By Staff Writer
After keeping campuses closed since mid-March due to COVID-19, Broward schools reopened on Friday, October 9th for grades Pre-K to 2nd and some special needs students. Students in grades 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 9th returned Tuesday while those in grades 7th, 8th, 10th, 11th and 12th can return this Thursday.
Although we are hoping for the best for our youth, school staff and the teachers, at least one Broward student and two employees have tested positive for COVID-19 since schools reopened Friday, while four students have been sent home due to coronavirus symptoms, and one other person has been identified at Somerset Chapel Trail charter school in Pembroke Pines, but officials will not say if it’s an employee or student. These cases have been sited and the schools remain open. The schools district administrators filed incident reports for each and have moved on with the reopening plans.
Many charter schools opened before district-run schools, but the City of Pembroke Pines followed the district’s schedule, welcoming its first elementary students back Friday. One confirmed case was a first grader on the West Campus of the Pembroke Pines Charter Elementary School, run by the City of Pembroke Pines, spokeswoman Marianne Wohlert. “The parent called and let us know on Saturday,” Wohlert said. “The parents of every student at the school were notified.” She would not say whether any students have been quarantined other than the affected student. She said the school is following the Broward school district’s procedures for handling COVID-19 cases.
As with all other COVID-19 related matters, the Broward County School Board is working trial and error style to get the district up and running at full potential again. We can only review the information that is made available to us and speculate. A mere 20% of the children returned to campus making this initial trial so much easier to work through. It is the Districts hope to be up and ready for the new year to begin with full capacity.
When Broward County School Board member Dr. Rosalind Osgood of District 5 was asked to comment on the back to school progress, she declined stating that she didn’t have enough time to consider her answer.
To date we have students and teachers showing symptoms at Central Park Elementary in Plantation, three Pembroke Pines elementary schools: Palm Cove, Chapel Trail and Pembroke Pines Elementary.
We have Miramar High, where the principal reported Monday that an employee tested positive for COVID-19. Central Park Elementary reported that a male student was sent home Friday by the isolation nurse with flu like symptoms. “The father took student to doctor to be tested and will notify school immediately of results.” It’s unclear if those results have come back.
At Palm Cove Elementary, the principal reported a student has presented suspected COVID-19 symptoms. “The school is following district guidelines as well as guidelines from the Florida Department of Health,” the report said. “A deep cleaning with disinfectant will be conducted using the district’s cleaning protocol.”
At Chapel Trail Elementary, the principal reported a student presented symptoms of COVID-19. The school has been in contact with Risk Management and Coordinated Student Health Services and is following the directive of communication and staff quarantine/testing recommendations.
*At Pembroke Pines Elementary, the principal reported a student has presented suspected COVID-19 symptoms and is following guidelines by the district and Department of Health, a report says. “A deep cleaning with disinfectant will be conducted using the District’s cleaning protocol,” the report says.
*the employee at Park Trails Elementary is a teacher, said Anna Fusco, president of the Broward Teachers Union, She said she thinks the teacher’s students are being quarantined.
Parents at the charter school Somerset Chapel Trail were alerted of “an individual” who has tested positive on Saturday, but the school gave no specific details, citing patient confidentiality.
“These are challenging times, but our family is strong, and we will get through this together,” a letter to Somerset parents states.
Miami-Dade schools, which opened last week, closed its MAST Academy, a marine science magnet school, on Monday and switched to virtual instruction after two confirmed cases late last week. The school is slated to reopen Tuesday.
Although Miami-Dade has had at least six other cases, no other schools were closed.
“High schools are larger and there is more movement of students (between classes, to/from cafeteria etc.) which means more individuals to notify in our contact tracing/school investigation process,” spokeswoman Natlia Zea said in an email. “Additionally, due to the timing of this self-reported case, on Sunday, it was decided that the best course of action in this particular situation was to temporarily pivot” to online learning.
Palm Beach County schools have reported 33 employee and 31 student cases since school opened in mid-September. No schools have been temporarily closed yet.
This is a trying time for all involved. COVID-19 is here, it is up to us to learn how to cope with its presence and live.
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