Despite the sense of urgency to return students to classrooms, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have set a high standard on how to do it safely in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new CDC guidelines emerge when parents and educators in many communities in Michigan are involved in an intense debate over the reopening of schools. The federal agency says schools can safely open if they implement layered mitigation measures and offers a roadmap based on the COVID-19 transmission rate from the surrounding community.
CDC guidance – which is not a mandate – calls for hybrid learning models in most Michigan counties and the closing of high schools in the counties with the most community transmission.
Even though COVID-19 rates are high in a county, as in some parts of Michigan, elementary schools can partially open for face-to-face instruction in a safely hybrid model, the public health agency said.
Officials say elementary and high school students can attend face-to-face safety classes in areas with low transmission rates or even at the highest levels, if schools implement weekly tests of students and staff to detect asymptomatic infections. Without that commitment, schools are advised to close and switch to virtual learning when transmission levels are highest.
The CDC recommends using two metrics to determine the risk of transmission to face-to-face learning: the seven-day positivity rate and the number of new cases per 100,000 people. In Michigan, despite low positivity rates, most counties still fall short of the number of cases.
Across the state, the average rate of positivity over seven days from 6 to 12 February was 3.7%, and the number of cases per 100,000 people was 66.
The February 12 guidance includes four color-coded zones that reflect the risk of infection with recommendations on how schools should reopen – in person, virtual, hybrid or with reduced frequency – and mitigation steps.
Most Michigan school districts have returned to some form of personal learning. Governor Gretchen Whitmer “strongly encouraged” schools in January to offer a face-to-face education option by March 1.
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In Grand Rapids, students returned to the classroom in a hybrid mode in January, after months only online.
Spokesman John Helmholdt said the transition to hybrid learning in Grand Rapids public schools was “smooth, successful and safe”. He said the decision to become a hybrid was made using the guidance of state and local health officials, but now the district must reevaluate its back to school plan in accordance with CDC guidelines.
“Now that we have a national standard for K-12 education, how are state and local health officials interpreting this? What will be their orientation? Helmholdt asked.
Advice on how to return to school safely changed during the course of the pandemic, as health officials learned more about the transmission of COVID-19.
“It’s been changing since day one, and as a school district, we’ve done our best to continue to see that direction in the county and the state,” said Helmholdt. “We count on our health workers to guide us on how we should function in the midst of the pandemic.”
Elementary and secondary schools should be the last to close when restrictions are imposed by governments and must be reopened before non-essential activities and businesses, said the CDC.
According to the guidelines, here are the limits for the community transition and the associated color zone, based on the total new cases per 100,000 in the last seven days:
- Red – More than 100 boxes
- Orange – 50 to 99 boxes
- Yellow – 10 to 49 cases
- Blue – 0 to 9 boxes
Can’t see the map? Click here
For municipal schools in the red zone, or higher level of transmission, the virtual school is recommended for high school students, unless mitigation strategies exist. Elementary school students can continue on a hybrid model.
The orange zone, or substantial transmission, means that elementary and high school students must learn in a hybrid system.
The blue and yellow zones, those with the lowest levels of infection, can operate with fully face-to-face learning.
For all levels of transmission, safety precautions are recommended, including masking, social detachment, hand washing, ventilation and cleaning of buildings, contact tracking and other mitigation strategies.
In Kent County, the average seven-day positivity rate for the second week of February was 4.3%, which is in the blue zone. The municipality reported 89 positive cases per 100,000 people, which is considered an orange zone. Using both metrics, it is recommended that students of all ages have face-to-face lessons in hybrid mode.
The Grand Rapids School District is researching parents about their learning preferences for the next school year and working on plans for face-to-face and virtual options, said Helmholdt.
“We recognize that we will not be out of danger here, at the start of classes this fall,” he said.
Only four counties were in the lowest zone for both case counts and positivity rates during the second week of February: Schoolcraft, Chippewa, Leelanau and Mackinac counties.
Among all counties, 44 are in the orange zone for counting cases, according to CDC guidelines. There are 11 counties in the red zone for case counts and three counties in the red zone for positivity rates.
Can’t see the map? Click here
The school districts of Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo are among the districts that remain completely virtual. Both districts can offer some form of face-to-face learning based on the new guidelines.
Kalamazoo currently plans to keep all students learning in virtual mode until the end of the semester.
In Kalamazoo County, the seven-day average positivity rate for the second week of February was 3.6%, which is in the blue zone. The county reported 51 positive cases per 100,000 people, which falls in the orange zone. Using both metrics, it is recommended that students of all ages have face-to-face lessons in hybrid mode.
KPS declined an interview to discuss CDC guidelines and did not provide a reason. However, district spokeswoman Susan Coney said that Superintendent Rita Raichoudhuri will provide more information to the community at the next school board meeting on February 25.
Raichoudhuri said during his February 11 announcement about plans for the third quarter that experts said schools are not “super spreaders” of the vaccine and that being away from school has a negative impact on students’ mental health.
The decline in COVID-19 cases in Kalamazoo also pointed to a return to personal learning, she said. But the presence of variants of the virus and the lack of vaccination offers for teachers led the needle to remain virtual.
The new CDC guidelines say that vaccinating all teachers is not necessary for a safe return to school.
The Ann Arbor Board of Education can vote on modifying the district’s school return plan at its February 24 meeting. Superintendent Jeanice Swift will present a plan to allow instruction to remain virtual for the rest of the academic year, with the exception of serving those in greatest need who would return to school on March 22.
The Washtenaw Association of Superintendents recently issued a statement urging local, state and federal authorities to increase the supply of vaccinations to educators in the county.
“If getting more students back to school is a priority, vaccinating teachers should also be a priority, ” according to the statement.
In Washtenaw County, in the second week of February, there were 139 cases per 100,000 people, which is considered to be in the red zone.
Unless the number of cases drops more significantly in Michigan, most schools cannot open five days a week and still be in line with CDC guidelines.
Also on MLive:
Mental health struggles are on the rise in Michigan families during the pandemic. Here are their stories.
The psychological impact of the pandemic on our children
Vaccination frustration: Washtenaw County has the lowest percentage of vaccinated teachers in the state