Live call-in discussion: The omicron variant of COVID-19 spread rapidly through Vermont last week, stressing students, teachers and staff returning to school. Now the Agency of Education’s announcement on Friday that schools should stop contact tracing and PCR surveillance testing has sent a shock wave through school communities across Vermont. This hour, an education reporter details the challenges schools are facing, and two superintendents discuss how unprecedented COVID case numbers are affecting their districts.
Our guests are:
- Alison Novak, education reporter for Seven Days, who's written about the challenges schools face amid the omicron surge, and the abrupt change in testing and tracing announced late Friday by the Agency of Education.
- Sean McMannon, superintendent at the Winooski School District, which has closed school through Wednesday, Jan. 12, due to high COVID cases and staffing issues.
- Michael Clark, superintendent of Grand Isle Supervisory Union, whose Alburgh elementary school is closed through Tuesday after more than half of students either tested positive for COVID, or required to quarantine.
- Dr. Mark Levine, Vermont's health commissioner.
- Don Tinney, president of Vermont-NEA, the state's teachers union, sharing how union members are reacting to the changes.
Broadcast live on Monday, Jan. 10, 2022 at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.
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