How are Manatee County charter schools handling COVID-19? It depends on the school
All eyes are on Manatee County’s traditional public schools during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, charter schools — which are public schools with independent governing boards — have often been missing from the headlines and public conversations that followed students’ return to school last month.
To learn more about their safety measures and the number of COVID-19 cases affecting their campuses, the Bradenton Herald reached out to Manatee County’s 13 charter schools.
The responses from 12 schools showed that transparency and safety measures vary between each campus. While some follow the same guidelines as traditional campuses, other charter schools created their own plans.
For example, the Manatee School Board has mandated face masks for all traditional schools, though employees and students have the ability to opt out. Most local charter schools followed suit, but a handful have their own guidelines — some stricter and others looser than public schools.
Parrish Charter Academy said masks are optional for faculty, staff, students and visitors. And at Manatee School For the Arts (MSA), masks are optional but strongly encouraged.
Both Manatee Charter School and Oasis Middle School required masks for faculty and staff but not for students, though face coverings are strongly recommended for everyone.
Rowlett, which has two campuses in Bradenton, went a step further than the school district. Students and staff can opt out of the mask mandate in place at both schools, but adults need a doctor’s note if they want to be exempt.
The school district also publishes a daily update on COVID-19 cases discovered in traditional schools. Most charters responded with their own case numbers when contacted by the Bradenton Herald, but only a few publish the number of infections online, much like the school district.
Imagine School at Lakewood Ranch and Imagine School at North Manatee both publish COVID-19 numbers to their school websites.
According to the 12 charter schools that responded, there have been more than 325 covid cases discovered in those schools.
One school — Palmetto Charter — did not respond after several requests for information.
Here’s a rundown of area charter schools, their protocols and how they’re dealing with the pandemic:
Imagine Schools
Imagine School at North Manatee and Imagine School at Lakewood Ranch follow the same guidelines.
Masks: Imagine Schools follow the same protocol as the district’s traditional schools, requiring masks and offering an opt-out option.
Safety measures: The school cleans high-touch surfaces, such as playground equipment, door handles, toilets and drinking fountains. Both campuses also educate staff and families on when their children should stay home and when they can return to school.
When a positive COVID-19 case is discovered on either campus, they work with the school district and the county health department to contact trace and isolate any teachers or employees who were exposed.
Case numbers: Both campuses host an online dashboard and report case numbers to the public.
Imagine School at North Manatee reported at least two positive employees and 12 positive students. One student was exposed on campus and then tested positive during quarantine.
Imagine School at Lakewood Ranch reported 20 student cases and four employee cases after the start of school in early August.
Comments: “We will continue to focus on maintaining a safe and healthy learning environment for our students and staff members.”
Manatee Charter School
Masks: Not required but strongly recommended for students. Masks are mandatory for all staff and visitors.
Safety measures: The school uses a Clorox 360 machine to disinfect the campus. A spokeswoman also said that “social distancing may be difficult in certain settings,” but that Manatee Charter was working to limit movement around campus and within small spaces.
“We are getting creative with classroom spaces, moving certain activities outside, into hallways, rearranging cafeteria tables and schedules, etc.,” she said in an email.
Much like traditional schools, Manatee Charter also sends students into quarantine and notifies their family after an exposure, meaning the student was near an infected person for at least 15 minutes. Teachers are required to maintain seating charts to help identify the exposures.
Case numbers: At least one staff member has tested positive. And of the school’s 514 students, at least five have tested positive since the start of school in early August.
Comments: “We are doing everything we can at the school level to keep our students and staff healthy and safe. Parents have been very good about keeping sick children home and following all safety protocols.”
Manatee School for the Arts
Masks: No requirements for students or employees, but both groups are strongly encouraged to use a face covering.
Safety measures: The school disinfects classroom desks between classes, along with school buses in between routes. It also uses seating charts in classrooms and limits seating at lunchroom tables to “avoid students facing each other.”
The quarantine process follows guidelines from the Florida Department of Education and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
”Teachers use Google Classroom for class updates and assignments to assist students in quarantine,” a spokeswoman added.
Case numbers: The school reported at least 94 student cases and 16 staff cases since the beginning of school on Aug. 10.
Comments: “Every day we work hard as a school community to follow the laws and implement the protocols to keep our campus safe and healthy.”
Parrish Charter Academy
Masks: “Face masks are optional inside the building for faculty, students, staff, and visitors. Masks are also optional for students riding the bus.”
