As the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System prepares to open schools for in-person learning on Aug. 4, senior staff are watching rising COVID numbers and hoping August 2021 does not look like March 2020.
No one wants to hear about a possible COVID exposure at school, butthe local school district is taking steps tobe prepared.
More:COVID surges again in Chatham County as vaccine uptake slows, delta variant spreads
At the most recent school board meeting on July 14, Savannah-Chatham County School Superintendent Ann Levett cautioned the board and the public to still be prepared for possible closures. “Rolling closures may still be a possibility,” Levett said. School staff and families must be prepared for a classroom or a hallway, or even an entire school could be closed – temporarily – after someone associated with the school tests positive for COVID.
If a rolling closure is necessary, the district already has procedures in place. Last October as the district gradually reopened school buildings in the hybrid model, rolling closures affected West Chatham Elementary and West Chatham Middle schools during consecutive weeks. Students in those schools reverted to virtual learning while bothschools were deep-cleaned, contact-tracing conducted, affected staff were eventually cleared by medical personnel to return to work, and the schools reopened to in-person learning for the students who selected that option.
COVID cases ticking up
According to current data on the Georgia Department of Public Health website, Chatham County’s positive two-week COVID test rate increased from 7.3% on July 15 to 8.5% on July 22. That number is still in the “yellow” range, but creeping up.
On the other side, Chatham County’s vaccination rate stands at 42% of the population is fully vaccinated, also as of July 22.
Officials with Savannah-Chatham County Schools say they are following updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and will keep their families informed of any changes to school operation in the event of a rolling closure. With just about a week and a half until the first day of school, the district has not indicated any change to the Aug. 4 opening.
In the meantime, schools are implementing mitigation strategies that employ layers of protection to keep students and staff safe.
“[We are keeping] informed of the [COVID] numbers and conditions; we will continue advocate for people keeping all those mitigation strategies are in place and in layers. We will continue to follow CDC guidelines,” Levett told the school board. She added the district’s COVID Response Team will remain in place; and the district will continue to contact trace and ensure people are aware of quarantine protocols.
The district has already said that students must wear face masks while riding the school bus, in accordance with rules set by the U.S. Department of Transportation; but masks will be optional once inside a school building. However, the CDC is recommending students who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 – those generally under 12 who are not yet eligible for the vaccine – wear a face masks while indoors.
Also, to allow teachers and students time to get used to being in school again, the district is asking that only people who have business with the school will be allowed in the school buildings — no volunteers or visitors at this time.
More:Free back-to-school health clinics offered in Chatham and Bryan counties
On its website, the CDC states
• Safely returning to in-person instruction in the fall 2021 is a priority.
• Promoting vaccination can help schools safely return toin-person learningas well as extracurricular activities and sports.
• Schools maintain at least 3 feet of physical distance between students within classrooms, combined with indoor mask wearing by people who are not fully vaccinated, to reduce transmission risk.
• Screening testing, ventilation, hand washing and respiratory etiquette, staying home when sick and getting tested, contact tracing in combination with quarantine and isolation, and cleaning and disinfection are also important layers of prevention to keep schools safe.
Increased cleaning and sanitation
As for cleaning, sanitizing and ventilation, Sonny Batra, district executive director of facilities, told the board while the majority of cleaning and sanitizing will be done daily by custodial staff, students and teachers will also play a key part. For example, students will help keep rooms tidy, take personal belongings home each night and may, occasionally, be asked to clean surfaces with paper towels, soap and water. Teachers may use disinfectant wipes to wipe down surfaces. "Cleaning will be done every day — day in and day out," Batra said. HVAC filters in the schools have been upgraded and are routinely replaced.
Batra added school buildings are fogged and sanitized daily after students and staff have left for the day.
Cafeterias and the playground are cleaned several times a day. "Once a meal is served to one group of kids, [the cafeteria] will be sanitized [by the kitchen staff] before the second group of kids comes in," Batra added.Playground equipment is fogged and sanitized between groups of children at recess.
As for cleaning supplies needed at each school, Batra showed the board how each teacher has access online to order supplies directly from his department as needed. "No teacher, no principal can tell us they don't have enough stuff," Batra said.
Denise Grabowski, District 1 board member, questioned Batra about the chemical makeup of the cleaning supplies. She expressed concern the district should be mindful of chemicals that kill good bacteria along with the bad, and that some chemicals may be harmful to children. Batra said his staff has changed their chemicals three times to make [them] as less harmful as possible.
Barbara Augsdorfer is the education and nonprofits reporter for the Savannah Morning News. Reach her at BAugsdorfer@gannett.com or on Twitter @Babs7983.
