HAMBURG, N.Y. — More Western New York middle and high school students are about to head back into the classroom.
Erie County announced Friday that the seven-day rolling average of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people is below 100. It's now at 91, and according to state COVID-19 guidance, that means more in-person learning is allowed to happen.
Michael Cornell is the Superintendent of Hamburg Central Schools. He is also the President of the Erie-Niagara School Superintendents Association, so he has been monitoring the number closely with his colleagues for a while.
Middle and high school students in his district will return to the classroom on Thursday with three feet of social distancing.
2 On Your Side asked Cornell about the logistics involved in making this happen.
"For some school districts, it's cafeterias. For some school districts, it's transportation. It depends, but you've got really good, creative people working as superintendents, you know, on school boards. We have amazing school staff in Hamburg, and amazing people working in schools all across Western New York who are smart, creative, innovative, and who want to put kids first. And when you put kids in school with their classmates in front of their teachers, you're putting kids first in school districts around Western New York and to find a way to figure it out," Cornell said.
Cornell also explained what it was like when the younger students returned for in-person learning.
"When we transitioned the elementary students into fully in-person learning five days a week a few weeks ago, the first thing I noticed is the noise. A noisy classroom is a good classroom. A noisy classroom means that collaboration is happening, the students are talking, and they're being active, and they're learning," Cornell said.
Cornell told parents what he thinks they should know ahead of their children returning to the classroom.
"What parents need to know is that school is safe at three feet and a mask. The science is abundantly clear that school is safe for secondary kids at three feet and a mask, and importantly, school is safe at three feet and a mask regardless of the rate of community transmission," Cornell said.
But state guidance says a community is considered to be at a "high" level of risk if the seven-day transmission rate for new cases is above 100 per 100,000 people.
With it below 100 now in Erie County, it means the county is in the "substantial" category of risk, and all ages can go back into the classroom five days a week with three feet of social distancing.
"Learning is really about the exchange of ideas. When you double the number of ideas in a classroom, and you double the amount of thinking in a classroom, you get better learning," Cornell said.
If you have questions about your school's policies, Cornell says to contact your school because each district is different.