January 24, 2022

Philadelphia Schools: Heading Back to Normal

A All Philadelphia Public Schools opened their doors for in-person learning amidst opposition from some education leaders. Monica Lewis, spokesperson for the school district said that the district “firmly believes that in-person learning is best for our students.” Fall in the number of staff and the general well-being of the students and school staff were some of the main reasons why some education leaders were none too sure about the decision.

The return to in-person learning will now be handled with stricter safety protocols.

…with fewer people becoming sick, it is anticipated that schools are benefiting from that drop

Jerry Jordan, President of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, in a statement said that “While case counts have decreased over the past week, deaths have not, and we cannot be lulled into complacency.... Mitigation strategies in schools must be strengthened.” The health department, however, presented that now the situation is not severe as the city's daily average went down to 902 cases per day from the 3000 mark.

The health department also removed the threshold for school closures, following the new guidance issued by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) that has removed COVID testing. With these new developments taking place, it also means that now schools have a significant amount of work to ensure safety of students and staff. “Given the known negatives of an all-virtual education, it was imperative that we implement the safest guidance possible to avoid those negative outcomes,” Jim Garrow, Director of Communication for the City Health Department, on the new guidelines.

“Our testing data has shown that the omicron wave has slowed considerably with new cases today approximately half of what they were last week… With fewer people becoming sick, it is anticipated that schools are benefiting from that drop,” added Garrow. According to the department’s report, over 34% of 5- to 11-year-olds in Philadelphia have received at least one COVID vaccine dose. Eligible Philadelphians ages 12 and older, 73.4% are fully vaccinated, and 92.8% have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

Posted in News and tagged News, US, Philadelphia, COVID-19
Bookmark the Permalink