{"id":337627,"date":"2021-10-05T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-05T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/few-masks-sick-kids-packed-ers-how-one-districts-first-four-weeks-of-school-went-bad#1132693"},"modified":"2021-10-05T14:30:00","modified_gmt":"2021-10-05T14:30:00","slug":"few-masks-sick-kids-packed-ers-how-one-districts-first-four-weeks-of-school-went-bad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/10\/05\/few-masks-sick-kids-packed-ers-how-one-districts-first-four-weeks-of-school-went-bad\/","title":{"rendered":"Few Masks. Sick Kids. Packed ERs. How One District\u2019s First Four Weeks of School Went Bad."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n by Nicole Carr<\/a> <\/p>\n ] \n\n \n \n

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up for Dispatches<\/a>, a newsletter that spotlights wrongdoing around the country, to receive our stories in your inbox every week.<\/p>\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n\n\n \n

For the mother of two in suburban Atlanta\u2019s wealthy East Cobb, the breaking point came the first Friday of the school year. It was two months after Cobb County School District, Georgia\u2019s second-largest, announced it was revoking its mask mandate, two days after the district ditched its quarantine protocol for a far more lenient one, and 10 minutes after she had decided to cold call a local school official to ask a few questions.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

\u201cSure, it\u2019s more contagious,\u201d Cobb County School Board Chairman Randy Scamihorn told her on that Aug. 6 call, after she raised concerns about the district\u2019s preparedness for the delta variant. \u201cBut it\u2019s less lethal and, uh, probably it\u2019s more like a head cold.\u201d<\/p>\n \n \n \n\n\n

Never miss the most important reporting from ProPublica\u2019s newsroom. Subscribe to the Big Story newsletter.<\/a><\/p>\n\n \n \n \n \n

\u201cMy point is,\u201d he said, \u201cwe look at it from a statistical point of view. Kids are pretty well immune to it, and we\u2019ve always known that.\u201d<\/p>\n \n \n \n

For another East Cobb mother, who has triplets in fifth grade, the breaking point arrived the second week of school, as she sat feverish and shivering in the urgent care waiting room and realized that many of the families waiting alongside her were from her kids\u2019 elementary school.<\/p>\n \n \n \n \n \n

For the paraprofessional at an elementary school in a less-affluent part of the county, the breaking point came in Week 3, when she was forced to weigh her desire to protect the students in her care against the risk of bringing the virus home to her family.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

As Cobb County\u2019s superintendent and its school board continued to double down on its COVID-19 protocols, which are the laxest used in any of eight metro Atlanta school districts \u2014 and as the number of Cobb\u2019s COVID-19 cases rose 458% from the first through the fourth week of school \u2014 many parents and staff felt increasingly helpless to stave off the virus. And they felt increasingly voiceless in the debate over what needed to be done to protect their children and themselves. (This reporter pulled her own children out of a Cobb County school, which she chronicled last month<\/a>.)<\/p>\n \n \n \n

ProPubIica asked the district about the specific observations and experiences of parents that are detailed in this story. A district spokesperson responded, in part: \u201cCobb\u2019s updated Public Health Protocols, which strongly encourage masks for students and staff and social distancing in classrooms and school buildings when appropriate and feasible, are intended to balance the importance of in-person learning and the frequent changes associated with COVID-19, and we will continue to update our school protocols accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n \n \n \n

Scamihorn did not respond to multiple requests for comment.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

We asked parents, educators and a student to share their accounts of that first month in an attempt to illuminate the realities that were unfolding behind the headlines \u2014 in classrooms, in hospital waiting rooms and at home. Here are their stories, in their own words.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

Note: Interviews have been edited for length and clarity. ProPublica has verified subjects\u2019 statements about COVID-19 test results, vaccinations, medical care, employment status and COVID-19 exposure letters using primary-source documentation.<\/em><\/p>\n \n \n \n \n Week 1: Aug. 2 to Aug. 6\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n \n\n Capocein Sams worked at Brumby Elementary School, where she often filled in for the school nurse or worked in classrooms.\n \n (Audra Melton, special to ProPublica)\n \n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n

Capocein Sams, who worked for 13 years as a substitute teacher and, eventually, a paraprofessional at Brumby Elementary School:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \n \n \n \n \n

I already knew that we were in a bad position that first week of school. \u2026 I [had] thought that we had more staff that was vaccinated. But when I had talked to [another employee of the school], she was like, \u201cCap, I can\u2019t believe the amount of teachers that we have here that are not vaccinated. \u2026 We\u2019re sitting ducks.\u201d<\/p>\n \n \n \n

Saumi Riaz, mother of triplets in fifth grade at East Side Elementary School in East Cobb:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \n \n \n

