A Rise in Cases Causes School Instability

A Rise in Cases Causes School Instability

by Cameron Loi, on November 20, 2020

• Schools opened for half capacity in October
•  Teachers still have some students attending class remotely
•  On a national level, Georgia is experiencing fewer cases than its southern counterparts

ROSWELL, Ga. — Mr. Hennessey was pacing the aisles of desks, with students buried in a packet; it was one of the first tests in-person since schools were shut down in March. The precautions had been taken, it was only half of the students in the class, and all of them were wearing the facemasks that are required by the school. A knock on the door interrupted the students train of thought. It was front desk personnel, there to inform Mr. Hennessey that two of his students were in contact with someone who tested positive. 

            The potentially infected students were escorted out of the class to be sent home for quarantine. The remaining students had no choice but to redirect their attention from the removal of their peers back to the test. 

            “I had to grade slightly easier on that test in particular,” Mr. Hennessey said. “It was hard because I felt like I was doing a disservice, but it was just under those circumstances.” 

            Mr. Hennessey is a teacher at Centennial High School, and he is not a unique case. He is one of hundreds of teachers all facing the same set of challenges while trying to teach during a pandemic. Teachers have to find a way to provide the same quality of teaching for students at home as if they were at school, familiarize themselves with the technologies to teach remotely and overcome the obstacles that come with online teaching. 

Centennial has been disrupted by some positive virus results in the student body and faculty. Almost two thirds of the school is staying at home and attending classes remotely, and the school is left trying to accommodate to them. 

“We have had four positive cases among the students,” Mr. Hennessey said. “And after contact tracing, we have about 200 or so cases that are self-quarantining.”

Georgia in General

According to the CDC, Georgia currently has 454,732 cases, with 24,161 cases reported over the Thanksgiving week. While in comparison to the rest of the United States, Georgia seems to be on a declining path of positive cases. The New York Times confirms this in their coverage of the virus from state to state. Georgia’s weekly average of positive cases is one of the lowest on the list, showing a decline in cases. 

            The decline also effects the unemployment rate of Georgia, which peaked back in April. By the end of April, over 614,000 Georgians filed for unemployment. The months following April tell a story of recovery. Each month, the unemployment rate would fall at least one percent lower than the month before.

            But just because Georgia seems to be on a decline with covid cases and successfully bringing unemployment down, doesn’t mean that Georgians feel safer. Students, parents and teachers are left to deal with the stresses of an ever-changing covid world.

Schools in Georgia

Georgia Insights partnered with The Georgia Department of Education to create a track record of the covid cases effecting schools. When covid cases peaked in April, over 1 million kids were affected by school closings due to covid. The page has yet to be updated for the fall semester. 

            Fulton County on the other hand has a weekly tracker of cases brought to school, as well as a potential list of infected people through contact tracing. While the case numbers are small, the number of those potentially exposed are exponentially bigger. 

            The schools are required to have substitute teachers on reserve for certain cases, but the Fulton County schools did not have enough. There are teachers that are staying home to either quarantine or they never came back to school in the first place. The teachers are still required to teach from home through Microsoft Teams, which many had to learn for the first time. 

            While the teachers are facing one aspect of changes and challenges, the students and parents are stuck with tough decisions they must make. 

How do the Students Feel?

Students in high school were told in March that they would be receiving their lessons online and they were not required to go back to school physically. This lasted until October, when schools began opening for half-class sizes. The parents were faced with the decision of sending their children to a potential hotspot or let them continue their education online. 

            Melissa Tilly, who is a parent of a senior in high school in Fulton County, made that decision based on her conscious. 

            “If I let her go to school and she got sick,” Melissa said. “It’s just a risk I didn’t want to take so i didn’t.” 

            Melissa’s decision was challenged by her daughter wanting to go back to school. As any 18-year-old would, she misses interacting with her friends. The Tilly’s do believe in the virus, but Allison, Melissa’s daughter, feels as if she is missing out on her final year of high school.

            “The chance to walk across a stage for diploma is already cancelled,” Allison said. “If anything, I just want to see my friends again. It felt good to see them every day at school.”

            Although the Tilly’s made the decision, hundreds of other parents chose to send their kids back to school for many reasons. The students at home are responsible for learning at the same pace as the students who attend school. This has led to some students trailing behind others, teachers assigning “busy work” just to give the students at home extra practice and students reliance to internet access determining their school success. 

“I don’t see change coming anytime soon”

“There was hope at the beginning of October that we could transition smoothly back to in-person classes,” Mr. Hennessey said. “But I don’t see change coming anytime soon. 2021 might be more of the same.” 

While statistics show a decrease in positive covid cases, parents, students and teachers have feelings of hopelessness of different degrees. Parents don’t know whether it is safer to keep their children at home or send them to school. Students want to experience their time in school despite the threat of becoming sick. Teachers have to accommodate for every students unique situation. 

Covid-19 has left its stamp on 2020, from everyone wearing masks in public, to creating new issues for school districts across Georgia. At the rate the state is currently going, 2021 might just be more of the same. 

Centennial High School, one of the many schools in Georgia with active covid cases. (Cameron Loi / JEM Capstone)

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#Georgia #Schools #Covid #Remote Learning #Graduation #Teachers #2020