As schools anticipate a Covid-19 pandemic transition, Bedford Superintendent of Schools Philip Conrad hopes state officials provide timely guidance.
“I really hope that the commissioner will get us the information prior to the February break, since the mask mandate expires the Monday we return,” Conrad told the School Committee at Tuesday’s virtual meeting.
“I don’t have that sense now. I just hope he doesn’t do it on Wednesday afternoon of vacation.”
(The day after the meeting, Gov. Charlie Baker, alongside Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley, announced that the indoor mask mandate for schools will not be renewed after Feb. 28.)
Conrad said the DESE is working on “endemic planning, but not anywhere near announcing endemic resources.”
Asked by committee member Dan Brosgol if that means planning to transition back to conditions in February 2020, Conrad replied, “We’re not going to go back to February 2020. We’ve learned a lot has changed since then.” The uncertainties are in areas like continued disinfecting, high-quality ventilation, and other health-related measures, he said.
Committee Chair Sarah Scoville and member JoAnn Santiago both said they would be “more comfortable” about relaxing the mask mandate if more people were testing.
Conrad said Tuesday that so far, around 1,100 students and staff members have registered to take part in the home Covid-testing program, launched by DESE and the state Department of Public Health. He explained that the system is meant to complement the pool-testing regimen. About 31 percent of the total comprises staff. The total eligible is about 3,300, Conrad noted.
Santiago expressed concern about the continuing low participation in the pool-testing. “I would love to get more people involved in the testing program,” Conrad replied. “The testing really helps everybody stay safe. I would love to have seen 2,000 but was thrilled when it hit 1,000 yesterday.”
Prakhar Gupta, the Bedford High School senior who serves as the student representative on the School Committee, inquired about the distribution of student testing participation among the schools. Conrad didn’t provide numbers of percentages, but he said the most are at Davis School, and as students get older the participation drops.
The student representative asked about outreach efforts to increase interest in middle and high schools. “I know that in school I’ve heard passing remarks about the program but the bulk of messaging has gone to parents,” he observed. Conrad pointed out that parental consent is required for students under age 18, but “I’m happy to work with you to get information out to students.”
Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
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