translated from Spanish: With deferred recesses and turn-based classes: this is how schools are enlisted to open next week

With three of its operating rooms, remote tables and covered with protective micas, and gel alcohol dispensers throughout the enclosure. This is how he looks forward to the return of his students to the Farellones School, one of the 26 educational establishments that Lo Barnechea has and that he has already announced that he will open his doors this March 1, when the school year begins. The opening of schools has been debated in recent days among municipalities, but in the eastern commune of the capital the position is clear: face-to-face classes will depart next week.” School is a protective factor of youth and also allows parents to go out to work. If they have the children in school, it gives them peace of mind that they are in a safe place,” says Mayor Cristóbal Lira. Several adjustments were made at the farellones school retreat to ensure covid prevention. It was decided that physical education classes will be done in open spaces or in the gym and then students will be cleaned with disposable wet towels; a deferred recreation system was planned per course; and a daily and tiered attendance schedule was created to respect the capacity. The calendar stipulates that each course attends the classrooms for up to six days per month. This practice is common in the preparation of schools that will return to in person. In Peñalolén, another municipality that will open its schools, they say that they planned double days and take shifts, mainly in the minor courses. In addition, some enclosures will implement differentiated recesses, and even with restricted sectors when space allows. Mayor Carolina Leitao explains that the measures were decided alongside the school community and will be adapted according to the various scenarios that may arise. “This process will have to be flexible,” he says. Despite the preparation, in the commune they ensure that the virtual modality will be maintained for those who do not want to send their children to school, and will be supported by delivering tablets and free internet to thousands of students, as well as technological support for the most vulnerable. For students attending, masks will be given to them. Barbijo is an element that schools have arranged as mandatory during classes. In La Reina it was also scrupuled that any object other than a washable surface will be removed from the classrooms and at recesses it will be ensured that children avoid grouping with more than three companions, and that they use the mask. From the Corporation of Private Schools they point out that such follow-up is key. Its president Hernán Herrera says they have seen episodes in which children at recess exchange their masks when they have eye-catching designs, which creates a health risk. However, he explains that based on this experience the venues have improved their surveillance systems for this year.” That’s why it was important to open last year, to know these situations and be prepared,” he says. It asserts that there is no doubt in private enclosures about the need to open next week, and they have taken a variety of measures. Many appealed to daily or weekly shift systems for classes, complementing face-to-face with remote systems that can include live broadcasting of classes. “The process is going to be gradual, but we have to have schools open for families to decide,” he stresses.

Original source in Spanish