Few US Schools Take Further COVID Measures
2022-08-03
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1As the start of the new school year gets closer, COVID-19 infections in some areas are again on the rise.
2Some school systems around the country have moved to hire more workers to limit disruptions.
3But many are hoping for the best without doing things differently compared with last year.
4Even some school systems that had severe outbreaks are making few changes.
5Among those is Baltimore County schools in the eastern state of Maryland.
6The number of days that Baltimore public schools could not offer in-person learning totaled 116 from January to June of this year.
7That number comes from the private research firm Burbio.
8It tracks over 5,000 school districts nationwide.
9School officials said they did not see a need to take more measures.
10Charles Herndon is a Baltimore County Public Schools spokesperson.
11He said he does not think there will be "significant" disruptions this coming school year.
12"What we're expecting to see is waves of COVID in 2022 and 2023, and I'm sure there are going to be times when more folks are going to be absent and there will be times when everything is OK."
13But the school district is prepared to move classes online if necessary.
14Teacher shortages remain a major concern, even bigger than COVID-19 itself, said Dan Domenech.
15He is the director of AASA, The School Superintendents Association.
16Superintendents are the leaders of school systems.
17"That is the greater concern - that they will have the necessary staff to man all the classrooms, to man all the programs," he said.
18Philadelphia's schools show how disruptive the virus can be.
19Beginning in January the virus caused 114 city schools to go online.
20That resulted in a total of 920 days of online learning, more than any other school system in Burbio's data for January through June.
21With shortages of substitute teachers, schools were forced to use central office workers, combine classrooms, or temporarily go online, system spokesperson Marissa Orbanek said.
22The district has changed hiring agencies and aims to fill 90 percent of substitute requests this year, said Orbanek.
23They also now have over 100 extra teachers.
24They are substitutes who show up at the same school every day in case teachers go absent at the last minute.
25Schools cannot afford more disruptions when many kids have fallen behind from the pandemic, said Thomas Kane.
26 He is an education researcher at Harvard University.
27Students at schools in poor areas that were doing online learning for more than half a year lost equal to 22 weeks of learning, he said.
28Schools in wealthy neighborhoods lost only 13 weeks.
29"We've experienced a historic widening in achievement gaps between Blacks and whites, between Latinx students and whites, between high- and low-poverty schools," he said.
30Schools are hopeful disruptions will be less likely.
31Many districts have invested in air flow systems.
32Vaccines are available to children as young as six months old.
33Some of the districts that were hit hardest last year have been employing more people and making small changes to their rules.
34At Baltimore City schools, which is separate from the county school system, officials say there will be more access to rapid COVID tests.
35In Columbus, Ohio, the school system saw 106 disruptions because of staff absences at the start of 2022.
36But the district did not point to any planned changes to its policies to prepare for possible increases in infections during the new year.
37Lolita Augenstein is president of the Council of PTAs, or Parent Teacher Associations, in Columbus.
38She said she is hopeful that this year will be better.
39The district has hired more teachers and substitutes, she said.
40And educators are better trained to teach online if needed.
41Augenstein said: "...kids are resilient. ... The families are trained in going back and forth between remote and the building."
42I'm Dan Novak.
1As the start of the new school year gets closer, COVID-19 infections in some areas are again on the rise. 2Some school systems around the country have moved to hire more workers to limit disruptions. But many are hoping for the best without doing things differently compared with last year. 3Even some school systems that had severe outbreaks are making few changes. Among those is Baltimore County schools in the eastern state of Maryland. 4The number of days that Baltimore public schools could not offer in-person learning totaled 116 from January to June of this year. That number comes from the private research firm Burbio. It tracks over 5,000 school districts nationwide. 5School officials said they did not see a need to take more measures. Charles Herndon is a Baltimore County Public Schools spokesperson. He said he does not think there will be "significant" disruptions this coming school year. 6"What we're expecting to see is waves of COVID in 2022 and 2023, and I'm sure there are going to be times when more folks are going to be absent and there will be times when everything is OK." 7But the school district is prepared to move classes online if necessary. 8Teacher shortages remain a major concern, even bigger than COVID-19 itself, said Dan Domenech. He is the director of AASA, The School Superintendents Association. Superintendents are the leaders of school systems. 9"That is the greater concern - that they will have the necessary staff to man all the classrooms, to man all the programs," he said. 10Philadelphia's schools show how disruptive the virus can be. Beginning in January the virus caused 114 city schools to go online. That resulted in a total of 920 days of online learning, more than any other school system in Burbio's data for January through June. 11With shortages of substitute teachers, schools were forced to use central office workers, combine classrooms, or temporarily go online, system spokesperson Marissa Orbanek said. 12The district has changed hiring agencies and aims to fill 90 percent of substitute requests this year, said Orbanek. They also now have over 100 extra teachers. They are substitutes who show up at the same school every day in case teachers go absent at the last minute. 13Schools cannot afford more disruptions when many kids have fallen behind from the pandemic, said Thomas Kane. He is an education researcher at Harvard University. 14Students at schools in poor areas that were doing online learning for more than half a year lost equal to 22 weeks of learning, he said. Schools in wealthy neighborhoods lost only 13 weeks. 15"We've experienced a historic widening in achievement gaps between Blacks and whites, between Latinx students and whites, between high- and low-poverty schools," he said. 16Schools are hopeful disruptions will be less likely. Many districts have invested in air flow systems. Vaccines are available to children as young as six months old. Some of the districts that were hit hardest last year have been employing more people and making small changes to their rules. 17At Baltimore City schools, which is separate from the county school system, officials say there will be more access to rapid COVID tests. 18In Columbus, Ohio, the school system saw 106 disruptions because of staff absences at the start of 2022. But the district did not point to any planned changes to its policies to prepare for possible increases in infections during the new year. 19Lolita Augenstein is president of the Council of PTAs, or Parent Teacher Associations, in Columbus. She said she is hopeful that this year will be better. The district has hired more teachers and substitutes, she said. And educators are better trained to teach online if needed. 20Augenstein said: "...kids are resilient. ... The families are trained in going back and forth between remote and the building." 21I'm Dan Novak. 22Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press. 23____________________________________________________________________ 24Words in This Story 25disruption - n. to cause (something) to be unable to continue in the normal way 26significant -adj. important enough to be noticed or to have an effect 27absent - adj. to not be at a place 28man -v. to place people at or on a place to do work 29achievement gap - n. a long-term difference in the performance of two or more groups in education or some other field 30access -n. the ability to get something or enter a place or group 31resilient - adj. able to be strong, healthy or successful after something bad happens 32remote -n. distant, taking place far away 33____________________________________________________________________ 34We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 35Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.