BRUNSWICK — Brunswick school board members say they are frustrated by what they consider an excessive amount of online learning during the pandemic because it’s unclear whether COVID-19 transmission is likely in schools.
Brunswick schools use a mix of in-person and online learning. Students are in school for in-person learning two days a week in elementary and junior high school, and one day a week in high school. Otherwise, they are learning remotely.
“A lot of discussion that I hear from parents is a lot of frustration I guess with the question of hearing somebody like Dr. Shah saying quite recently that there is no reason that you shouldn’t have kids in school,” said school board member Teresa Gillis, referring to Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. “That it is the safest place for our kids to be. We hear our education commissioner say something very similar.”
Gillis said parents don’t know what to believe.
The Portland Press Herald reported Dec. 4 that most Maine schools are sticking to in-person instruction as COVID-19 cases were growing because officials said they have seen little evidence of transmission in school buildings.
“Schools as we all know are among the most essential elements of our communities,” Shah said. “They play a vital role in every aspect of our lives. Thus far we at the Maine CDC have not seen significant or sustained transmission within schools and that’s a good thing, but that may change as rates of community transmission increase.”
School department pediatrician Dr. Alyssa Goodwin told the board Wednesday it is difficult to track down where disease transmission is occurring as overall cases are rising in Maine. “As far as I know none of our close contacts in school have become positive,” Goodwin said Wednesday.
The Portland Press Herald reported Thursday that was the second day in a row that new COVID-19 cases topped 800. On Wednesday, Maine recorded 824 new cases, a new record high. Overall, Maine has reported 31,958 cases of COVID-19 and 461 deaths. As of Sunday, there have been 273 COVID-19 cases in Brunswick.
The Brunswick School Department reported on Jan. 7 that a member of the Brunswick Junior High School community tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, there were 31 students and five adults required to quarantine who had close contact to this individual. According to the school department, there have been 7 cumulative COVID-19 cases at Kate Furbish Elementary, three cases at Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary, four cases at Brunswick Junior High School and four cases at Brunswick High School.
The board will discuss ways to increase in-person instruction Jan. 20, according to Chairman William Thompson.
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