Local school officials are deciding how to protect students and faculty after a potentially deadly virus with more than 100,000 confirmed cases worldwide spread to Indiana.
School officials at Avon Community Schools, less than 30 miles from the county line, decided Monday to close all its schools for two weeks after an elementary school student tested positive for the respiratory disease COVID-19, also known as Coronavirus, and another began showing symptoms.
Now, school officials at all six Johnson County public school districts are deciding what to do if the epidemic does make its way a little farther south.
Franklin Community Schools, which is planning to send about 10 students to Kuji, Japan in September as part of a sister-city partnership, is discussing whether to postpone that trip to the fall of 2021, which would mean seniors would not get to go. The decision largely hinges on whether the International Olympic Committee decides to postpone or cancel the Olympics this summer in Tokyo, Superintendent David Clendening said.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryFranklin schools canceled a trip to Clowes Memorial Hall in Indianapolis and a choir trip to Ball State University, both of which were scheduled for later this month. School officials will make a decision on the Kuji trip by May 22, the last day of school, he said.
There were 485 confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Japan as of Monday, according to NHK World, a Japanese news organization.
“We will continue to learn and grow. We want to make sure everyone is washing their hands,” Clendening said. “If you’re feeling sick, stay home, that goes for kids and faculty and staff.”
Symptoms of the virus include runny nose, sore throat, cough, fever, and in more severe cases, difficulty breathing, according to the World Health Organization.
Countries such as Italy, Iran and China are under Level 3 travel advisories, meaning people should not travel to them unless absolutely necessary, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Franklin schools is asking parents who are traveling with their students over spring break to let the district know. The district will create a Google document for parents to share that information with the schools, he said.
Johnson County school administrators are following the advice of state and national health departments on what steps to take. Administrators at Clark-Pleasant Community Schools have discussed the topic at all its recent meetings, but a lot is uncertain due to the fact that this is a new virus, spokesperson John Venter said.
“We’re in a constant state of analysis, working with health departments across the state and the nation to come up with procedures,” Venter said. “We’re staying on top of the latest results multiple times per day and devising a course of action.”
Clark-Pleasant schools has also postponed some field trips until after spring break, Venter said.
Administrators at Center Grove schools have advised principals to postpone field trips, although none of its schools have many planned during the coming weeks due to the upcoming ILEARN and IREAD state exams, said Jason Taylor, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and Technology.
Center Grove staff remain diligent in cleaning its buildings, as it frequently does during cold and flu season. The virus provides an educational opportunity at the schools, he said.
“Our teachers have been having conversations as they talk about the virus; they have videos on handwashing and they have discussed some of the news reports around the virus,” Taylor said. “It makes it real for kids to understand the importance of handwashing, and it’s important to teach that. For any kid with anxiety, we’ll take time to see if they need a one-on-one conversation or just some positive reinforcement.”
There was a similar sense of panic around H1N1, commonly known as Swine Flu, in 2009, during which the district rolled out a handwashing campaign, Taylor said.
Swine Flu infected 60.8 million people in the United States, just less than a fifth of the population at the time, and killed 12,469 Americans, according to the CDC.
As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 773 cases of Coronavirus in the U.S. across 36 states; 26 people have died.
Locally, school officials are weighing their options about what to do if they have to close their buildings for an extended period of time.
In a letter this week, Greenwood Community Schools Superintendent Kent DeKoninck outlined five possibilities, including using its one remaining snow makeup day, adopting e-learning, although Greenwood schools does not currently practice it, pursuing waivers that would allow the school to not make up some of the days schools are closed, extending the number of hours in a school day to make up time or extending the school year past May 21, the last day of the spring semester, DeKoninck said in the letter.
At Indian Creek schools, administrators are prepared for the possibility of lengthy school cancellations and would use e-learning to make up for lost school time, Superintendent Tim Edsell said.
Edinburgh Community Schools, which will return from spring break March 23, will work on disinfecting surfaces, such as cafeteria tables and student desks, over break. It is important for people to use common sense and not overreact, Superintendent Doug Arnold said.
“I think the key is we don’t want to overreact. We want to use common sense,” Arnold said. “We looked at the research available and will be sharing that when students come in. Things as simple as reminding kids and staff to wash their hands with soap and water and cover their noses and mouths when they cough and sneeze. If you’re sick, stay home, and see a doctor if something serious is going on.”
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Coronavirus timeline in Indiana
Friday: A patient who recently traveled tests positive for Coronavirus in Marion County, the first in Indiana.
Sunday: A second case of the virus is confirmed in Hendricks County; a student at Hickory Elementary School in Hendricks County tests positive for the virus, the third case in Indiana. The school closes through March 20.
Monday: A fourth case is confirmed in Noble County, near Fort Wayne; a second student in Hendricks County shows symptoms of COVID-19, and all schools in the Avon Community School Corporation close through March 20.
Tuesday: Two new cases are confirmed, one in Boone County and one in Adams County, running up the Indiana Coronavirus tally to six.
Source: Indiana Department of Health.
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