My husband actually drew a map, sitting down with my son, saying, \u201cTell me where you sit \u2026 and tell me [on] the map which kid is wearing a mask around you.\u201d So four kids around him didn\u2019t have a mask. My son is the [only] one who\u2019s wearing a mask.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

A teacher at a Title I high school in South Cobb, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation for speaking critically about the district:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \n \n \n

I didn\u2019t really know what to expect. In my mind, I was like, \u201cI bet a bunch of kids just stay home, or a bunch of kids go to the online academy, or a bunch of kids just decide to not come.\u201d And I was wrong.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

In two of my classes, there were more kids than seats. \u2026 Some days, I\u2019m scrambling to get chairs from a workroom to say, \u201cHey, come sit at this table together,\u201d which is also unsafe, because you can\u2019t be 3 feet apart.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

It got real scary, real fast.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

Saumi Riaz:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \n \n \n

My son got off the bus [on Thursday, Aug. 5], red like a tomato. \u2026 He started to shiver. \u2026 I put him on the sofa. I tucked him [in with] all the blankets I had in the common seating area. \u2026 He still didn\u2019t stop shivering.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

My husband said maybe he got [the] flu. I was like, \u201cFaisal, all the symptoms are showing he got COVID.\u201d<\/p>\n \n \n \n

Faisal Riaz, Saumi Riaz\u2019s husband:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \n \n \n \n \n

There\u2019s a drive-thru testing facility right [near] our house and a line around the block of people waiting to get tested. So you know it\u2019s about to happen, right? It\u2019s about to hit. If this many people are getting tested, things are going bad.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

Saumi Riaz:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Next day, \u2026 the youngest of the triplets, she got off the bus, blushed like a tomato, shivering inside the house.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

I told my third one, \u201cPlease, you stay in your room.\u201d We already know she\u2019s exposed. She can\u2019t go to school, obviously. I said, \u201cStay in your room, don\u2019t come out.\u201d And my husband, he\u2019s in the basement.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

Faisal Riaz:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Our kids made it from last February until [August] of this year without getting COVID. Three days in school, [two of them] got COVID. <\/p>\n\n

East Cobb mother of a high schooler and middle schooler, who asked not to be named for fear of potential retribution for the phone call she recorded:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \n \n \n

The enormity of what was happening \u2026 prompted me to start feeling a little overwhelmed, honestly. And so I did what I try to do when I\u2019m starting to get overwhelmed by a situation. \u2026 I start thinking about, How do I make this really small? How do I address this situation?<\/p>\n \n \n \n

So anyway, I pick up my phone. Nine o\u2019clock on a Friday night, I\u2019m gonna leave a message for the school board chairman. He answers.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

[After Scamihorn likens COVID-19 in children to \u201ca head cold\u201d and says \u201ckids are pretty well immune to it,\u201d the mother asserts that the Delta variant is different and poses more of a problem than previous strains.]<\/em><\/p>\n \n \n \n\n \n Recording of a phone call with Cobb County\u2019s school board chairman\n

A mother in East Cobb called Cobb County School Board Chairman Randy Scamihorn about the district\u2019s COVID-19 policy and recorded their conversation.<\/p>\n\n \n\n \n \n \n\n\n\n \n \n \n

SCAMIHORN: Something happens where we get an influx of, you know, undocumented migrants, to be politically correct. They\u2019re still illegal aliens as far as this old guy\u2019s concerned but \u2014 <\/p>\n\n

EAST COBB MOTHER: Randy, I don\u2019t understand what you\u2019re telling me. What are you speaking about? Why are we speaking about immigration suddenly?<\/p>\n \n \n \n

SCAMIHORN: Anything can make the numbers spike that we don\u2019t anticipate. If we get illegal immigrants with COVID-postive, which they\u2019re coming in over the border, you know, daily by the hundreds ...<\/p>\n \n \n \n

EAST COBB MOTHER: Randy, that\u2019s incorrect. I\u2019m sorry, I can\u2019t, I can\u2019t let that go. That\u2019s completely incorrect. <\/p>\n\n

SCAMIHORN: You listen to too much NPR now. [Laughter] Come on, now. Hey, I love it. I love hearing you. I really do, so \u2014 <\/p>\n\n

EAST COBB MOTHER: Well, that\u2019s completely spurious information. And it\u2019s actually really appalling.<\/p>\n \n \n \n \n Week 2: Aug. 9 to Aug. 13\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n \n\n The Riaz family at their home in Marietta, Georgia. The triplets\u2019 entire fifth grade class had to switch to virtual learning for nearly two weeks.\n \n (Audra Melton, special to ProPublica)\n \n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n

