NEISD educators share insight as part of Metro Health’s Task Force
Emma Kelly is the Assistant Director of Health Services in North East ISD.
She is also part of a newly-formed task force, created by Metropolitan Health District, to develop recommendations for the safe re-opening of schools in our area.
“There are school administrators, teachers, parents, students, physicians in the community, health department employees and epidemiologists. Just all types of people who are interested in the safe and effective opening of schools,” she explained.
Kelly has been in her role with North East ISD since 2010 and previously worked as a hospital nurse in surgical nursing for seven years.
She joins Superintendent Dr. Sean Maika and Director of Health Services, Maria Perez, to represent NEISD in the task force.
Perez has been with North East ISD for almost fifteen years and previously worked at a local hospital as well.
“This is an opportunity for North East to have their fingerprints, so to speak, on this entire COVID-19 issue. To be able to give input; to be able to talk about our district as a whole. The students, parents, and community- we want what’s best for our community,” Perez said.
After receiving recommendations from the task force, the local health authority for Bexar County and the City of San Antonio issued a health directive stating school systems conduct virtual learning through Labor Day.
“One of the most important factors that played into that decision was the high levels of community-spread of coronavirus in San Antonio. The initial meeting was to talk about the timeline right away in terms of the public health order issued by Dr. Woo. The second meeting really looked at what are the metrics that the task force will look at to determine when it will be safe for schools to open,” Kelly explained.
Kelly and Perez said, while at home, there are still plenty of things parents can do with their kids to prepare for a return to in-person learning.
“Get them used to wearing masks when they come to school because we want them to stay safe. Prevent them from touching their eyes, their nose and their mouth in case they have germs on their hands. Send water bottles; we’re not going to be able to use the water fountains because those are high-touch areas,” Perez added.
A safe return to school requires that everyone to do their part.
“The number one thing that parents can do is to screen their students at home and to make sure that they don’t have any covid-type symptoms or have a fever before they even send them to school. Once the students get to school, then we have our custodial staff that do a great job of sanitizing the schools. The teachers are going to be told to open the door so every student doesn’t have to be touching the doorknob,” Perez further explained.
According to the City of San Antonio’s Office of Emergency Management, the re-opening of schools will happen in phases, based on COVID-19 metrics.
Kelly said the task force will continue to monitor progress and plans to reconvene again before Labor Day.
“Coronavirus exists in our community and we won’t be able to completely insulate our schools and we are aware of that, but we do know that there are things we can do to improve and increase the health and safety of everyone who is entering the buildings,” Kelly said.
To read the Health Directive in its entirety, click here: https://www.sanantonio.gov/Portals/0/Files/NewsReleases/health-directive-2020.pdf
To learn more about NEISD Health Services, click here: https://www.neisd.net/domain/254
