Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1419056
and exposures in San Lorenzo. She thinks it's due to community spread and demographics. "I get daily email about sites that have positive COVID cases. At first it was one or two schools per day, but now it is five or six schools daily. I think the numbers are high because the com- munity is low-income and students have parents who work in essential jobs." O t h e r m e m b e r s m e n t i o n h o w a n t i - m a s k an d anti-va c cin e g roups m ay c ontri but e to COVID cases. "It seems as though most exposure starts in the community and then spreads through cl a ssro om s ," s ay s Joy S chn app er, pre si d ent of Capistrano Unified Education Association (CUEA). "I believe we have higher numbers due to the socioeconomics in some of our communi- ties, but also due to the conservative nature of Southern Orange County, which has anti-mask and anti-vaccine groups." Students who have been exposed to the virus either are sent home to quarantine or undergo a "modified quarantine," approved by the California Department of Public Health, which allows students exposed in school to remain in school if asymptomatic. "However, students are usually at school during their infec- tious period, according to contact tracing," observes Maripaz Berlin, president of Oak Grove Educators Association in San Jose, which has modified quarantine. "ey test immediately and again around the fifth day. When a student is COVID- positive, it impacts th e w hole class, because th e di strict considers everyone in the classroom 'close contacts.' " In San Lorenzo, the district has students quarantine only if they sit within 6 feet of a student who tested positive. "is is causing an uproar among the primary grade teachers, who say their students are impossible to keep apart during lunch, recess and class time," says Rosa. In West Contra Costa Unified School District, teachers filed a complaint with Cal/OSHA when principals at two schools sent students "exhib- iting symptoms" back to class after teachers dismissed them, rather than sending them home. e principals blamed the symptoms on allergies. " S i n c e s c h o o l st a r t e d , w e'v e h e a rd f r o m teachers, parents and students about COVID i s s u e s ( i n c l u d i n g s i x s t u d e n t s s t a y i n g i n school s w h en th ey have C OVID symptoms), lack of contact tracing, testing not happening at sites, and classrooms not being cleaned," United Teachers of Richmond President Marissa Glidden said to KRON News about the complaint. In wealthier communities w here masking an d va c cin ation rat e s are hi g h , C OVID h a s had less of an impact. For example, in the mid- dle-class community of Brisbane in San Mateo County, only a handful of students have been impact ed , say s Monica Ki bbl e, presi d ent of Brisbane Teachers Association. David Camp- b el l , pre si d ent of Mount ain Vi e w-L o s Alto s D i s t r i c t Te a c h e r s A s s o c i a t i o n i n a n a f f l u - ent area of S anta Cl ara County, descri b es a "minimal" COVID impact. Nonetheless, admin- istrators continually push for in-person rallies and assemblies — and educators push back to keep infection rates low, says Campbell. Keeping quarantined students on track Temisha Brame Carter, president of Centinela Valley Secondary Teachers Association in Los Angeles County, says teachers are scrambling to help quarantining students keep up academically. "It's been significant enough for educators to ask for sugges- tions to remedy how they might reteach content for students. Educators are working after school to offer support and/or reteach content. We are also attempting to have the normalcy of in-person instruction. Educators have found it challenging to support the volume of students quarantined." In Murrieta , teachers are providing independent study for quarantining students using the Canvas platform, says Kimberly Binning Chevlin, president of Murrieta Educators Association in Riverside County. "At th e elem entar y le vel , th e di strict provi ded Canvas course titles for 10 days of schoolwork by grade level for teach- ers to assign when a student needs to be out due to quarantine or illness. At the secondary level, teachers are expected to place their lessons into Canvas and have some sort of work for the stu- dent to do during quarantine/illness." Capistrano is also among the districts using Canvas for absent students, says Schnapper, add- ing that teachers have said no to livestreaming their classrooms to students at home. "CUEA will do whatever is in our power to pre- vent this from happening again. Our answer is to push these students to online instruction." Testing, notification confusion All students and employees of Los Angeles Unified School District have been required to take weekly coronavirus 29 O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 21 Karen Rosa "We are constantly revising how the ship we're sailing on is built, because of how COVID has spread." —Lisa Bustillos, president of Brentwood Teachers Association