A 16-year-old junior at Pope High School in East Cobb:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \n \n \n \n \n

I assumed that there would be a lot more protocol than there actually is. \u2026 Sometimes I would be the only person in the classroom wearing a mask. Like, even the teacher wasn\u2019t wearing a mask.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

A teacher who is high-risk \u2026 had us at least 3 feet apart from each other. \u2026 She did ask that we wear a mask, just for each other\u2019s safety and her safety. \u2026 I had my mask on. \u2026 But most people don\u2019t wear a mask in that classroom.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

South Cobb high school teacher:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \n \n \n

I know a kid is out with COVID once I can see in attendance that they\u2019re excused for 10 days. \u2026 So these kids would just vanish, right? Because we can infer that they got sick. We\u2019re not told, but we can infer.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

Saumi Riaz (who, along with her husband, is vaccinated):<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \n \n \n

I am feeling sick, and I\u2019m having symptoms. \u2026 [On Tuesday, Aug. 10], I actually drove myself [to urgent care] with 102 fever and shivering. And I sat for hours in Wellstar\u2019s waiting room. \u2026 Because I volunteer a lot in school, I recognize the parents and kids. \u2026 Kids came into that emergency room where I was sitting to get tested. Parents had their laptops, their work bags, \u2026 walking in there holding kids\u2019 hands. \u2026 It was just getting packed up with kids.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

East Cobb mother:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \n \n \n

The second week of school, I hear the helicopters up at East Side [Elementary]. It\u2019s the news helicopters<\/a>, because, of course, East Side fifth grade is being evacuated. Because it\u2019s so dangerous because of COVID.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

[Due to a COVID-19 outbreak, East Side\u2019s entire fifth grade class was sent home on Aug. 11 and those students switched to virtual learning. The fifth graders didn\u2019t return to the classroom until Aug. 23.]<\/em><\/p>\n \n \n \n

Faisal Riaz (whose triplets are in that fifth grade class but were home because two of them had the coronavirus):<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

School should not be a high-risk event, right? School should not be a superspreading event. It should be a sanctuary for people.<\/p>\n \n \n \n \n Week 3: Aug. 16 to Aug. 20\n \n \n \n \n

Portia Brimah, mother of a toddler and of two boys at Brumby Elementary School, all of whom have asthma; on Aug. 16, she received a letter from the school alerting her that one of her sons had been close in contact with someone who\u2019d tested positive for the coronavirus \u2014 and instructing her that \u201cyour child should quarantine at home, except to attend school in-person\u201d:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \n \n \n \n \n

I was downtown at work. \u2026 I was sitting in my office. I had my door closed, and I was thinking about the close contact letter. \u2026 And I picked up the phone and I called their pediatrician. I said, \u201cHey, we need to come up with a game plan.\u201d \u2026 She said, \u201cYou\u2019re in Cobb County?\u201d I said, \u201cYes, so what do I need to do in the event my children are exposed to COVID?\u201d She said, \u201cWell, first thing we need to do is get them in as soon as possible.\u201d She said, \u201cWe can\u2019t linger with you and wait for symptoms to escalate, because your children are high-risk.\u201d<\/p>\n \n \n \n

One hour later, I got the phone call to come pick up my children. \u2026 My fourth grader was exhibiting symptoms. <\/p>\n\n

South Cobb high school teacher:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \n \n \n

As Week 3 comes in, that\u2019s when, as a teacher, you get in your groove. I took a week to get to know some kids, I took a week to start introducing some topics. And now we\u2019re getting into it. We\u2019re getting into the good stuff, right? \u2026 And then it\u2019s Tuesday that I get a sore throat.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

A sore throat is not necessarily something that would keep me out of school. You know, I can get a sore throat just for any reason. Talking too much. \u2026 Let\u2019s play it by ear and see how I feel the next day. And so I wake up Wednesday and still got a sore throat and got a little bit of a cough. But the cough isn\u2019t abnormal, either. I get coughs all the time.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

By Thursday, I was starting to have a little bit of stuffiness in my face. And I was like, all right, well, this could be something.<\/p>\n\n

Brimah:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \n \n \n

I sat down and asked my son, \u201cWho around you was sick?\u201d And his words to me was, \u201cMommy, everybody at the table I sat at was sick. And they all went home one by one, and I was the last one.\u201d<\/p>\n \n \n \n

You can look at my son\u2019s eyes at that time and just say, \u201cYou don\u2019t feel good.\u201d Like, his eyes were weak. \u2026 And what we noticed is shortly thereafter, they would play, run around the house. He could maybe run a couple feet, and he would go into this coughing fit. You will see him trying to catch his breath.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

