop-off issues, technical glitches in the new, two-story addition to the building, and a plague of black crickets that serenaded nearly every classroom with their familiar and impossible to ignore song, yet I’m sure I can speak for just about every teacher and student in the building (and the district) when I say it felt really good to be back in school—despite the hiccups.

I can’t divulge much about the work I do in special education, but I will tell you that any anxiety I had been feeling about being packed into a crowded school building in the midst of a pandemic was erased when one of my students said, “Mr. Naughton is my friend,” while another looked up at me sweetly and told me, “I love you.”

Those were words I needed to hear. After six long and difficult months, I was finally back where I was meant to be.

I am committed to enjoying every minute of in-person school as long as it lasts. Boone County is currently in the midst of one of the biggest increases in new Covid-19 cases in the nation. The matrix used by Columbia Public Schools to determine whether to hold classes in-seat, online, or a hybrid of the two takes into account how many new cases of Covid-19 occurred within the last two weeks. Then, the 14-day new case rate per 10,000 people living within the community can be calculated. The Columbia school board decided that if their community’s 14-day new case rate per 10,000 people exceeds 10, then they would switch to the hybrid plan of half in-seat and half online classes. If the total reaches 50 or more new cases per 10,000 people, then they would switch to virtual instruction only. This is why Columbia schools began the year online.

According to the Boone County Covid Tracker, the 65010 and 65039 zip codes of the Ashland/Hartsburg/Southern Boone County region have tallied 57 new cases in the last 14 days (as of 9-13-2020). The estimated population in our region, according to 2019 census estimates, is approximately 8,900 people. When we divide those 57 new cases by 8,900 and multiply by 10,000, we find that our current 14-day new case rate is 64 cases per 10,000 people—well above the threshold our neighbors to the north deemed too dangerous for holding in-person classes.

I want to make it very clear that I am not in any way criticizing the decision made by our school board and administrators to hold in-person classes to start the year. As I said, I am thrilled to be back in the classroom again. I am firmly convinced that school is where our kids need to be—as long as we can make their learning environment a safe one.

So far, I am encouraged by how well kids and teachers have adapted to the safety protocols implemented within the buildings. Everyone wears masks in classrooms, in hallways, and in other common areas. Teachers make sure hands are being washed throughout the day. Desks, chairs, tables, and even books are sanitized frequently. And social distancing is being practiced whenever possible. I feel safe at school. 

As an extra precaution, I have instructed my own kids that when we get home from school each afternoon, all of us need to change into clean clothes and wash our hands and face well. If we continue to follow the schools’ safety protocols and our own precautions at home, then our risk of contracting the virus will be minimal.

I hope that Southern Boone’s 14-day new case rate starts dropping soon. I worry that if it continues to climb, then in-seat instruction may not be a viable option much longer. But do not despair, parents of school-aged children. We, as a community, have the power to prevent this from happening. 

For the sake of our children, their teachers, and everyone living in Southern Boone County, I implore you to please wear a mask whenever you’re in public. Avoid large gatherings. And wash your hands as if your life, or the life of someone you love, depends on it. Because it does.

As I write this, a member of our community—the spouse of a dear friend of mine—is in the intensive care unit of a local hospital, battling Covid-19. Let me assure you, this disease is very real and very serious. We must all do everything we can to stay healthy and to keep our schools safe and open. We can do this, Southern Boone. Yes we can.

But what are we going to do about all those crickets…classroom pets?!