10 School Accountability Questions
Like many educators, this upcoming year will be unlike any preparation period I have had prior to entering school. Instead of being concerned about class lists, educational initiatives, or who is having the best back-to-school sale, I will be explaining the specifics of my last will and testament to my daughter, and providing her with a copy. This uncomfortable conversation is necessary, as I am immunocompromised, and have pre-existing conditions that would make contracting COVID-19 especially lethal. That being said, I have significant empathy for my fellow educators who are being forced back into the classroom by school districts that are faced with the “incentive” of possibly having their already insufficient federal funding sources withheld. The aforementioned empathy changes to resolve in terms of my role as a parent, because I have a distinct duty to hold my child’s school accountable. Therefore, I have listed ten bi-partisan, apolitical questions that every parent should be asking schools prior to reopening. There may be some who view these questions as some left-wing conspiracy designed to undermine the government, but if our government claims to care about the staff, students, and respective families that will be impacted directly by these school reopenings, you will see that these are basic questions that any responsible parent should be getting answered by all school superintendents, boards of education, and building principals.
- Have there been any capital building projects completed to ensure student health and safety? For example: mechanical system improvements for better air quality; new restroom fixtures and drinking fountains that have sensors to limit hand to hand transmission of germs?
- What are the dimensions of the classrooms that the students will be in, and how will the 6ft required for social distancing be maintained for classes that have 10 students or more?
- Where will students be eating lunch, since they have to remove their masks in order to eat?
- Does the school have data on staff/students with preconditions that make them susceptible to COVID-19? Are there accommodations being made for them?
- Are students being required to sign a liability waiver in case they contract COVID-19, or pass the virus to family members?
- What happens if a student contracts the COVID-19 virus, how will the school be able to track the areas that the student may have come in contact with other students?
- What guidelines are specifically being used? The CDC, the DOE, the CSDE, or a combination of all?
- Is there a consistent testing model in place to check for students that are asymptomatic in terms of symptoms?
- What are the guidelines for students who live with parents, grandparents, or other relatives that are Immunocompromised? Will distance learning accommodations be made for them?
- How will the travel arrangements look for students who take the bus to school? Will the school need more buses and shorter routes in order to adjust for social distancing?
These are questions that every single school district should have answered already in every single reopening plan, and if not, we need to hold all parties responsible to this standard. Our children deserve it.
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