In-class school stymied by costs, staffing, risks
Eagle-TribuneDec 27, 2020
Dec. 27—Reopening schools in the middle of a pandemic was never going to easy.
Some bought desk shields because they could not easily accommodate social distancing guidelines. Others adopted hybrid models to keep capacity low. Still others went to fully remote learning.
Public schools across the region received federal funding because of COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic. However, nearly every school district had to supplement that with previously budgeted funds to provide for students.
Or, they went without.
As the pandemic continues to rage on, the threat of spreading the virus, costs of accommodations, and staffing remain the biggest hurdles to returning to school full time.
At a late December
"I've read and understand what the
"And as a parent, I have to believe there's more we can do as administrators and School Committee members and parents working together," she continued. "I understand obstacles may seem impossible to work around, but we have seen other districts bring back the youngest learners through innovative methods."
Minutes later,
As in
The cost of being in class
In both states individual school districts are in charge of implementing their own plans, however, the mandates for bringing back students are less stringent in the Granite State than the
The town received
"We felt very strongly about getting kids back into school," said
In order to allow 3,600 students back, the district bought three-sided acrylic shields for every desk and cafeteria seat. That was one of the largest expenses, totaling
"What is significant is every student and adult who have been identified as close contacts has not developed symptoms or tested positive," Superintendent
The School District has three criteria to stay with in-person learning: staff capacity, high student attendance rates and no in-school transmission, Delahanty said.
"Things have been working incredibly well, especially with the staff and administration coming in every day," Delahanty said. "The staff has provided as normal an experience as possible for students."
As cases rose right before
Other districts reported personal protective gear, extra staffing and technology as their largest expenses.
Districts around the country were granted part of the
In the spring when schools shuttered and switched to online learning the district had only one laptop for every family, he said.
Technology such as laptops and internet hot spots were among the top costs for the district related to the pandemic, along with protective equipment, cleaning supplies and overtime for custodians, Markuns said.
Currently, Lawrence students remain remote and getting high-needs students back is the priority, Markuns said.
No matter what kind of learning students are doing now, everyone from administrators, teachers, parents to students are looking forward to the days where school can return to normal with in-class group projects and sharing supplies.
To help get to that teachers have been prioritized for the vaccine in
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