Page 40 - Campus Security & Life Safety, July/August 2021

In-person Classes
"The first step in preparing for reopening is to clearly identify the benefits of reopening their facilities for in-person learning and assess these benefits against the risks of
Topening."
he recent COVID-19 pandemic forced millions of children to transi- tion to a remote learning environ- ment – far too quickly for many dis- tricts to make adequate preparations.
While some schools may have been less than fully prepared for this particular pandemic, advance crisis planning helped other schools manage the necessary transition more smoothly. Going forward, strong and effec- tive planning for the reopening of schools need not be a surprise, and careful planning and execution can avoid any decrease in stu- dent and staff health and safety during the
upcoming opening process.
On a positive note, the government is cur-
rently enacting a pandemic relief package that includes a significant funding allocation for K-12 schools nationwide in the coming months. If the proposal is implemented, this funding could supply up to $128 billion for all school districts, which comes nearly to $2,500 per student nationwide, and can be used to help school health and safety systems not only for the present reopening needs, but also for longer-term improvement projects.
In the sections below, we discuss the three distinct phases of reopening and provide suggestions on how to maximize the effec- tiveness of each phase. The three phases are: Preparing for Reopening, Enforce during Reopening, and Maintaining Health After Reopening. As school districts across the United States consider how to safely re-open for in-person learning and activities, school administrators can pay particular attention to mitigation strategies that can be used to help protect students, teachers, and staff pre- vent the spread of contagions, including the COVID-19 virus.
Preparing for Reopening
Identifying reopening benefits versus risks.
The first step in preparing for reopening is to clearly identify the benefits of reopening
their facilities for in-person learning and assess these benefits against the risks of opening.
Even though it’s commonly believed the risks of COVID-19 to students themselves is relatively low, reopening schools will also expose teachers who may be at greater risk (especially those who are older or compro- mised). These risks can also transition and contribute to higher risk for the broader community.
Districts can weigh levels of community transmission and their capacity to imple- ment appropriate mitigation measures in schools to protect students, teachers, admin- istrators, and other staff.
The CDC provides administrators with valuable resources. One example is their Indicators for Dynamic Decision-Making tool, available on the cdc.gov website.
Implement actions for spread preven- tion. The COVID-19 virus is mainly spread between people when they talk, cough, sneeze or breathe around others. Districts will need to enforce guidelines that will pro- mote a healthy environment across all of their facilities.
Adopting actions to slow the spread of COVID-19 inside the school and out in the community can help schools reopen as safely and as quickly as possible for in-person
40 campuslifesecurity.com | JULY/AUGUST 2021