JORDAN MOSHE
But the threat of COVID-19 looms larger than ever right now, and many schools that have resumed have had to deal with scholars, teachers, or parents testing positive for coronavirus.
So, while some of our community’s schools have opened their doors, they have applied strict rules for doing so.
“The procedures we follow had to be comprehensively outlined from the start,” says Rabbi Craig Kacev, the general director of the South African Board of Jewish Education. “The safety of teachers and students is vital, and the environment has to be properly controlled.”
Different grades have been phased in at King David schools, while the hygiene and safety protocols are stringent and uniform across the board.
“We’re taking it slowly, keeping capacity limited and manageable,” says Kacev. “We’re sometimes put under pressure to bring more students back, and we will with time.
“More students require more staff, more screening, and a flexible schedule, managing breaks and the like. We’re keeping it small for now, and while the government has permitted certain activities like sport, we’re avoiding them for the time being. Education is the priority.”
The number of students currently on campus depends on the size of the school, he says. “Each school has to ensure the maintenance of physical distancing. For example, at King David Linksfield, all primary school grades have returned, but different students come on different days.”
Kacev says that most students have returned to King David Victory Park Primary, whereas at Sandton, each grade has come in for a few days only thus far to learn the protocols before the next arrives.
“As for the high schools, only matrics and Grade 11s have returned for now, but plans are in place to bring in other grades in coming weeks,” says Kacev.
“The government initially said that no more than 50% of the student body may return, but it was subsequently announced that each school could bring students back based on individual facilities and abilities. We can bring back as many as we want as long as the protocols are adhered to properly at all times.”
Students have also been phased into Yeshiva College gradually over the past few weeks.
“Yeshiva has welcomed six grades back to our campus,” says Natalie Altman, the director of Yeshiva College. “Each returning class is considered a ‘capsule’, meaning that students interact only with fellow students in their own classes, and only with their own teachers, including at break.”
She says the concept of capsules limits interactions with large numbers, and assists in tracking in the case of a positive COVID-19 test.
“If a student or teacher tests positive for COVID-19, they are required to report it to the school immediately, and self-isolate at home for 14 days and until they are well,” says Altman. “The individual class and close contacts of that student or teacher will also return home for remote learning.”
If a teacher who teaches numerous classes tests positive for COVID-19, all students who have come into close contact with that teacher (within 1.5m while not wearing a mask) will be asked to self-isolate for 14 days.
Says Altman: “Our strict protocols ensure that there is no close contact between students, fellow students, and teachers, and as such we avoid having to send home full classes when we have a case. In terms of a threshold of positive cases within the school, this will be assessed based on the individual case as well as the total number of positive cases in the school, and how many people are involved.”
The protocol is similar at King David. Kacev says that the general principle is that if anyone at a school tests positive, neither they nor anyone with whom they have been in contact with can be on campus.
“We’ve mostly had cases of parents testing positive, in which case their children stay away from school for 14 days,” he says. “The class continues, as we consider that a contact of a contact, and too far removed.”
If, however, a teacher tests positive after having taught in class, the entire class will be sent home and lessons will continue online. The same is true if a student in the class tests positive.
“All students in that immediate environment would be considered direct contacts, and would all have to go into quarantine and continue online,” says Kacev. “Even now, there are parents who choose to keep their children at home. They can continue their studies online while the class continues at school.”
Kacev is confident that the schools are being cautious and wise about dealing with this situation. “If they are opening, schools are making every effort to ensure that they are compliant and offer students a safe space for learning,” he says.
Other schools, however, are being even more cautious. Hirsch Lyons High School principal, Rabbi Steven Krawitz, says the school has decided not to allow students to return this term, and has not decided when classes will resume.
“We are watching a situation which is very dynamic,” says Krawitz. “We are guided by the Torah principles of pikuach nefesh, the sanctity of life, and the importance of protecting the lives of the school community.”
He says the school is fortunate to have dedicated and passionate staff who enthusiastically embraced Zoom and Google Classrooms, and who have been teaching Torah and academics online since 23 March.
“Our students and parents have been fantastic too, and we have been able to deliver our hallmark high standards in Torah and academics through this difficult time,” says Krawitz.
The other Jewish schools did not respond in time for publication.
