Just three days after announcing a new policy in which high school and junior high students would rotate from one area of the class to another every 14 minutes to avoid having to be placed under quarantine, College Heights Christian School officials have scrapped the idea.
The plan would have enabled College Heights to do an end-around on public health requirements that people have to be placed under quarantine if they are in close contact with a person infected with COVID-19 for 15 minutes or more by rotating their seats every 14 minutes.
In the quarterly update sent to parents Friday, Superintendent Dan Decker said Joplin Health Department officials had approved the plan and said it would not be dishonest to go forward with it.
I asked if by doing so would they consider us attempting to do something dishonest or trying to skirt around the regulations and their response was no. They also thought it was a good idea to try this method to see if we could cut down on the number of students we are having to quarantine for close contact in our Middle and High School, and asked that I share our results with them.
In an e-mail message to College Heights families this morning, Superintendent Dan Decker provided an update of his quarterly update and said he had "misinterpreted" the response he received from the Health Department and changed the policy after consulting "medical professionals."
The text of the message is printed below:
Good morning College Heights Christian School Families!I hope each of you were able to have a great weekend and that you are looking forward to a great week ahead.
Following the correspondence on Friday concerning the implementation of an in-class rotation schedule in our secondary classroom, more information was obtained.
Some of the information we collected from the health department was misinterpreted, so we decided to reach out to medical professionals for clarification.
After much discussion and consideration, the administrative team feels it will be safer for our students if we discontinue in-class rotation and return to the current procedures we have in place.
While the rotation of students is practical and would potentially help with the number of students required to quarantine, it is our understanding that it may not be best for our students in the long run.
Thank you for your understanding and grace as we continue to do the best we can to navigate this season we are in.
Please know that we are committed to doing what is best for all of our students through decisions we make. And if those decisions prove to not be best for our students, we will correct them as soon as possible.
Thank you for choosing College Heights Christian School. We consider it an honor to serve and educate your student.
In His Service,
Dan Decker
Superintendent
College Heights Christian School
8 comments:
"Some of the information we collected from the health department was misinterpreted, so we decided to reach out to medical professionals for clarification."
You know, to help them understand some words and how the words fit in with what they are trying to do...and whether they had issued their covid musical chairs biblical fatwa in such a way that made it appear that the Joplin Health Department had approved their plan to defeat the intent of the CDC...
While the rotation of students is practical and would potentially help with the number of students required to quarantine, it is our understanding that it may not be best for our students in the long run.
You know...because it's hard to figure out what the goal of quarantining people to prevent the spread of a communicable disease really is...heaven forfend that following scientific and medical guidance in the midst of a pandemic would impede the operation of their biblical madrassa...
“Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.” George Carlin
What would Jesus do?
Ooops!
Anyone who thinks having students change seats every 14 minutes is practical ...
a. has never taught kids in a classroom.
b. has never been with a group of kids longer than 5 minutes.
c. is delusional.
Also, how "practical" would it be in this age of Covid to have students moving into and out of one another's space every 14 minutes? Most ridiculous idea I've heard lately, and there are a lot of them out there.
As a parent of a student at College Heights, I appreciate everything Mr. Decker and our administrators do to keep our kids in a safe learning environment. We are appreciative of the extra work our teachers are doing to accommodate students in the classroom and those participating from home due to quarantine. Unlike other area schools, our students are in class everyday, 5 days a week and the reason we are able to do that is due in large part to Mr. Decker's leadership and the parent's desire for their students to have face to face learning.
The landscape around COVID-19 changes daily, we appreciate a leader that is willing to work towards solutions and try to create the best learning environment possible during this pandemic.
This 14 minute rotation is exactly the type of a scheme some crackpot herd mentality proponent would think of.
P.S. As a parent of a student at College Heights I suppose you know whether or not the students are required to wear masks at all times while indoors and in close proximity (indoors, at school = all the time?) to other students and staff per the most recent guidance from competent scientific and medical authorities. Care to share anything about that mask policy?
Someone claims: "The landscape around COVID-19 changes daily", which begs the question: In what way?
Are there good days and bad days and good days? Or is there some other aspect of "the landscape around the COVID-19" that changes daily, thus requiring the leadership of Mr Dan "$8.1 million instead of $10.7 million" Decker?
Please do share.
Masks have been a good idea from the beginning. The main reason most people who don't wear masks don't wear masks is that the republican party from Trump on down don't believe in following competent science based medical advice on how to limit the death and destruction.
So do the students and staff at College Heights follow the advice of competent people such as Dr Fauchi and Dr Birx and the CDC and both wear masks and socially distance when indoors?
So much for the 14 minute rotation:
(CNN)The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its definition of a close contact with a Covid-19 patient to include multiple, brief exposures, after a Vermont prison worker appears to have been infected that way, CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said Wednesday.
The new definition includes exposures adding up to a total of 15 minutes spent six feet or closer to an infected person. Previously, the CDC defined a close contact as 15 minutes of continuous exposure to an infected individual. https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/21/health/cdc-covid-close-contact-guidelines-cumulative/index.html
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