Version 1
: Received: 15 March 2023 / Approved: 16 March 2023 / Online: 16 March 2023 (11:16:45 CET)
How to cite:
Iyengar, A.; Hanon, S.; Bruns, R.; Olsiewski, P.; Gronvall, G. COVID-19 Mitigation in a K-12 School Setting: A Case Study of Avenues: The World School inNew York City. Preprints2023, 2023030305. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202303.0305.v1.
Iyengar, A.; Hanon, S.; Bruns, R.; Olsiewski, P.; Gronvall, G. COVID-19 Mitigation in a K-12 School Setting: A Case Study of Avenues: The World School in New York City. Preprints 2023, 2023030305. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202303.0305.v1.
Cite as:
Iyengar, A.; Hanon, S.; Bruns, R.; Olsiewski, P.; Gronvall, G. COVID-19 Mitigation in a K-12 School Setting: A Case Study of Avenues: The World School inNew York City. Preprints2023, 2023030305. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202303.0305.v1.
Iyengar, A.; Hanon, S.; Bruns, R.; Olsiewski, P.; Gronvall, G. COVID-19 Mitigation in a K-12 School Setting: A Case Study of Avenues: The World School in New York City. Preprints 2023, 2023030305. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202303.0305.v1.
Abstract
In this case study, we describe a well-resourced private school system that implemented COVID-19 mitigation measures based on public health expert guidance as well as the lessons learned from this process. Avenues is a 10-year-old private school with campuses in NYC, São Paulo, Shenzhen, Silicon Valley, as well as online, which offers education at sixteen grades: 2 early learning years, followed by a pre-kindergarten–grade 12 school. We describe the mitigation measures Avenues implemented. We compare COVID-19 case prevalence at the school to the reported case prevalence in New York City, as reported by the New York State Department of Health. We compare the school's indoor air quality (IAQ) to ambient IAQ measures reported in the literature. The school's COVID-19 transmission mitigation measures successfully reduced the prevalence of COVID-19 among its students, staff, and faculty. The school also established a consistent high level of IAQ through various ventilation mechanisms. The school received positive parent and community feedback on the policies and procedures it established, with many parents commenting on the high level of communication and trust established by the school. This successful school reopening provides useful data for school closure and reopening standards to prepare for future pandemic and epidemic events.
Keywords
COVID-19 mitigation, education, indoor air quality, COVID-19 testing
Subject
SOCIAL SCIENCES, Education Studies
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
