Concord’s Carondelet High School has their campus reconfigured to make it COVID-19 safe.
They’ve spaced out desks, put in plastic protective shields and have plenty of outdoor ventilation in hopes of starting the fall using a hybrid model.
“I think this can work and I’m hopeful we can make it work. I’m sure we can make it work,” said Kevin Cushing, Carondelet High Principal.
Then came word from the state. Schools in counties on the watch list can’t bring kids back to class until cases drop and stabilize.
“We want to open schools only when it’s safe to do so,” said California Superintendent Tony Thurmond.
But in the state of New York, once the country’s COVID-19 hotspot, the infection rate has completely turned around.
On Friday morning, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced schools can reopen.
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“We are probably in the best situation right in the country right now,” he said. “So if anybody can open schools we can open schools.”
While some California parents are clamoring to get their kids back to class, most schools must wait.
“We have many parents that really want us to get back,” said Cushing. “They thought as a catholic school we didn’t have to follow county health guidelines but we do.”
Carondelet will continue to work on safety measures, learning from the missteps of schools like this one in Georgia where kids packed into hallways during passing periods.
“We’re going to create a hallway that splits in half with this side going that way and the side going that direction,” said the principal. “We’re trying to create pathways for the students to create as much separation as we can.”
When the state and county give the green light, they’ll be ready.
