During 2020, there was a time of great uncertainty in regards to when students would go back to school. However, once vaccinations were mass-distributed, the possibility for this grew. In August, FCPS abandoned online learning, instead opting for in-person schooling.
As beneficial as it is for students to have an interactive learning environment, their safety is of utmost importance. The coronavirus is still a prevalent issue in our country regardless of the number of people vaccinated. Thus, the decision to send students back was careless and disregarded their health.
Schools in FCPS do not require vaccinations for their students unless they will be participating in a winter sport. This decision has increased the risk of a rise in cases, which is detrimental to our progress in recovering from the pandemic. The number of kids who refuse to take this precaution is unknown but can lead to a super-spreader incident.
The said incident is particularly likely at McLean as the school is operating at 118% capacity while COVID counts rise. The blue hallway and the breezeway allow access for students to get to their classes in a timely manner, but this causes traffic. The combination of shoulder-to-shoulder contact and everyone breathing down everyone else’s neck is a recipe for disease transmission. Preventative measures can only go so far given the impossibility to contact trace when the hallways are as crowded as they are at McLean.
Contact tracing was integrated as a way to track kids who were exposed to COVID-19 in the case that a student near them falls ill. Both the ill student and the students who were in close contact are expected to be quarantined for the time needed until they can safely return back to school. This is a good system except for the fact that McLean’s contact tracing method relies heavily upon written seating charts. Regardless, students move around seats as most teachers do not properly enforce this rule.
Along with this, lunches leave a quarter of students to have a free-range around the school with their masks off while they eat. The number of exposed kids would be impossible to keep track of.
Lunches also bring forth the issues with relying on masks to fill the gaps and ensure all students are safe. McLean mandates every student to wear a mask while they are inside the school building. This measure prevents the spread of COVID but is not a complete solution. Teachers are meant to enforce this, but they can’t stop every student from consistently fixing their mask to cover their mouth and nose.
Masks are not required at school football games as it is a safety risk that cannot be mandated by law. The student section is jam-packed with kids pressed together and breathing the same air.
It is only a matter of time before the coronavirus takes advantage of McLean’s vulnerability to transmission. Eventually, students will go home and possibly spread it to their grandparents, aunts, or uncles. The point is that McLean’s decision to go back to school full time was premature and not done properly enough to sustain a healthy environment for their students.
As a solution, FCPS should implement the optional learning program where students who refuse to get vaccinated or feel unsafe in school can participate in class virtually. The school board should consider the importance of health as a greater priority than full-time in-person schooling.
