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Archdiocese updating school reopening safety protocols as COVID-19 cases rising in area

In a photo from August 2020, Ann Gillespie, the principal of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Elementary School in Clinton, Maryland, welcomes siblings Farah, Margaux, Jack and Paul Molchan to their first day of school there last year. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

Officials in the Catholic Schools Office of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington are re-evaluating, updating and adapting their school reopening plans in light of the recent spike in new cases of the Delta variant of COVID-19.

 “We really went to work on this (a 2021-2022 school reopening plan) in April and produced the opening plan in early June. Schools presented their plans to our office by the end of June, but now we are looking at some modifications because of the Delta variant,” said Christian Buchleitner, the assistant superintendent of School Operations and Student Services for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.

 He added that “we expect to have a finalized (school reopening) plan by Aug. 20, and we will be sending a letter to parents with our finalized plans.”

 Buchleitner said he and a team that was put together by the Catholic Schools Office and includes a medical consultant are using information and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Academy of Pediatrics, and state and local health departments in developing protocols to ensure the health and safety of students and staff.

 “We were given the difficult challenge of overcoming COVID (effects on school operations) 18 months ago, and we did it very successfully,” Buchleitner said. “But now this virus is changing again, and we need to respond accordingly to ensure the safety of our students and personnel and to put measures in place to allow our students to attend in person five days a week.”

 Last school year, the Catholic Schools Office developed a list of protocols to address the COVID-19 pandemic. With the recent spread of the Delta variant of the virus, Buchleitner said “the top mitigation strategies from last year are currently being considered for the upcoming year.” Those “top mitigation strategies” last year included masking, physical distancing, hand washing and an emphasis on respiratory hygiene.

 “We used those mitigation strategies last year, and we had very limited cases (of COVID infections) in our schools as a result,” he said. “We are evaluating those strategies as they pertain to this upcoming year due to the Delta variant.”

 For the 2021-2022 school year, Catholic school officials said they are looking at “proactive measures to allow schools to continue five days a week.”

 Anne Dillon, director for special education for the Catholic Schools Office and one of the planners for school reopening, said, “Our goal is to establish the safest protocols for our students and staff and keep our schools open for in-person learning.”

“We know the importance of having our children in school and in-person learning because being Catholic means being a community and being one, and we all need to be together,” she said. “Also, being able to attend Mass and participate in daily prayer is a vital part of a Catholic education.”

At the end of July, the CDC recommended that people in areas experiencing a “substantial or high transmission rate” of the COVID-19 Delta variant should, regardless of vaccination status, wear a mask in public indoor settings.

As of Aug. 13, masking mandates have been issued in the District of Columbia, and Montgomery, Prince George’s and Charles counties in Maryland. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington also includes Calvert and St. Mary’s counties in Southern Maryland.

Public schools in Maryland and the District of Columbia have already announced they will be open five days a week for in-person classes next school year. Face masks are required for students, teachers and staff in all District public schools as well as schools in Montgomery, Prince George’s, Charles, Calvert and St. Mary’s counties in Maryland.

The Delta variant of COVID-19 is particularly worrisome because it is about twice as contagious as the original virus. The Delta variant has a shorter incubation time period, thus making it more difficult to conduct contact tracing in order to identify potential carriers before they infect others. In addition, some fully vaccinated persons can contract a “breakthrough” infection of the Delta variant, although the CDC reports vaccinated persons “are far less likely to get severely sick or die than people who are unvaccinated.”

As of Aug. 13, almost 167 million Americans – about 51 percent of the total population – have been fully vaccinated. In the District of Columbia, approximately 57 percent of the total population has been fully vaccinated.  In Maryland, almost 60 percent of the state’s residents have been fully vaccinated.

While both strains of the virus cause fever and cough, the Delta variant differs from the original coronavirus in that it can also induce headaches, sinus congestion, sore throats and runny noses.

“We need to be focusing on keeping everyone safe, especially our students because the majority of our students are not vaccinated,” Dillon said. “Right now, the vaccination is cleared for those 12 years and older.”

About 26,000 students attend classes in 91 archdiocesan and independent Catholic pre-kindergarten through high schools located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.

The school reopening safety protocols being established by the Catholic Schools Office are for the schools sponsored by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.

“We know that not all of our families will be in favor of some of our protocols, but we feel strongly that these protocols will not only keep us safe, but keep us in school five days a week,” Buchleitner said.

 

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