Safety measures: Parrish Charter responded to the COVID-19 spike in Florida by canceling all school and community events until further notice, along with all club activities for the first quarter of school. The school also restricted visitors and parent volunteers until the situation improves.
The school encourages parents to monitor their children for symptoms, including chills, cough, shortness of breath, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, sore throat, runny nose, fatigue, body aches, a loss of taste or smell, or a fever of 100.4 degrees or higher.
Students are told to stay home if they have symptoms or contact with an infected person. When at school, the students are encouraged to “try and social distance when possible,” and to use hand sanitizer when eating or using a computer.
Case numbers: The school recorded at least 17 positive cases among the approximately 550 students and employees on campus.
Comments: “The guidelines are susceptible to change with the introduction of additional guidance from local, state, and federal health experts and governments.”
Rowlett Schools
Rowlett Elementary Academy and Rowlett Middle Academy follow the same guidelines.
Masks: Face coverings are mandatory for all students and adults on campus, regardless of their vaccination status, but parents can choose to opt-out their children. Adults need a doctor’s note to be excused from the mask policy.
Safety measures: The schools have asked families to keep their children home when sick, to notify the schools if their children are exposed to COVID-19 outside of campus, and, if they desire, to request a face or desk shield for their children.
On campus, the schools place students in cohorts and use block scheduling to help limit exposures when someone tests positive. The campus is also cleaned and sanitized regularly, and its halls are lined with signs to promote social distancing and hygiene.
A spokeswoman also said the schools configure their classrooms to support social distancing, and that both campuses use guidance from the Florida Department of Health in Manatee County when sending students into quarantine.
Case numbers: Rowlett Elementary Academy reported 26 cases and 138 related quarantines between early August and September, while Rowlett Middle Academy reported 40 positive cases and 326 related quarantines.
Team Success
Masks: Much like the school district, Team Success included an opt-out clause in its mask requirement. On Sep. 1, the principal said that 13 parents opted their students out of mask-wearing. There was also one staff member who chose not to wear a face covering.
Safety measures: Team Success adopted the same measures as traditional public schools. That includes disinfecting the campus, updating families about COVID-19 cases, sending home symptomatic students and practicing social distancing “when possible and appropriate.”
Case numbers: As of Aug. 31, the school reported 50 Covid cases among students and two among staff members.
Comments: “Team Success appreciates the parental support and understanding during these difficult times.”
Visible Men Academy
Masks: VMA included an opt-out clause in its mask requirement. One student opted out, while all the faculty and staff wore masks as of Sep. 1, according to a statement attributed to the school’s chief executive officer.
Safety measures: Team Success adopted the same measures as traditional public schools.
Case numbers: The school temporarily closed three classes based on guidelines from the school district. According to that guidance, an entire classroom should be sent into quarantine when at least three COVID-19 cases are found in the room within two consecutive days.
Comments: “We are committed to providing a safe environment for our students, faculty, and staff, and will continue to implement guidelines as recommended by both the school system and the CDC.”
Manatee School of Arts and Sciences
Masks: MSAS mirrors the school district, using the same mask mandate with an opt-out clause.
Safety measures: MSAS adopted the same measures as traditional public schools.
Case numbers: The school has discovered at least 14 positive cases since the start of classes.
Comments: “The teachers, the staff, the kids — we’re all in the same boat,” Principal Clinton Jones said. “We understand the frustrations of parents and other people because it can be a burden and it can be hard. But what we’re doing is to keep everybody safe and healthy.”
Oasis Middle School
Masks: Oasis Middle has a mask policy in place for faculty and staff. And though masks are optional for students, the vast majority have volunteered to wear one, Director Edna Fields-Bailey said.
Safety measures: School staff checked the air filters, limited movement on campus and ensured the school is cleaned throughout the day.
Case numbers: The school has tallied approximately 10 positive cases since classes began.
Comments: “We’re trying to keep everybody safe so we can continue to have everybody learning inside the building,” the school director said.
SCF Collegiate School
Masks: The State College of Florida Collegiate School uses the same mask mandate and opt-out clause as the school district.
Safety measures: Hand sanitizer is available in high-traffic areas, the campus is regularly cleaned and anyone with symptoms is encouraged to stay home.
Case numbers: The school has recorded one positive employee and three positive students since classes began last month.
Comments: “We encourage families to review SCF’s Return to Campus page at SCF.edu/ReturntoCampus for additional resources.”
This story was originally published September 10, 2021 at 2:36 PM.