Governor Cuomo spoke on Monday morning about New York State and the coronavirus, COVID-19, after declaring a state of emergency over the weekend. Several schools in New York City have closed, including places where someone who tested positive for COVID-19 either attended, or worked at, or is a spouse of someone who was regularly in the building.
Scarsdale, in Westchester County, announced Sunday evening that it would close the district until March 18 (just under a two-week period), and that they would explore e-learning options for students. A teacher at Scarsdale’s middle school tested positive for the virus and was experiencing “mild illness” according to Scarsdale’s message to parents.
This gets parents worried, of course for the safety of all persons, but also for the disruption to normal life. Work culture doesn’t usually allow for such duration of sick days. Plus, Beacon schools’ spring break is right around the corner (April 6-13), and there would be big disruption to the curriculum and activities that teachers have planned for children, which sometimes include grant-funded field trips and opportunities.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio agrees, and said in a news conference on Monday: “We would only consider closing any particular school for very specific reasons, and for as brief a period of time as possible,” as reported in The New York Times. “I think parents want to see the schools keep going so long as it’s safe, want to see their kids getting educated.” Mayor de Blasio also said that evidence indicated that coronavirus presented “minimal risk” to healthy children, and said “the schools are not the place we’d be looking first” to mitigate the virus. Read why Mayor de Blasio says that closing schools is a last resort.
Governor Cuomo issued guidance on school closures, stating that “if a student in New York tested positive for the virus, their school would be closed for an initial 24 hours while health officials assessed the situation,” according to the New York Times article.
Beacon Superintendent Matthew Landahl issued a letter to parents, which is posted to the district’s website here in English and here in Spanish. In it, Landahl stated: “If we have a positive test for COVID-19 with one of our students or employees, I will notify the school community after getting the information from the health department. Per Governor Cuomo today, schools will be closed for a 24-hour period if a student or employee tests positive, to clean and make further decisions. I will determine next actions in consultation with health and government officials.”
He also let the community know that day and evening custodians are working extra time during the week to make sure all high-touch surfaces get wiped down and disinfected. “They will be working Saturdays for the foreseeable future to help keep school buildings clean. The transportation department is disinfecting buses on a regular basis as well,” he stated.
Elementary schools have had small adjustments made by principals to the kids’ schedule “to allow students more time to wash their hands properly before lunch and at other times of the day.” At the secondary level, students are being educated and encouraged to wash their hands as often as possible.
What To Do With This Information
If you are a parent of young children, the Scarsdale closure might have had you panicking. This direction from Beacon Superintendent Matthew Landahl, Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio might have you reassured. But you’ll still want to prepare mentally and physically:
Mental Prep
We’re going to lighten this mood by taking you back to 1978 in Columbus, Ohio. This blogger’s hubby was just a young lad then, in 7th grade. He experienced a two-week school closure after a blizzard dumped a lot of snow on already existing mounds of snow. Learn more details and see pictures in this article. His teachers taught their students by broadcasting on the TV. Days of broadcast! He remembers thinking his teachers were celebrities.
Blizzards make your physical life out of control. But they also can make acceptance of being snowed in a little easier. Translate this into voluntary closures and self-quarantining.
Headlines: Read the full article. Don’t just read a headline and keep going. The media (and yes, ALBB is part of the media and we try to headline responsibly) is using grabby headlines in some cases, which create anxiety. So read the full article before forming your opinion.
Lists: Make lists of things you need to do, and stick very closely to them. Working with small kids around you is distracting, but if you have your list, it’s easier to hunker down lightning-fast when you have moments when your kids are safely engaged in something. In those short bursts, you may actually have a more productive work day/week then you’ve ever had.
What To Do With Young Kids
Start making a list of what you would do with your young children while at home (if it were for two weeks… but so far we might be looking at 24 hours). Ideas include taking a walk. Learning to roller-skate. Enjoying the sunshine. You may not need to resort to this daily schedule, but having ideas helps.
Benefits Of This Possible Snow Day Series
Remember… We are thinking of it like snow days - which are out of our control. If home-schooling starts for the Beacon School District, this means:
Recess could increase from 20 minutes in your backyard or nearby park to 40 minutes (or more!)
You don’t have to shovel snow.
You could relax on your front porch or stoop and work or read.
Most important, is to take breaks from pressing the Refresh button on your coronavirus Google search. Step away from the computer. Step outside. Enjoy life. People are working on tests and vaccinations and best practices. You do you. Do your clean things. Don’t expect stores to give you wipes (supplies are out for everyone, so just wash up when you get home!). Stay informed but continue on.
