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Superintendent Mulvey opened his report by introducing City of Quincy Health Commissioner Ruth Jones who reviewed the statistics for the last two weeks (September 30 through October 13), including eleven positive students (half hybrid/in-person and half remote). There is no evidence of in-school transmission at this time.
Mr. Bregoli asked about recent cases and trends. Commissioner Jones said there are various ages represented, several were family household clusters.
Mr. Gutro asked about the upward trend, Commissioner Jones said this reflects the uptick across the state. Mr. Gutro asked about additional cases emerging from contact tracing efforts, Commissioner Jones said that there is no particular geographical area within the city represented more than others.
Health Coordinator Rita Bailey presented on QPS COVID-19 Tracking & Contact Tracing. The Quincy Public Schools nurses are coordinating with the Quincy Health Department on advising families about symptoms, testing, quarantine/ isolation, and following up about safe re-entry to school. Families and staff have been guided on self-screening protocols and mitigation strategies, such as masks and hand hygiene. Ms. Bailey reviewed the protocols for staff or students exhibiting symptoms at school, the decision-making tree, and the tracking spreadsheet used at all schools.
Mr. Bregoli asked about close contact time being cumulative, Commissioner Jones said there is not a definitive answer for this from the Centers for Disease Control and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Currently, the guidance is not based on cumulative exposure. Mr. Bregoli asked about benchmarks for return to in-person learning and Commissioner Jones said that these have not yet been defined.
Mr. Santoro asked about current testing protocols. Commissioner Jones said that Quincy is requiring a PCR test for employees and students, as this is the most reliable.
Mr. Santoro asked about the flu shot requirement. Ms. Bailey said this is a state mandated vaccine, similar to other vaccines. School nurses are working on educating families that all students are required to receive this vaccine by December 31, 2020.
Mr. Bregoli asked about exemptions for wearing masks, specifically for athletics. Commissioner Jones said reasonable accommodations must be offered. Ms. Bailey said she would review the MIAA requirements.
Superintendent Mulvey said that we have been advised by Manet Health Director Dr. Shiner that a student needing an exemption from wearing a mask should not be attending school in person.
Mrs. Hubley asked about the dismissal procedure for a student who has symptoms in school. Ms. Bailey said that there is a medical waiting room for the student and families have been asked to identify four contacts who would be able to respond and pick up a symptomatic student within 30 minutes.
Mrs. Lebo asked about families without cars and Ms. Bailey said the Transportation department has assisted when this has been an issue.
Mrs. Lebo asked about remote learners participating in extracurricular activities, especially athletics. Superintendent Mulvey will follow up with this information.
Mr. Andronico reiterated that the in-person model would require a 3-foot distancing which was not recommended by Health Commissioner Ruth Jones and the QPS Fall 2020 Re-Opening Task Force. Commissioner Jones said three feet of distance will expand the amount of people in a classroom that would be required to quarantine if there is a positive case.
Mrs. Lebo asked about CDC guidance for distance, Commissioner Jones said that their guidance has evolved, at one point there was a 10-foot distancing recommendation.
Superintendent Mulvey shared the Quincy Public Schools October 1 Enrollment data, 9,680 students are enrolled in the Quincy Public Schools. Class size information will be shared at the October 28 School Committee meeting. The instructional model breakdown for hybrid and in-person was shared by school and grade level.
Mr. Gutro asked about Kindergarten enrollment, significantly lower than in previous years. Ms. Owens said some families have opted to remain in accredited Kindergarten programs at pre-schools or enroll in private schools and others have opted to defer Kindergarten enrollment.
Superintendent Mulvey announced that over 3,500 Chromebooks have been distributed to date, the next shipment of 1,400 will arrive on Thursday, October 15. Internet hotspots have just arrived and will be distributed to 100 families needing Internet access.
There was a conference call with the Massachusetts School Building Authority on Tuesday, October 13 with Mayor Koch and Superintendent Mulvey about the potential new school building project for Squantum. The MSBA questions were focused on the fiscal health of the city and the re-entry implementation plan. There were 70 core program projects Statements of Interest submitted to the MSBA and no decisions have been made to date. The MSBA is having these meetings with each city and town that submitted a Core Program SOI.
Mayor Koch said that other communities may not have the financial capacity that Quincy does to take on building projects without facing a Proposition 2 ½ override.
Ms. Owens noted the South~West Middle School will receive an additional $800,000 reimbursement due to the LEED Silver Certification awarded recently.
Superintendent Mulvey concluded his report by noting that there will be $35,000 in Innovation Learning Mini-Grants available for educators to create grant proposals for new programs and initiatives. The grant funding is provided by the School Community~Business partners.
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