Volume 118 Issue 17
The Record
Horace Mann’s Weekly Newspaper Since 1903
record.horacemann.org January 22nd, 2021
Remote instruction continues due to high COVID-19 rates Emma Colacino Staff Writer In-person learning was postponed for an additional week of online school despite plans to return to campus, Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly announced in an email sent to all parents and guardians on January 17. This decision was in part due to high numbers of positive COVID-19 tests results and the number of symptomatic students within the community, he wrote. “If school were open Friday or Saturday, we would have seen hundreds of students across the divisions placed in quarantine,” he wrote. “While the data set before us is manageable and nowhere near regional levels, it does present as a concern threatening a reasonable week of inperson instruction for all.” Later in the email, Kelly wrote that the high COVID-19 positivity rate among the community was a reflection of community members’ unwillingness to abide by Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) use and traveling protocols, he wrote. “To those of you who did follow the guidelines and/or confirm with school personnel that a modification to them was appropriate, we are deeply appreciative,” he wrote. “To those of you arriving today or tomorrow, all we can ask is that you understand how disruptive your decision can be and is to the greater community.” Kelly concluded the email by asking all families to reaffirm their commitment to the HM Promise, a set of guidelines for on and offcampus behavior that community members are expected to follow to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Because some parents did not return home during the two weeks of online school after winter break, Cecile Caer P’21 P’24 understands the decision to postpone inperson learning, she said. However, the news still frustrated her, because remaining online
for long periods of time can be difficult for students’ mental health, she said. Given the regional COVID-19 levels, Ahana Nayar (10) was unsurprised by the postponement, she said. “I have been watching the numbers go up day by day, and it is honestly terrifying,” she said. Adam Dickstein (11) would have been upset had school resumed as planned because of the rising COVID-19 cases, he said. “It just wouldn’t make sense to open when COVID is even more prevalent than it was when we closed temporarily for a few weeks in November,” he said. Co-Chair of the Middle Divison Parents Association Joanne Diaz P’24 P’26 was relieved by the postponement, which she believed to be inevitable given the regional COVID-19 levels. She was surprised there was even a possibility of returning as originally planned, she said.
“To those of you arriving today or tomorrow, all we can ask is that you understand how disruptive your decision can be and is to the greater community.” -Dr. Tom Kelly Ajani Green-Watson (11) has seen peers whose actions do not fall in line with the HM promise, and she therefore agrees with the school’s decision to postpone in-person learning, she said. “There are a lot of people on my social media who have been posting when they were out with their friends, or going out to restaurants, or just going into the city,” she said. “I was very concerned that even if they got their COVID test, they would go back
Editorial: Enforce stricter rules When we found out that school would continue to be remote this week, we were disappointed. We wanted to be in person to enjoy the beginning of our last semester of high school. Moreover, we felt as though some of our peers had failed us. The families who traveled irresponsibly and forced Dr. Kelly to postpone our reopening prioritized their interests over the rest of the community. They blatantly disrespected their peers, their teachers, and the school’s essential workers. Had school not been shut down, they would’ve endangered the wellbeing of others. Let us be clear: Many members of the community traveled safely. But enough students did not, making others’ safety precautions for naught. We call on the administration to establish consequences for those who violate the rules and endanger the community because evidently, some students don’t feel shame in flaunting their rule-breaking and will stop only if threatened. In September, we signed the HM Promise, which states that we will wear a face covering when on campus, distance ourselves whenever possible, and complete the symptom check, among other similar rules — all of which are applicable on-campus. Riverdale recently asked their families to abide by a set of safety guidelines applicable to behavior outside of school, and we encourage our administration to create a code of its own. We’d like to propose the following measures: 1. Wear masks whenever you are outside of your home. 2. Do not travel when school is in session or is scheduled to be in session within upcoming days. 3. Do not socialize with friends unless you are outdoors, six feet apart, and masked. If you must socialize indoors, wear a mask, and keep the attendees to a minimum. 4. Do not dine at restaurants indoors. 5. Do not participate in in-person extracurricular activities outside of school. 6. Do not attend gatherings of more than 10 people. As of now, breaking these guidelines would not lead to official school disciplinary actions. But were the administration to modify and adopt these measures, we could begin to hold each other accountable and maintain a safe and healthful environment.
Riva Vig/Staff Artist
outside, catch COVID and then bring it into the school.” In his email, Kelly also wrote that by continuing online instruction for an extra week, the school avoids concerns of possible violence in response to the Presidential Inauguration. “While it’s unfortunate and even sad to suggest that parents should not have students participate in peaceful protests or an inauguration, the magnitude of the concerns raised for potential violence requires that I do so,” he wrote. While Kelly’s initial email explained that no additional testing would be required for members of the community who already submitted their tests, a follow up email announced that all students must be retested between January 19 and January 21 — any positive results submitted for tests administered after the 21st will automatically result in a 10
day quarantine for the student. To ensure that all students were able to be tested, the school reopened the campus with extended hours to facilitate testing. Aaron Shuchman (12) appreciates that the school is erring on the side of caution in their decision and feels confident that community members will be able to return to school eventually because of the school’s history of caution and its COVID-19 testing and safety protocols, he said. The vaccination of many of his teachers also reaffirms Shuchman’s feelings, he said. “It’s good for a lot of them to have this [vaccine] health wise,” he said. “When there is an inevitable large group of students and or teachers who need to quarantine, the vast majority of teachers can stay in school, and that’s really good.”
Courtesy of Yesh Nikam
POWER OF IMAGE Professor Claudia Rankine teaches the school about the history of Black erasure in film.
Poet Claudia Rankine speaks on race and white supremacy at assembly AJ Walker and Nathan Chiang Staff and Contributing Writers Esteemed poet, essayist, and playwright Claudia Rankine used her new book “Just Us: An American Conversation” to spark discussion surrounding issues of race and white supremacy in the United States during the Upper Division (UD) assembly and talkback sessions on Tuesday. Liliana Greyf (11) introduced Rankine, and a panel of students with questions included Greyf, Rachel Fearon (11), Dalia Pustilnik (11), Hanna Hornfeld (11). English Department Chair Vernon Wilson initiated the question and answer session following Rankine’s presentation. During the assembly, Rankine touched on a number of recent events, including the storming of the U.S. Capitol, to illustrate the current racial and political state of the
nation. As someone who often thinks about the role of politics in the classroom, English teacher Jennifer Little was initially hesitant when Rankin included her political beliefs in her talk. However, Little valued the way Rankine approached the integration of politics and academics. “One of the things I sometimes hear from students is to leave politics outside of the classroom, like this should somehow be about academia in a vacuum,” Little said. “I thought that [Rankine] framed really nicely that there is no such thing. There’s no such thing as some kind of personal that isn’t tinged with the political.” One significant focus of Rankine’s presentation was the concept of “whiteness” in the United States. Rankine established her definition of whiteness early on to refer to the ideology of white supremacy, rather than individual see Claudia Rankine on pg. 3