One month into a new school year during the COVID-19 pandemic, campus administration and student leaders at KO continue to work in maintaining safety protocols already in place – such as mask-wearing and social distancing – through disciplinary measures, modifications to protocol, and community initiatives.
On Thursday, Nov. 5, KO received its first two cases: One in the Middle School and one in the Upper School. In response to the Middle School case, KO has conducted contact tracing and is requiring both the positive-testing individual and others who had close, prolonged contact with them to quarantine for a 10-day period. As the individual who tested positive in the Upper School had not been on campus for over a week, no contact tracing or additional testing has occurred in the Upper School.
While these positive tests are worrying, the circumstances surrounding them are indicative of KO’s strong COVID-19 response; more than two months passed before the cases developed, during which time several comparable schools in the surrounding area received cases of their own.
The current protocol on campus largely reflects the original guidance issued by KO over the summer, including mandatory mask-wearing and social distancing at all times, sanitization of desks between classes and other heavy-use surfaces, an opt-in online alternative to in-person classes, and the required daily use of an app called “Ascend” to monitor individuals’ temperatures, locations, and symptoms.
“I don’t for a second think that people are intentionally flouting the rules. For the most part, I think people just forget.”
-Mrs. Dunn
Those initial measures were put into place by the Pandemic Response Team (PRT) – a task force largely composed of teachers, initially tasked by the KO administration to formulate a reopening plan that is now tasked with monitoring and maintaining KO’s response to the pandemic. As the PRT has learned, adjustments have become necessary as the school year unfolds. “We came up with all these protocols in the summer,” Chair of the PRT and Middle School Dean of Students Kathy Dunn said, “and now we’re actually living them.”
As Thanksgiving and the holiday season approach, KO will continue to rely on its PRT and their protocol. As of right now, the PRT is asking all families leaving Connecticut for more than 24 hours to notify the school nurse and for all students to continue completing the Ascend survey daily over the break. Additionally, students are expected to follow current CDC and State of Connecticut guidance, which requires a 14-day quarantine for all individuals who travel to a high-risk area for any period of time.
Chief among the challenges presented throughout the first month of in-person schooling was a lack of constant adherence to guidelines from individuals on campus. “I don’t for a second think that people are intentionally flouting the rules,” Mrs. Dunn said. “For the most part, I think people just forget.”
To address those problems, members of the Student Government, the PRT, and the administration came together during the first few days of October to clarify the safety rules and ensure further cooperation from the student body. In that process, the PRT and the administration made clear that future violations by students would no longer result in warnings but in calls home to parents, and future disciplinary action if the behavior in question persists.
Another unforeseen problem came as an indirect result of strongly encouraging the student body to eat outside to reduce the likelihood of COVID-19 transmission. During the first few weeks of school, a significant amount of litter, including trays and cups, began to accumulate on the turf following lunch periods, creating both an environmental and beautification problem and a potential safety issue during after-school sports. Eating on the turf is now prohibited, although students are still strongly encouraged to eat outside at the provided tables near the senior green where trash cans are now conveniently located.
Other recent modifications to the protocol are as follows: Students no longer have to physically show a phone screen to a teacher each morning to prove they passed the Ascend survey for the day as of Tuesday, Oct. 13, although they must still complete the survey before arriving on campus each morning. Also, marking the end of a unique approach to COVID-19 prevention, classes are no longer taught outside, largely brought on by the arrival of cold weather as well as the technological challenges posed by the format.
As cases begin to develop and more uncertainty about the coming weeks arises, Mrs. Dunn strongly encourages students to get involved in KO’s strategy to combat COVID-19 by discussing it, raising concerns as needed, and staying informed.“There’s reasons behind all the protocols and the way that they are, and asking those questions is really important,” Mrs. Dunn said. “And so it’s about considering a wider perspective. It’s a big ask, from a psychological perspective – it’s not something that we typically ask of you when you’re in high school.”
