Back to School

There are still a few weeks of summer remaining, and with that the anticipation of a return to school for our children.  School will definitely be a different experience for all, regardless of whether learning will be in person or remote.  On the whole, I don’t recall any time where children were more excited to return.  At the same time, I cannot recall any time where parents were more anxious about their children’s return to school.

“Stand by to stand by
Ain’t no need to worry today
Thorazine shuffle make everything OK”

-Thorazine Shuffle (Gov’t Mule)

This weeks selection is to introduce you to Warren Haynes, one of the best blues based guitarists I have had the pleasure to see live a few times….as in about 100 or so between his work with Gov’t Mule, The Allman Brothers Band, and The Dead.   Just for a couple of bonus clips for y’all, click here for a version of Black Hearted Woman from Madison Square Garden just before the lockdown began on March 10th, 2020 in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Allman Brothers.  The interplay with Derek Trucks is something special.  On a tangent, the Derek Trucks along with his wife, Susan Tedeschi make for an incredible band of their own (The Tedeschi-Trucks Band).  A Tiny Desk Concert of Tedeschi-Trucks can be found here.  Will stop here rather than continue the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game.

COVID-19 Update

Before delving a bit into school plans for the year, I will try to provide a brief update as to where things stand with respect to COVID-19 in general.  Currently, on a national level, COVID-19 is still wreaking havoc.  If you look at the weekly case rate, there is some cause for optimism in that it appears we will have yet another week of decreased number of cases reported.  This is a flawed number by definition however as it does not address who is being tested or why.  Furthermore, it can be affected by access to testing at any given time.  As an example, we received hundreds of tests in our office over one month ago but have been unable to perform even one because the manufacturer was not able to provide the machine that the tests are run on.  As mentioned in prior weeks, I tend to track the hospitalization and death rates as the most accurate measure of disease burden.  Unfortunately, that has been fairly consistent for months at roughly 1,000 fatalities in the nation per day.

The situation in New York has been more positive than the nation as a whole as of late.  We have continued to reopen the state for activities and managed to avoid a large spike in new cases.  Hospitalization and death rates have remained low.  Whether this is because many more people had it early on and have some immunity, whether we are taking better precautions here, or we learned to tell the Queen of Diamonds by the way she shines and pulled an inside straight is a matter for debate.  It is likely some component of all three.

Regarding vaccine development, Russia reported last week that they had successfully manufactured the worlds first COVID-19 vaccine and were initiating immunizing their nation.  I have invented a time travel machine.  My studies show I move forward in time one hour every sixty minutes I use it.  Don’t get too excited for either report, they are vaporware.  Russia literally skipped the part of the clinical trial process where they test the vaccine to see if it works.  I will cease any further discussion on Russian vaccines at this time.  I lack the time for a trip to Germany for medical care.

On a more serious note, there are multiple candidate vaccines currently in Phase 3 trials.  These trials typically take some time to conduct both to ensure the vaccine works as well as to look for potential risks.  Despite some reports of an FDA “Deep State” keeping the vaccine down, realistically I would not expect a vaccine available until 2021 at the earliest for completely legitimate reasons.  At this time it is also worth noting that the clinical trials have not reported enrolling children.  That means that initially one would expect any licensing of an approved vaccine to be such that it is for adults only until another trial is conducted to test the vaccine in children.   

Potential treatments for COVID-19 are also progressing at this time.  No, we are not talking about hydroxychloroquine.  There are several antibody therapies that are in late stage trials that appear to be quite effective.  These trials could be complete prior to the end of the year.  Due to the technology used, these therapies are candidates for emergency authorization meaning that there could be access to them for the very ill prior to completion of the study.  While I would always prefer prevention than cure, I will gladly take cure over suffering.

School Reopening Plans

In New York, school plans are gradually coalescing with each district choosing its own path within the guidelines set forth by the state.  All districts have been mandated to have forums including parents as plans are finalized, and to date it appears that most if not all districts have been complying.

There are three basic constructs the school districts are working with:

  1. In-school learning 5 days per week
  2. At home remote learning 5 days per week
  3. Hybrid model with 2-3 days per week in-school and remainder at home remote learning

Generally speaking, it is in the children’s best interest to be receiving in-school learning.  Regardless of how tech savvy kids are, and in most cases they are more savvy than the parents – it is very different to raise your hand in class compared with hitting a wave button on a tablet to get attention when needed.  It is very different to have a teacher come to your desk and interact about a math problem when working on in-class assignments and trying to have the same interaction on a virtual classroom platform.  It is very different to have classroom behavior and stimuli addressed by an in-person teacher as opposed to a child on a laptop with a TV on in the background, pets, siblings, and other distractors circling around.  Never mind all the technical glitches that occur.  This is simply addressing the academics….lack of social and emotional learning is another issue entirely, and while nothing is impossible (heck, I invented a time machine), to accomplish such effectively in a remote learning environment will take longer to develop than teaching academics.

On the flip side, there are clearly cases in which the best choice for the child is to be participating in remote learning at this time.  There are individual health concerns that could dictate such, family health concerns, personal views on acceptable risk tolerance as examples.  The school districts genuinely seem to be trying to do their best with respect to making an unfortunate learning situation as good as possible.  They have upgraded their technologies and support for such.  They have more time to plan and should be able to provide an improved experience for the students relative to the last school year when the plug was pulled suddenly and unexpectedly.  For those that choose remote learning, especially for younger children, there will be a large burden on the parents to assist in order to ensure academic needs are met.  To date, I have not seen nor heard how any socializing type activities are going to be addressed in the remote school setting.

