Hope and Pessimism for Overlake Combined
It has been nearly a year since Overlake went into online mode. At this point, with vaccines being rolled out, it feels like “normal” should be right around the corner. However, even with potential reopening, the degree of ease we had interacting with each other as a community will likely not be restored until significantly later in the year. In the meantime, in-person educational opportunities will always have an abnormal element of risk.
The school is currently planning to slowly hybridize over the course of the 2nd semester. In the current plan, some of the younger grades will transition to a hybrid model over the next two months or so. Older students will get the chance to do occasional activities like one-day retreats. Some other activities like athletics will also be open. The school will reassess their plans at midwinter break.
This seems consistent with government guidelines. They support schools that are in regions with 20–30 cases per 100k rates to at least partially reopen, prioritizing younger children. This advice is further predicated on the school’s ability to limit transmission effectively; otherwise schools are not advised to try to reopen.
For Overlake, it seems like the administration is trying to do just that. Some of the new measures for hybrid school include temperature checks, frequent hand washing, a health app, and social distancing. It’s all summarized in this video below made by the school. A considerable amount of the plan being sustainable relies on trust and COVID-19 not escalating in the local area, so it’s unclear how successful it will be, but at least there is an attempt.
The hybrid model will be organized so that some people can still be online when others are in physical class by setting up more cameras in class. However, in many ways, online school is still inferior to being in-person. This means that students and staff, especially those that are immunocompromised or have other high-risk conditions, have to choose between potentially getting infected and a less optimal learning/work experience. Plus, the information on school-based transmission is mixed, making individual research of school safety difficult.
There are probably lots of people who aren’t phased by this. Many Overlakers don’t face a great statistical risk of getting infected as relatively healthy young people. Still, a few things should be kept in mind. The rates of COVID-19 here are still a lot higher than they were when we first went into lockdown. Plus, as reported by King 5 News, UW researchers believe the highly contagious variant that emerged from the UK has probably already found its way to Washington, making it even harder to slow down transmission. Even young healthy people can occasionally face health complications, and a good portion of the Overlake community is at higher risk.
Furthermore, due to miscommunications, lack of funding, and a disconnected and disorganized healthcare system and strategy, vaccination will be very slow unless something drastically changes. The vaccine rollout as is currently planned won’t reach many Overlakers (and the general public) until March to December. The effort to get vaccines to high-risk people has faced many setbacks. So, COVID-19 will probably still be a big concern for a while. This means that the awkward period of hybrid school events with strict anti-transmission measures could likely last at least a few more months.
During this time, we will take on a more active responsibility as a community to keep each other safe than when people were not interacting in real life at all. Please be cautious if you do return to school in some way and get vaccinated when you can. A lot rests on how we act during the coming year.
Sources:
https://www.overlake.org/about/news/1859
https://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/COVID19/ResourcesandRecommendations#schools
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/washington-coronavirus-cases.html