School Committee Meeting Agenda: November 12, 2020

From the Office of the Executive Secretary to the School Committee

School Committee - Special Meeting
November 12, 2020

A G E N D A


1. Public Comment (3 Minutes):

2. Superintendent’s Agenda

Presentation:

3. Stakeholder Input:

4. School Committee Agenda (Policy Matters/Notifications/Requests for Information):
#20-270 Motion by the Buildings and Grounds Sub-Committee

Metric 1: Daily reported incidence. Fewer than 25 new cases per day per 100,000 people in Cambridge
(7-day average)

Metric 2: Test positivity. Less than 5% of COVID-19 tests are positive in Cambridge (7-day average)

Metric 3: Wastewater Monitoring. COVID-19 detected at <100 copies of viral genomes/ML from Deer Island/MWRA (discuss switch after 7-day averages of Cambridge data are available)
If two metrics exceed the threshold, CPSD switches to full remote learning (same as with prior metrics).
Rationale: The shift from wider geographic area to Cambridge-specific metric is justified by the availability of surveillance testing for teachers and staff.

Additional Recommendations:

– Surveillance testing offered to older students when prevalence is high.
Rationale: Universities with surveillance testing have been able to effectively control the spread of the virus.
– In the event of a closure of in-person education due to these metrics being exceeded, schools would remain closed for at least 1 week. In-person education should resume when either one or no metrics are exceeded for 7 consecutive days.
Rationale: In person learning can resume when reduced prevalence indicates that it is safe.

We are proud that Cambridge is using evidence-based metrics to guide its decisions, and that our city has been responsive to the latest scientific developments. We propose to reevaluate these metrics again in January in the context of new scientific developments, community health updates and new guidance from the district.

References

1. Macartney, Kristine, Helen E Quinn, Alexis J Pillsbury, Archana Koirala, Lucy Deng, Noni Winkler, Anthea L Katelaris, et al. 2020.
“Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Australian Educational Settings: A Prospective Cohort Study.” The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health
4 (11): 807–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(20)30251-0 .

2. Ehrhardt, J., A. Ekinci, H. Krehl, M. Meincke, I. Finci, J. Klein, B. Geisel, C. Wagner-Wiening, M. Eichner, and S. O. Brockmann. 2020.
“Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Children Aged 0 to 19 Years in Childcare Facilities and Schools after Their Reopening in May 2020,
Baden-Württemberg, Germany.” Eurosurveillance 25 (36): 2001587. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.36.2001587 .

3. Viner RM, Mytton OT, Bonell C, et al. Susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Children and Adolescents Compared With
Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatr. Published online September 25, 2020.
doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.4573

4. Gandhi, Monica, Chris Beyrer, and Eric Goosby. 2020. “Masks Do More Than Protect Others During COVID-19: Reducing the
Inoculum of SARS-CoV-2 to Protect the Wearer.” Journal of General Internal Medicine 35 (10): 3063–66.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-020-06067-8 .

5. Reiner, Robert C., Ryan M. Barber, James K. Collins, Peng Zheng, Christopher Adolph, James Albright, Catherine M. Antony, et al.
2020. “Modeling COVID-19 Scenarios for the United States.” Nature Medicine , October, 1–12.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-1132-9 .

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