A shout out to the parents that have been “home schooling” for years.  Do not confuse at home remote learning through the school district with “home schooling.”  Parents that have been “home schooling” for their child’s entire academic careers incorporate some computer based lessons with actual lessons taught by the parent along with field trips and other interactions with children from families that are also home schooling.  They work as a collective in most cases.  Remote learning through the school district will, regardless of how well it is set up, lack a degree of personal interaction when a student needs assistance.  It also eliminates the vast majority of the social interaction that children require to develop appropriately.

One of the big topics that keeps coming up at the meetings of my children’s school district is a hybrid model.  Currently it is not a choice in my district though many parents keep asking for it.  I can think of only one legitimate reason for a hybrid model, and that is to lower the census in the case where proper distancing is not possible in a school setting.  For most schools, using non-traditional spaces, removing some furniture, changing layouts, and addressing between class transitions provides what is necessary to safely function in a school environment.  For those schools where these adaptations cannot occur, a hybrid model is the next best thing to attending full time in person.

Based on the meetings I have attended for my children’s school district and in speaking with parents and teachers from other districts, there are very robust plans to keep schools as safe as possible for a learning environment.  While the children themselves are at relatively low risk for severe complications from COVID-19 relative to adults, other than Jack, Simon, Piggy, and a few others, the children all return to a home with adults residing there.  The major components of the plans are:

  • Symptom tracking both prior to each school day and during the day
  • Immediate separation and further evaluation for any individual with symptoms concerning for COVID-19
  • Increased cleaning of schools both with respect to frequency and depth of cleaning
  • Establishing spacing within classrooms to provide six feet of distance between students
  • Enforcing mask wearing in schools
  • Altering student transition workflows to minimize exposures in hallways
  • Contact tracing for possible exposures
  • Having backup remote learning plans available should a temporary pivot be required

Overall, the schools have been doing a great job in planning on short notice.  We may not have our teachers names yet, school supply lists, and other things typical at this time, but they are the minor concern.  There will be issues to being successful at this.  Primarily it is one of compliance.

The schools themselves will need to be on point with sticking to their plans.  If student spacing is adhered to, enforcing mask wearing is adhered to, and cleaning performed, there is a very good chance for success as measured by any school cancellation not being due to any factors within their control.  If there is a large societal “second wave” it will not matter what the school does, we will all be remotely doing whatever it is we do as we were earlier this year.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if there is a child in the class diagnosed with COVID-19?

Some districts will choose their own adventure on this one.  If one follows the current CDC guidelines though, there is no need to close a class or a school due to a diagnosis of COVID-19.  That means if the children are six feet apart and wearing a mask, their ill classmate stays home to quarantine and the learning for the rest continues.  Follow this link to see criteria for what defines a close contact and how to proceed with quarantine for an exposure as per the CDC.

What do I do if my kid has a common cold?

Keep them home.  What you assume is the common cold may just be that.  It could also be COVID-19.  You honestly won’t know, nor will a trip to the office assist.  We will have shortly the ability to test and tell you a child is positive.  Issue is that a negative test does not constitute proof that a child does not have COVID-19, and thus won’t change guidance which is to keep them home for 10 days beginning with the onset of symptoms.

Aside from the medical side of this concern (i.e. inadvertently transmitting COVID-19), there is another more “be kind to your fellow human” type concern.  Even if it “just a cold,” and your child shares said “just a cold” with 8 classmates and a teacher, that is already 9 other folks that are now going to be home and/or seeking medical care to return to school.  Never mind their family members they share it with at home.  Putting it bluntly, it is selfish to send your child with a cold because you are going to cause many others the same inconvenience you do not appreciate.  It sucks.  We all get it.  Technically our goal is not to get it…..

My school says my child can return to school if they have a test and a note clearing them, so can I test for that purpose?

Sure. What a note clearing them would read is something to the effect of “Joey has had symptoms most consistent with a common cold.  He has been fever free for three days and had a negative test for COVID-19.  While the test is reassuring, it does not exclude the possibility that the illness is in fact related to COVID-19.  Under typical circumstance we would clear Joey to return to school.  Clearance in this case is dependent on the guidelines that your school is following regarding communicable illnesses.”

My child has uromysotisis, can they have a note to not wear a mask?

There are virtually no reasons one cannot wear a mask.  We will not provide notes outside of the conditions outlined by the CDC to permit a child to go without a mask in school.  Please understand this from the perspective of the teacher and those around your child.  They should not be required to take on risk because of a third parties condition.  We do not allow smoking on planes any longer.  We ban peanuts in classrooms and schools where other students have airborne allergies.  This is not unreasonable.

What can we do to help with children that for developmental or other reasons have trouble with sustained mask wearing?

Schools appear to be working in such a manner to be able to provide breaks from wearing masks that are in compliance with CDC guidelines for requiring masks, primarily through maintaining proper distancing.  For some children, a class may be able to be physically structured such that a child could be without a mask for a large stretch of time.  When not possible, they may require the ability to go outside the classroom to a designated area for their break.   Remember, a nurse in an ICU chose a profession understanding the risks and accepting them.   A school teacher did not choose their profession with the expectation they would be required to work with students unprotected in a manner that could kill them.

Should we get a flu vaccine this year?

Ummmmm.  Yes.  Like every other year.  This is a very low risk preventative measure to protect from another common infectious disease that can make you quite ill and lead to death.