CDC report urges school re-openings, with some caveats

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This story was updated Feb. 3.

New research published by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday urged schools to reopen, saying “the preponderance of available evidence” indicated schools could carry out in-person learning safely as long as mask-wearing and socially distancing are maintained.

That report, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found “little evidence that schools have contributed meaningfully to increased community spread,” but made a noteworthy caveat: local officials must “interrupt transmission” in surrounding communities by imposing limits in other settings, like indoor dining or gyms.

Researchers said other recommended mitigation measures — hybrid attendance models, increased room air ventilation, expanded screen testing and online options — also “must continue.”

CDC’s findings give further legitimacy to many public health experts who’ve presented similar findings, and support both President Joe Biden and N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper’s efforts to push for school re-openings.

“Our priority is to get our children back into schools physically,” Gov. Cooper said at a Wednesday news conference regarding the new CDC guidance. “I’m going to ask local school boards and superintendents to study this data that has just come out. I know that our team is going to study the data and work with the State Board of Education.

“I think you’ll hear more from educators and from our health team in the coming days looking at that study,” he continued, “and just remembering that we do want to get our children back in school as soon as we safely can.”

At a press conference on Tuesday, Cooper “strongly urged” public school districts to offer in-person instruction, but said he would not mandate that. He emphasized that data reflects in-person learning can be done safely if health protocol is followed.

In Chatham, The ABC Science Collaborative, a project that analyzes COVID-19-related data in partnership with Duke, UNC and surrounding school districts, has consistently advised the Chatham County Schools Board of Education that in-person learning is safe — going as far at one meeting to say “schools are the safest place to be.” While the group has expressed confidence in the safety of in-person learning at all schools, presenter Michael Smith said at the board’s Jan. 11 meeting the group did not have data specific to high school at that time.

Call for high school specific data

That lack of specific analysis worries some high school staff in Chatham, 51 of whom signed a letter sent to the board on Jan. 19 calling for CCS to remain in Plan C. In addition to being older, and potentially more susceptible to COVID-19, high school students also typically change classes more throughout the day, staff wrote, perhaps increasing exposure periods.

“Teachers are particularly concerned about big differences between high school students and elementary students,” that letter said, referencing the ABC Collaborative’s data. “The study did not break down infection rates of different age children. We are highly anxious about the movement of high schoolers in the building, their socializing outside of school, and their compliance with safety procedures.”

As of Wednesday evening, the board had not responded to that letter. This week, the Chatham County Association of Educators partnered with several signers of that letter to create an online campaign calling for CCS to “reopen safely.” Northwood High School teacher Eliza Brinkley told the News + Record the campaign was meant to “delay the transition of high schools to Plan B and bring elementary and middle school students back to Plan C until all educators can get both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.” So far, 344 people had signed that campaign by late Wednesday.

Data from the ABC Science Collaborative currently tracks cases in 11 districts following Plan B from August to October, and six districts following Plan A from early October to winter break. Under Plan B, there were 773 community cases documented (from more than 90,000 staff and students in those districts) and 32 cases of secondary transmission — and no instances of child-to-adult spread. Under Plan A, there were 14 additional cases of secondary spread, out of more than 40,000 staff and students. The presented Plan A data did not indicate how many total cases there were.

The research from the CDC similarly found little evidence of secondary spread in schools, examining 17 K-12 schools in rural Wisconsin — where mask-wearing was standard and the rate of infection was lower in schools than the larger community.

On some Chatham-focused pages on Facebook, many people pointed out that the ABC data was collected before the surge in COVID-19 cases that occurred during the holidays. Teachers — particularly those at high schools — questioned why high schools would transition to Plan B before teachers are vaccinated. County and state health officials have previously said school employees should get vaccinated in the next weeks to months.

Other community members pushed for reopening, referencing declining mental health among students and increased failure rates. Last week, the New York Times reported that rising mental health emergencies and suicide rates “point to the roll the pandemic lockdown is taking.” In Chatham County Schools last semester, failure/at-risk rates — students who received a D or F in a class — went up nearly 74% from last year, from 12.56% to nearly 22%. That’s the difference of about 800 students, according to the district’s enrollment data.

Still, as the debate on school reopening continues, experts are warning that staying open safely requires adherence to strict protocol — an expensive task.

Ron Klain, the White House chief of staff in the new Biden administration, told CNN on Tuesday a lack of funding explains why so many public schools are closed, particularly in places where private schools are open. When asked about teaching unions that have opposed reopening plans, Klain cited the necessity of financial resources.

“I don’t think the unions are overruling the studies,” Klain said. “I think what you’re seeing is schools that haven’t made the investments to keep the students safe.”

In Chatham, COVID-19 safety protocol includes rigorous cleaning before, during and after classes, universal masking, symptom-screening checks, socially distanced spaces and a hybrid learning schedule to de-densify school spaces and allow for a cleaning day halfway through the week. The district also invested in electrostatic sprayers, which generate charged droplets that repel one another and coat all sides of an environmental surface to clean it.

The majority of CCS high school teachers who’ve expressed concerns about Plan B to the News + Record have not cast doubt on the district’s protocol efforts, but instead with the lack of data, potential personal health risk and challenges of effectively teaching students remotely and in person.

“If we were at a corporate company or another profession,” Northwood’s Brinkley previously told the News + Record, “I don’t know that we necessarily would be asked to risk our health, possibly.”

Reporter Hannah McClellan can be reached at hannah@chathamnr.com.