Going into the 2020-21 school year, a plethora of questions and concerns were posed to school corporation administrators. COVID-19 had changed the way society looked at public health, prompting schools to make dozens of modifications to daily protocols.
While the state provided some general guidance as to how schools should approach reopening, it largely left the decision-making up to the districts.
Late last week, a majority of Indiana’s grade schools passed the one-month mark since the first day of classes.
While some schools have dealt with outbreaks, and others have moved to online-only formats, Bartholomew County Consolidated and Flat Rock-Hawcreek school corporations have done a remarkable job of keeping the virus at bay through the first 30 days of in-person learning.
This past week, BCSC and Flat Rock each reported two new cases. In the county, all indicators are pointing to decreases in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. BCSC has recorded 22 positive cases, but at least 10 of those individuals never walked on campus while infected. At Flatrock, just three positive cases have been logged total.
The rules in place are working, which is a testament to the planning efforts — and any adjustments made — by school administrators.
One month provides just a snapshot of what will likely prove a year-long effort to keep the virus at bay. With the cold and flu season approaching, school officials will need to take extra caution as to who is, and isn’t, allowed in its facilities.
The Indiana State Department of Health plans to soon launch an online dashboard that will show how many coronavirus cases have been logged at each school. The goal, should all schools comply, is to give the public a better idea of what’s going on in schools at both local and statewide levels.
Bartholomew County has done a solid job thus far, but it will continue to take a community effort to keep schools open. Locals have proven they’re taking this virus seriously, and will need to continue to do so as the fall and winter months approach.
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To see the latest COVID-19 data for Bartholomew County, including the community spread metrics used in determining if schools should stay open, visit covid19communitytaskforce.org
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