Parents of school-age children have never expected to have to decide on school options during a pandemic. But here we are. After a year and a half of virtual school, or mixed virtual and in-person, parents were able to send children in-person to school full-time with a mix of emotions. Did this mean that there was a change in schooling and safety during the pandemic?
Masks
Masks have become a daily habit. They are part of the daily checklist – backpack, water bottle, lunch, mask. Whether we go to the grocery store or school, masks are required. But not all schools are alike in mask practices. Several parents shared that their schools are practicing “mask breaks”- students take the masks off for a period of time every hour or so. Other parents shared that students are allowed to remove masks once at their desks, and only are required to wear the masks when walking. Mask requirements when outside is mixed as well – some schools requiring masks when outdoors for recess or sports while others do not require masks when outside at all. Some schools require masks on buses while others do not.
Separation
When schools returned to partial in-person schooling last school year, students were often put in “A” and “B” days so fewer students were in the classroom allowing for 6 feet in between each student. With the return to school with full classrooms, the ability to separate by 6 feet is not feasible with classroom size and student numbers. To balance this, some schools have grouped students into “pods” so those students are always together while allowing for separation from others. Some schools have returned to the normal spacing while requiring continued masks or plastic dividers to minimize the spreading of respiratory germs.
Hand washing
While there were always sinks in bathrooms at school (or one would hope), now there are the additions of hand sanitizer stations seeded throughout schools. Students are encouraged to wash their hands between activities to lessen the potential of spread. Hand washing in younger ages has been discussed much more than a typical year –that one may be a win.
Closures
Per the CDC guidelines, after any COVID exposure, the exposed individual must quarantine to ensure no signs of symptoms for 10-14 days. There is a variety in schools for time out of school as well. Several parents noted that their school had a requirement of 10 days out of school for a school-based exposure and a 14-day out-of-school requirement for an out of school-based exposure. While the difference in time out of school does not inherently make since you cannot differentiate strain of COVID by location of exposure, it is the school district policy. Some schools require negative testing to return to school which can be difficult for students who may have had COVID as the tests can remain positive for a period of time after active infection.
If a teacher becomes positive that was around the whole school, the entire school closes. Some school districts have lessened this possibility by limiting activities like art and music to being done virtually by a teacher with the students in their respective classrooms. This seemingly keeps children and teachers in “pods” which lessens exposure risk.
Vaccinations
At the time of this writing, the COVID-19 vaccine is approved and available for ages 12 and up. Historically, some vaccines are required for children attending school unless waived by a healthcare provider. Vaccines like the flu vaccine are not required. With the approval of the COVID-19 vaccine for lower ages, some pressure would be expected for vaccination given the pandemic, but with the flu vaccine not being required it was not expected to be a requirement. But the COVID-19 vaccination may be mandated for all children old enough to receive it. Notably, the Los Angeles Unified school board voted that all students 12 and older are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by January of 2022 in order to attend in-person schooling. At the time of this writing, the school district does still offer virtual schooling. Other school districts are following suit with families or teachers mandating vaccines for their students and teachers. There is a waiver available for medical or religious grounds.
All this to say – no two school districts are alike. This comes down to school funding and the ability to accomplish all safety measures.
Parenting is never an easy task. Add in the pandemic with its new information daily adds a new element to the game of parenting. Ultimately, with all of these measures, each family’s comfort level is different. Some families prefer masks outside and inside, some families only use masks inside. Some families are more comfortable to hugs, while others prefer fist bumps. That is okay. Practicing what safety measures you are able to and are comfortable with are the best you can do. Can we all agree that handwashing practices are important and that when little Tommy wipes his nose with his hand we don’t want to high-five him after?
