Latest CDC guidance pushes for reopening schools as Lancaster County officials juggle 'two bad choices'

The latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention appears to double down on what many Lancaster County school officials already knew: Students need to be back in school.

But that doesn’t make reopening any easier.

“The importance of in-person instruction has been one of our guiding principles throughout our back to school planning,” School District of Lancaster Superintendent Damaris Rau said in an email. “The CDC statement underscores the essential work our teachers and staff do every day.”

In additional guidance released online Thursday evening, the CDC emphasized the importance of resuming in-person instruction with health measures such as face coverings, social distancing and enhanced cleaning in place.

It updates — and, at times, contradicts — initial guidance published in May and aligns with a push by the Trump administration to reopen schools despite COVID-19 cases surging in many parts of the country.

“Death rates among school-aged children are much lower than among adults,” the guidance states. “At the same time, the harms attributed to closed schools on the social, emotional, and behavioral health, economic well-being, and academic achievement of children … are well-known and significant.”

That’s something Lancaster County school districts have wrestled with for months as they debate the merits of reopening.

A ‘heart-rending’ task

“Balancing health and safety requirements with the harm of possibly not being able to fully open is heart-rending,” Solanco School District Superintendent Brian Bliss said in an email.

Bliss said he acknowledges parents’ frustration and concerns over their children’s safety. Many school districts, in turn, are offering online options. School District of Lancaster has opted for a hybrid model with a blend of in-person and online instruction.

Gov. Tom Wolf in a press conference in Lancaster Friday mentioned that same struggle, saying parents will ultimately dictate how schools reopen.

“We need to make people feel confident in going back to school or they’re not going to go back,” he said.

No one-size-fits-all approach

Wolf said schools must choose between “two bad choices” – putting students at risk or potentially allowing students to fall further behind.

But one thing is for sure: A one-size-fits-all solution won’t work.

“Every school district in the county is working extremely hard to develop a health and safety plan that best meets the needs of its district and community,” Hempfield School District Superintendent Mike Bromirski said in an email. “No two districts are the same and what works for one district may or may not work for another district.”

No screening students

Among the CDC’s updates is the elimination of its in-school health screening recommendation, which was included in earlier guidance. Parents, instead, should check kids’ temperatures before school and keep kids home if they’re sick.

Lancaster County schools already are moving in that direction.

“Screening would have created bottlenecks and stretched out students’ arrival period,” Eastern Lancaster County School District Superintendent Bob Hollister said in an email. “The bottlenecks themselves would have increased risk and reduced our ability to social distance.”

Most of the essential guidance, however – face coverings, social distancing, rigorous cleaning and sanitizing, as well as keeping students in cohorts – remains.

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Crédito: ALEX GELI | Staff Writer