BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Mandatory quarantine upon exposure to Covid-19 results in a substantial number of lost days of school. We hypothesized that implementation of a state-wide test-to-stay (TTS) program would allow more students to participate in in-person learning, and not cause additional clusters of Covid-19 cases due to in-school transmission.


METHODS
For the 2020/2021 academic year, Massachusetts implemented an opt-in TTS program, in which students exposed to Covid-19 in school are tested each school day with a rapid antigen test. If negative, students may participate in school-related activities that day. Testing occurs daily for a duration of 7 calendar days after exposure. Here, we report the results from the first thirteen weeks of the program.


RESULTS
2,298 schools signed up for TTS, and 504,167 individuals out of a total population of 860,457 consented. During the first thirteen weeks with complete data, 1,959 schools activated the program at least once for 102,373 individual, exposed students. Out of 328,271 tests performed, 2,943 positive cases were identified (per person positivity rate, 2.9%, 95% CI 2.8%, 3.0%). A minimum of 325,328 and a maximum of 497,150 days of in-person school were saved through participation in the program.


CONCLUSIONS
Daily, rapid on-site antigen testing is a safe and feasible alternative to mandatory quarantine and can be used to maximize safe in-person learning time during the pandemic.

A Test-to-Stay Modified Quarantine Program for COVID-19 in Schools.

OBJECTIVES
We evaluated the impact of a test-to-stay (TTS) program on within-school transmission and missed school days in optionally masked kindergarten through 12th grade schools during a period of high community severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission.


METHODS
Close contacts of those with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were eligible for enrollment in the TTS program if exposure to a non-household contact occurred between 11/29/2021 and 01/28/2022. Consented participants avoided school exclusion if they remained asymptomatic and rapid antigen testing at pre-specified intervals remained negative. Primary outcomes included within-school tertiary attack rate (test positivity among close contacts of positive TTS participants) and school days saved among TTS participants. We estimated the number of additional school-acquired cases resulting from TTS and eliminating school exclusion.


RESULTS
A total of 1675 participants tested positive or received at least one negative test between days 5 and 7, and completed follow-up; 92% were students and 91% were exposed to an unmasked primary case. We identified 201 positive cases. We observed a tertiary attack rate of 10% (95% CI 6-19%) and 7,272 (89%) of potentially missed days were saved through TTS implementation. We estimated one additional school-acquired case for every 21 TTS participants remaining in school buildings during the entire study period.


CONCLUSIONS
Even in the setting of high community transmission, a TTS strategy resulted in substantial reduction in missed school days in optionally masked schools.

Test-to-Stay After SARS-CoV-2 Exposure: A Mitigation Strategy for Optionally Masked K-12 Schools.

Social–emotional learning (SEL) is the process of acquiring and applying knowledge, skills, and attitudes to achieve long-term relational and emotional goals. Teachers often implement SEL strategies in the classroom; however, shifting to online schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted teachers’ perceptions of their abilities to implement SEL. This study was designed to identify whether and how teachers’ perceptions of SEL changed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers (N = 637) in the USA completed a demographic questionnaire, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21), and rated their beliefs about SEL during the pandemic on a modified version of the Comfort and Culture subscales of the Teacher SEL Beliefs Scale. Data were collected between September 2020 and March 2021. Teachers indicated that they felt neutral to comfortable with SEL and that they felt neutral to supported by their school culture for SEL during the pandemic. Lower depression symptoms, greater school poverty, and perceived general support (not specific to SEL) from the administration were associated with higher teacher comfort with SEL. Further, greater general support from the district and colleagues was associated with greater school culture supporting SEL during COVID-19. Results suggest that addressing teachers’ internalizing symptoms and fostering a supportive work environment is important in aiding teachers in SEL implementation. 

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Perceptions of Social–Emotional Learning Among K-12 Teachers in the USA During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has led many countries around the world to take drastic measures. Regardless of the epidemiological impact, it is undisputed that these measures have had significant negative effects on scholastic attainment, psychosocial and physical health of children and adolescents. Given their consequences, such interventions evoke the question of their ethical justifiability. This article introduces the most common ethical theories and, building on them, discusses the ethical evaluation of the COVID-19-related school closures. 

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Schulschließungen als ethische Herausforderung

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[School Closures - an Ethical Challenge].

School closures were over-weighted against the mitigation of COVID-19 transmission: A literature review on the impact of school closures in the United States.

Wanli Tan

Papers

School closures were over-weighted against the mitigation of COVID-19 transmission: A literature review on the impact of school closures in the United States.