Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, parents now in Silicon Valley are wondering how their students can go back to school safely. While distance learning is proposed for most schools, academic experts claim that children tend to best learn in school. But, returning to school requires careful steps in place to ensure student and staff safety. That is why you must choose a school wisely for your child. The best independent school in Silicon Valley focuses not only on getting back to business but also on ensuring .your kids continue to get high-quality education while being protected against infections.
Going Back to School Safely
Pediatricians and infectious disease experts have claimed that children and adolescents are less likely to have symptoms or serious disease from infection. Also, they seem to be less likely to become infected by coronavirus or spread it.
Children and adolescents learn more than just academics from school. Aside from reading, writing, and math, they also learn social and emotional skills, stay physically active, get access to mental health support, and other things that online learning cannot offer. For a lot of families, school is where children get healthy meals and have access to vital services including the internet.
What the Best School can Do?
Schools in Silicon Valley must take some steps to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. The best school will focus on the following:
- Enforcing physical distancing. Schools must require students and staff to be at least 6 feet apart to prevent the spread of the virus. They should space desks at least 3 feet apart and ensure students avoid close contact.
Teachers and staff must stay 6 feet apart from each other and students if possible. Also, they must wear cloth face coverings and limit in-person meetings with other adults. Schools can use outdoor spaces for instruction and meals, if possible. Also, it is important to ensure students have extra space to spread out during activities such as exercising and singing.
- Wearing face coverings and practicing hand hygiene. Everyone should wash their hands frequently with soap and water. Also, preschool and elementary students must wear masks as long as they don’t touch their mouths or noses a lot. Cloth face masks must be worn by secondary students.
- Implementing classroom changes. To limit student interaction outside the classroom, schools can have their teachers moving between classrooms instead of having students fill the hallways during passing periods. Also, they can let students eat lunches at their desks. Classroom doors must be left open to help minimize high touch surfaces like doorknobs and ensure proper airflow.
- Checking temperatures. Schools need to establish ways to determine students with fever or other symptoms. These include temperature checks and testing, whatever is possible for them.
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