Schools reopen in unprecedented times
By LINDA CHION KENNEY
In what constitutes the most unique back-to-school start in recent memory, tens of thousands of school children went back to their brick-and-mortar classrooms this week with protocols in place designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the nation’s seventh-largest school district.
As kids filtered back to their classrooms, Hillsborough County School Superintendent Addison Davis heralded an “innovative partnership” with Tampa General Hospital to provide COVID-19 testing for Hillsborough teachers and staff.
To be eligible, school-based employees must show signs or symptoms consistent with COVID-19, have had recent known or suspected exposure to the virus and have Humana insurance provided through the school district.
“Our teachers and employees are the heart and soul of Hillsborough County Public Schools, and their safety is paramount to not only this administration but to our entire community,” Davis said.
Access to expedited COVID-19 testing, with results expected within 24 to 72 hours, is one tool school officials have to address concerns over a brick-and-mortar opening.
“We have a responsibility to provide a safe back-to-school experience for our staff, while reducing the spread of this challenging virus, and this opportunity ultimately provides a step towards normalcy for the Tampa Bay area,” Davis said.
Still, nothing is “normal” about the start of the 2020-21 school year, which marks the first reopening of all schools across the district since their lockdown in mid-March due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
While thousands of kids head back to school campuses, thousands more have opted to stay at home and login to their classes virtually. On site at the schoolhouse, health protocols are to be strictly enforced.
Wearing a mask, social distancing and keeping a sick child at home, “This is about personal responsibility,” said school board member Cindy Stuart.
How long this new normal lasts is anyone’s guess as hope prevails that the virus remains in check. At the Aug. 25 school board meeting, members took a look forward to what’s next down the road for reopened schools.
Stuart successfully moved for the board to consider, in light of the coronavirus pandemic, a workshop meeting to delve deeper into the issues school officials will face as the year unwinds.
For one thing, shutdowns are inevitable, which Davis noted as well at a back-to-school press conference Aug. 21, where he detailed a “decision tree” that involves COVID-19 leaders at both the schoolhouse and district levels putting into action plans for contact tracing and quarantines, if necessary.
“We will overly communicate that to our communities that are impacted and make certain we are very transparent about every one of our efforts along the way,” Davis said.
Other issues that need to be addressed, Stuart said, include attendance, discipline, readiness for graduation and grade advancement, funding and school-by-school spending, and keeping track of eLearners and digital devices.
Calling this year’s school start “the most unusual school year” in “the history of education,” Melissa Snively, school board chair, expressed concerns about the divisive nature of the school reopening issue.
“I think we need to all take a big step back and a deep breath and remember that the children are watching us,” Snively said. “The children are watching us every day, the way we respond, the way we communicate, whether we have a positive attitude or a negative attitude.”
School board member Stacy Hahn agreed, noting that despite a person’s individual views, she hoped the community could rally together and make it a great first day for students.
“They deserve it,” Hahn said. “They have gone through so much.”
In a related development, the board voted Aug. 25 to continue with and expand the use of Zoom for instructional purposes after Snively thanked board member Stacy Hahn for conducting a comparison review of Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Davis also welcomed the move, which amounts to a cost of $165,000.
“To date, we’ve had 235,000 meetings in Hillsborough County,” Davis said. “We’ve had 66 million minutes on Zoom since the pandemic, and that’s related to around two million attendees through Zoom. There’s better controls with Zoom, and we feel very comfortable this is a platform that’s going to allow us to continue the eLearning process.”
For more, visit the school district web site at www.sdhc.k12.fl.us. To view school board meetings and transcripts, visit: www.schoolboard.hcpswebcasts.com.