Convinced of the scholastic, social and spiritual superiority of in-person instruction, Catholic schools in the San Francisco Archdiocese have been doing extra homework to get students safely back in the classroom.
With COVID-19 protections in place, the core curriculum remains the sole survivor of the pre-pandemic campus experience that ended abruptly a year ago.
The new normal entails face masks, sanitizers, disinfectants, temperature checks, viral tests, distanced desks, plexiglass enclosures, plastic shields, staggered schedules, split classes, spread-out lunch seats, coned-off play areas, repurposed spaces, hybrid teaching, reimagined digital tools, drive-through drop-offs and pick-ups.
Visitors, volunteers, field trips, classroom rotations number among new prohibitions in school-specific plans that had to pass muster with public health and archdiocesan officials prior to the incremental comeback that began last fall.
“We can’t expect children to learn sitting in front of a screen for hours,” said Lydia Collins, principal of St. Raphael School in San Rafael. “Children need social interaction for their emotional well-being; our children have suffered by being forced to learn in the isolation of their homes.” The school, where a mere 6% of students have opted to remain distance learners, began the phased-in return Sept. 22, 2020.
Initial fears of widespread infections failed to materialize. In Marin County, where all seven Catholic and 105 of 109 other schools have reopened, government figures showed only 11 cases of suspected in-school coronavirus transmission as of March 14, 2021 when the number of days any student attends class in person totaled 1,376,430.
A Catholic San Francisco survey of 32 principals, pastors, parents, pupils and teachers at eight schools in the three counties served by the archdiocese found an overwhelming preference for on-site education and appreciation for those who make it possible. “Catholic schools believe there is no substitute for in-person learning, and our work serving children, especially poor and minority children, cannot be placed in limbo during the pandemic,” said Kimberly Orendorff, principal of St. Anselm School in San Anselmo, which started welcoming back students in August 2020. “Catholic school teachers are among the unsung heroes of this pandemic.”
Full story at Catholic San Francisco.
This Catholic school teacher agrees. We have been back (San Mateo co.) since November, although most of the families of older kids still choose the zoom option. Physical presence makes a difference in the way I interact with the kids and the ways they interact with each other. You can see the slow return to pre-Covid energy and behavior within a day or two of their return.
As long as the school will strictly follow any required disciplines [masks and social distancing], I think reopening schools is essential. My only concern is with junior high students who get ‘puppy love’ and violate the social distancing and mask requirements.
I teach middle school. “Puppy love” is very rare, at least in the schoolyard. My issue is reminding the girls to keep six feet part when they chat with each other. Are you reminiscing, mike? :)
Your reply to mikem made me chuckle, so thanks for that. I will say though that one of the rare joys of this pandemic is that I reconnected with an old friend who actually did meet his wife – about 40 years ago now – through those puppy love moments.
OMG[osh]!
When are we going to let go of the ridiculous virus fear porn? The rest of the country’s schools have been mostly open for months. The CDC’s guidelines show that people under the age of 19 have a 0.00002 fatality rate for this alleged pandemic. (And, truth be told, school age children are even less likely to die from this fake virus.)
And still yet, the Branch Covidian fetishists are pushing this virus fear porn propaganda.
We’ve been lied to on an Orwellian scale.
Wonderful article. Good to hear.
I’m very glad for this article. What we didn’t know a year ago – and couldn’t have known – is that we have ways of keeping school age kids reasonably safe.
I appreciate that it applies actual data to the question. It comports with many many other studies that especially in the younger grades, the respiration capacity of kids especially before puberty is not sufficient to exhale coronavirus to a significant degree.
Other commentators have noted the grave damage that social isolation does to kids. We need a reasonably balanced approach going forward. But we didn’t know back then what we know now.
I also appreciate that the photo supplied with the article demonstrates best practices: Distancing and Outsiding. And frankly, they might be a little too distanced, but I’d rather they err on their side of that equation.
We are SO close to being done with this crazy virus. All we need to do is spend a few more weeks distancing, masking, outsiding, and vaccinating as much as we are able.
YFC, you wrote “All we need to do is spend a few more weeks distancing, masking, outsiding, and vaccinating as much as we are able.”
In a few weeks, are you okay with those of us who are healthy returning to church?
You seem unusually optimistic today.
Any particular reason why?
Yes, if we continue to vaccinate, mask, distance and outside, within a few weeks there will be a very low incidence of the virus and indoor masses will return. I am optimistic on the one hand. Had we done these things, we never would have seen the horrible fall spike. But oftentimes we don’t. We get people saying ridiculous and untrue things about the virus and how to prevent its spread. But I have always been optimistic that once we drive the virus into the ground we can reopen churches and restaurants and businesses.
I hope the kids are wearing sunscreen with classes being held outside, and it should be provided by the school along with masks and sanitizer in order to keep the kids safe. No point in having skin cancer result from rushing back to school and holding classes outside in the dangerous ultraviolet rays from the sun. I don’t see much diversity represented in the picture. Maybe the school needs to pay closer attention to admissions policies and outreach to underrepresented people of color, such as our Brown and Black brothers and sisters so that there is greater equity in the student body and on faculty.