The mask mandate approved by the Brownsville Independent School District Board of Trustees on Thursday adds another layer of safety to the protocols developed over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is ongoing as BISD returns to fully in-person instruction.
Early in the pandemic, BISD adopted a philosophy of “all hands on deck” to keep every student safe and stop the spread of COVID-19, and now the much more contagious delta variant.
Nellie Cantu, deputy superintendent for Business and Operations, on Wednesday provided this overview of the precautions BISD schools are taking:
>> Upon arrival at school, every student will have their temperature checked, either by hand-held thermometer or at kiosks installed at campuses.
>> Every school nurse has been trained and can administer rapid COVID antibody tests, which yield results in 15 minutes.
“Every teacher has a hand-held thermometer, so if they notice a kid has the sniffles, they can test the student’s temperature right then and there, and if they see the student is having symptoms they can refer the student to the nurse’s office right away,” Cantu said.
“Even if the student is 18, as a courtesy we call the parent and let them know the student is expressing symptoms. …We have signage to make sure we control movement in the hallways so that they’re not gathering, and we remind teachers as much as possible to keep the students in cohort so that if there is a positive case we can isolate the classroom, not the whole grade level. We’re taking every precaution that we can, and we keep saying this, the safety of our students is our number one priority.”
>> In the event of a positive case, the student or staff member must quarantine for 10 days. Students can receive online, virtual instruction during quarantine.
>> Every one of BISD’s 54 campuses has had a medical-grade, six-stage carbon filtration Jade air purifier installed in the nurses’ office and main office to provide “surgically clean air.”
“This is not an over-the-counter system, it’s what they use in doctor’s offices and surgeries,” Health Services director Alonso Guererro said.
>> Throughout the district, medical-grade MERV-13 filters have been installed in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning, or HVAC, systems.
In addition, all teachers, counselors, librarians and any staff member who interacts directly with students has been issued a COVID kit, which includes hand sanitizer, disposable masks, a medical-grade face shield and other supplies so that everyone “has the tools they need to keep students safe,” Cantu said
>> At the elementary level, individual plexiglass desk shields have been installed for every student to limit cross-contamination.
>> At the middle school and high school level, every student will be offered a medical-grade face shield.
>> Students are encouraged to wash their hands thoroughly and often.
>> Hand sanitizer is available throughout all schools and BISD buildings.
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