Rundlett Middle School, view of a hallway with sixth grade classrooms on Tuesday August 9, 2016. (ELIZABETH FRANTZ / Monitor staff) Elizabeth Frantz
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Governor Chris Sununu plans to sign an ordinance requiring schools to be open for personal study at least two days a week until March 8, he announced on Thursday.
An unprecedented number of children waited for psychiatric care in February, which Sununu attributed in part to the isolation caused by distance learning. Last week there were 48 children waiting for inpatient psychiatric beds, the highest number on the list in eight years since boarding school began.
« It really is for the behavioral and mental health … that so many of our students endure have, « he said. « It has to be at least a few days a week to catch a few eyes on these children and to restore the personal relationship between students and their teachers. »
Sununu has been pushing for the schools to reopen for months, something of the Teachers’ unions for calling for earlier access to the vaccine has been publicly criticized. At a press conference Thursday, Sununu said that about 60% of schools in the state are already using a hybrid model. Schools will be allowed to pause face-to-face learning for a few days if faced with a critical staff shortage or a COVID-19 outbreak, he said.
Last week, the CDC released guidelines that provide a systematic and included a clear strategy for reopening schools for personal learning. New Hampshire officials have decided not to include the guidelines in their state plan, they announced on Wednesday.
Dr. Ben Chan, the state epidemiologist, and Frank Edelblut, the commissioner for the N.H. Department of Education, said the guidelines « pose unnecessary barriers to personal learning. » They argued that New Hampshire schools have already taken safety precautions that adequately prevent the spread of the coronavirus in classrooms.
As of Thursday, there were no recent school outbreaks of COVID-19 and 140 isolated NH schools.
The decision to reject these new guidelines has been confusing for some who have argued that state officials are inconsistent with which CDC guidelines they follow. Earlier this month, Sununu published a press release commending the organization for its stance on reopening schools.
« There is mounting data to suggest that schools can reopen safely and that reopening safely does not mean that teachers need to be vaccinated, « said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told reporters earlier this month.
« The CDC director’s comments are consistent with data and studies showing that schools with proper safety protocols can be safely open to face-to-face learning, » he said in a Explanation.
About two weeks later, however, the state rejected the CDC’s guidelines on the mechanism for opening schools, which rely heavily on the most recent data and research. Megan Tuttle, president of NEA New Hampshire, the state’s largest teachers union, said it was not clear how the state makes decisions about which federal guidelines to adopt.
« The governor chooses the science to follow « said Tuttle. “Everything is everywhere.”
The new CDC guidelines include a number of different factors, sorted into color-coded boxes, that schools should consider when deciding on personal learning, such as: B. the number of new COVID-19 cases compared to the population and the school’s ability to implement safety strategies such as social distancing, testing and consistent wearing of masks.
During the guidelines areas with low community transmission of the virus encourage people to open up to face-to-face classes, discourage middle and high schools in high-transmission areas from reopening fully.
The CDC guidelines clarify that schools that are already open must can remain open even if the community transmission is rated as high based on these factors.
« These decisions should be based on information on school-specific factors such as the mitigation strategies implemented, the local needs, the contributions of the stakeholders, the number the cases with students, teachers and employees as well as the school experience, « it says in.
Senior Education and Health Officials in N.H. have also opposed the CDC’s COVID-19 testing recommendations.
For districts that use COVID testing to detect outbreaks, the new document recommends that teachers test weekly. Students should also be tested weekly in areas with medium to high transmission rates, which can include multiple counties in the state. The New Hampshire reopening plan primarily recommends COVID-19 testing for symptomatic staff or students.
Lori Shibinette, the health commissioner, also announced at the press conference that New Hampshire Hospital – the state’s mental health facility – Will open 10 beds for children to alleviate the boarding school crisis. The hospital stopped accepting children last year when Hampstead Hospital opened to help this population.
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Ref: https://www.concordmonitor.com
