Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy started its school year Wednesday with a requirement that all students, faculty and staff wear face masks while indoors other than when eating or drinking to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission. The restrictions also apply to visitors, who will be allowed into the building by invitation only.
The school is following guidelines in the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment’s latest public health order, HBHA Marketing Director Jane Blumenthal Martin said. The order took effect Aug. 9 and will remain in effect until May 31, 2022, unless amended or canceled.
Students, faculty, staff and visitors will maintain a 3-foot separation as much as possible, and HBHA will require regular hand washing and sanitizing, Martin said. HBHA also will limit the number of people entering the building.
HBHA is asking, but not requiring, parents to provide proof of vaccination for students aged 12 and older for contact tracing and will keep the information confidential. Vaccinated individuals with no symptoms do not need to quarantine if they have been exposed to an individual who is COVID positive. Unvaccinated individuals or those without proof of vaccination must quarantine if they have been exposed to anyone who tested positive for COVID.
“We recognize there are varying perspectives about the COVID-19 vaccines and we want families to do what is in their best interest,” HBHA Head of School Adam Tilove said in an email to the school’s families. “We have consulted with local health authorities about the vaccine. HBHA supports the vaccine recommendations of the HHS/CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). However, we are not requiring that students 12 and older be vaccinated to attend HBHA.”
The public health order applies to schools with students through sixth grade. Children younger than 12 are ineligible for the COVID-19 vaccines. HBHA is unusual, if not unique, among area public and private schools because all its students in kindergarten through 12th grade attend school in the same building.
HBHA will continue a practice it started last year in which most teachers will use wireless headsets with speakers in their classrooms to project their voices while maintaining social distancing, Martin said.
The school’s students adjusted well to wearing face masks last year, she said. The school alternated between one week in person and one virtually from last August through October on the premise that the virus took five to 10 days to develop in the body before becoming infectious.
The public health order’s exemptions include those who:
- Have a medical condition, mental health condition or other disability that prevents wearing a face mask
- Communicate with a person who is deaf or hard of hearing, making the ability to see the mouth essential
- Are engaged in religious services, ceremonies or activities
- Are engaged in athletics or other activities inside school buildings, who should follow guidelines provided by the Kansas State High School Activities Association, schools or both
In a news release announcing the public health order, Johnson County Board of County Commissioners Chairman Ed Eilert said that more steps were needed to reduce transmission risk among children younger than 12 and that “students benefit from in-person learning and the interactions with others in the school setting.”
COVID-19 outbreaks have occurred in camps, small businesses and child care facilities, and the number of COVID-positive tests is increasing and affecting younger people, including school-aged children, Dr. Joseph LeMaster, local health officer for Johnson County, said in the release. Health department staffers are collaborating with local school district superintendents to implement safe practices.
The delta variant is the dominant and most infectious known strain of the virus, health department Director Dr. Sanmi Areola said in the release. Because children younger than 12 are ineligible for the vaccines, “today’s public health order is an appropriate step aimed at keeping our children safe and allowing them to benefit from in-person learning.”
HBHA’s top priorities during the school year are to keep students, faculty and staff safe and on campus, according to an Aug. 6 email from the school’s administration to HBHA families. A volunteer COVID task force mainly comprising physicians will continue to provide guidance to school administrators, Martin said. The task force provided safety protocols this time last year for the school to reopen in a cyclical, hybrid model of in-person and virtual learning.
Tilove said HBHA could maintain a safe school environment only in partnership with its families.
“We ask that all families be respectful — of one another and of HBHA’s policies — as we work in partnership to keep our school community safe and in person,” he said. “As our sages stated, ‘Kol Yisrael areivim zeh ba’zeh’ (‘All Israel is responsible for one another’).”
By Jerry LaMartina,
Contributing Writer
