UPDATE: Likewise, this BrainPop video is very useful for kids:
While there has not, as yet, been any guidance from DESE on Massachusetts schools, there are a number of updated sources and resources that are helpful. UPDATE: The Mass Department of Health, however, did share this (download) for schools yesterday.
I'd first direct you to yesterday's Mass Department of Public Health update, which is written for the lay reader, and emphasizes this:
This novel coronavirus causes a respiratory (lung) infection. As of February 26, there has been one confirmed case of this novel coronavirus in Massachusetts.and:
The health risk to the general public in Massachusetts remains low. Massachusetts state and local health officials are actively working to help protect the health of our residents and we have no indications that COVID-19 is spreading in our communities at this time.WBUR has coverage of this information, as well.
The Centers for Disease Control has issued employer guidance on this, and the U.S. Department of Education has a one pager for planning for pandemics (which is more for district use than family use, but including it here for those readers).
The Boston Globe has an article on how colleges and schools are handling it, which so far focuses more on colleges.
Today's New York Times has a piece which focuses on K-12 and lead me to send an email this morning:
In warning that the coronavirus will almost certainly spread in the United States, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said she had contacted her own local school superintendent this week and asked if the district was prepared. She advised parents to do the same.The article notes that simply attempting to do schooling via the Internet misses the vast disparities that exists in our national (and local!) system. I found this helpful to know:
On a more positive note, Mr. Kosuth said that evidence from China suggested that children were more resilient to the coronavirus than adults were.These strains on the system, as noted in the article, also point to other inequities: access to nurses, ability to find substitutes, access to health care, even if schools have enough soap and towels. Those are good questions to raise in whatever communication you send, too.
UPDATE: this commentary from the Baltimore Sun notes the role schools play in not only food but in general security, and calls for privileging their needs in any planning.
UPDATE: PBS did an in-depth piece which notes the significant and varied roles played by schools:
If schools are forced to close for long stretches, it could have a heavy impact on students who rely on school meals and for parents who use their schools’ child care programs, said Francisco Negrón, chief legal officer for the National School Boards Association. The group is urging school leaders to discuss those issues with local authorities and develop contingency plans.
The group is also asking districts to reconsider attendance awards that are sometimes given to students who don’t miss a day of class for an entire year or semester. Some schools have previously abandoned the practice amid fears that it encourages students to come to school sick, but some still award gift cards, cash or raffle prizes to students with perfect attendance.
The best advice I have seen thus far for families is from Juliette Kayyem, who worked for Homeland Security under the previous administration, in this thread from earlier this week. She notes that 72 hours of supplies is a good thing to keep on hand. In a New York Magazine interview, she also notes this:
Besides having essential supplies, Kayyem noted that people should make sure they are up-to-date on their vaccines, including flu shots, because a community that is more resilient overall and less likely to get other diseases is going to be better positioned to handle a novel pandemic.UPDATE: This Scientific American article likewise is very good at what--and why!--we should do to prepare:
We should prepare, not because we may feel personally at risk, but so that we can help lessen the risk for everyone. We should prepare not because we are facing a doomsday scenario out of our control, but because we can alter every aspect of this risk we face as a society.And wash your hands! Watch this video to see how badly many of us do at this.
More here as I have it.