My middle son, he was fine that day, but his symptoms kicked in the very next day. ... I think about 1 o\u2019clock in the morning, I walked in that room just to check. \u2026 His fever had shot to 102.5. \u2026 He just he went downhill extremely fast.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

My youngest started showing symptoms on the 20th [the next day]. <\/p>\n\n

Sams (the paraprofessional at Brumby Elementary, where Brimah\u2019s two older sons went to school):<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \n \n \n

I was telling everybody the way that these kids are sounding, with the congestion and runny noses, is like March [2020], when they told us something is coming. We have kids that have been exposed to a potentially deadly virus. \u2026 And they do not tell the majority of the kids that are in the classroom with them, nor do we have any procedures or staff in place to even implement any procedures.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

If you\u2019re an adult and you want to go out there and you want to party and you want to get sick and die, hey, have at it. But these are children. \u2026 It\u2019s like all of our babies are being sent to slaughter.<\/p>\n \n \n \n \n \n

It was on Wednesday, Aug. 18. \u2026 I knew if I had expressed to [school leadership] that, OK, today is my last day, I would be in a meeting and they would be talking and begging and crying and this and that. So what I did is, I waited until they were not in the office. \u2026 I cleaned up my classroom. \u2026 I took my badge off. I have three keys, one to [the] door to the school, one to my classroom, one to the PTA closet. I attached them to my badge and I put it into the secretary\u2019s mailbox.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

[Asked about Sams\u2019 resignation, a Cobb County School District spokesperson responded: \u201cWe are proud of our employee retention rate of 97% for this school year and encourage all employees to make job decisions which are best for them and their families.\u201d<\/em>]<\/p>\n \n \n \n

South Cobb high school teacher:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

I was worried. I was worried for my own health, I was worried for the health of the people around me, whether that was at work or at home.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

I get off work Thursday, and I go and hunt around town a little bit for a take-home test. \u2026 I go home, I take the test, and it\u2019s like, instant positive. \u2026 It was like, \u201cNo, you, sir, you have a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n \n \n \n

Brimah (who is vaccinated):<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

I\u2019m at the emergency room with my [middle] child, and his body is literally burning up on me because his fever is so high.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

When I went to [the ER], I tried to follow social distancing guidelines. It was impossible. There were children everywhere. \u2026 You could hear the rattle in their chest when they coughed. You could see the frustration on the parents\u2019 faces.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

That night, I said, \u201cDoctor, give me your professional opinion. What would you advise us to do?\u201d \u2026 And if I had to describe the look on his face when I asked that question, it was a look of relief that somebody realizes what we\u2019re going through. \u2026 And he said, \u201cI\u2019m not gonna sit here and sugarcoat anything for you. \u2026 My children are in school, but they are in a private school where masks are mandated. If Cobb County does not change their standpoint, my strong advice to you is pull your children out.\u201d<\/p>\n \n \n \n

That was on Saturday the 21st. ... I start showing symptoms on the 22nd. My test came back positive on the 23rd.<\/p>\n \n \n \n \n Week 4: Aug. 23 to Aug. 27\n \n \n \n \n

South Cobb high school teacher:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

I was lucky. \u2026 I can say, \u201cHey, thanks vaccines \u2014 you did it!\u201d \u2026 I have high blood pressure. I am overweight. \u2026 I\u2019m lucky and thankful for the fact that I didn\u2019t get any worse.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

I got another test that Friday [Aug. 27] before I came back, which was nine days after my first first symptom, and I got a negative test. ... [The isolation days get taken] out of my sick time. There\u2019s no COVID leave. And if I run out of sick time because of this virus that the school gave me, and I gotta go home, I don\u2019t get paid.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

The people who are in charge of these policies are deniers of reality. \u2026 They would not take responsibility for making me sick. They won\u2019t take responsibility for the three teachers who died last year. They won't take responsibility for any bus drivers who died on their watch. They won\u2019t take responsibility for anything of that nature.<\/p>\n \n \n \n \n \n

Brimah:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \n \n \n

I don\u2019t think a lot of people realize the effects that it has on children. With my kids, they had to have albuterol and ipratropium nebulizer treatments around the clock, every four hours for three weeks. We had to go into what they call an emergency protocol just to make sure their respiratory system stayed open and they can continue to breathe.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

Pope High School junior:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \n \n \n

Because of COVID and everything, I have not had a full year of high school in person. \u2026 I would like to stay at my school and see my friends and have the normal high school experience. And if we have to wear masks, I would rather do that than have to leave again.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

I think everyone wants this just to be over, you know, a thing of the past, something in a history book that they can talk to their kids about. But it\u2019s not being handled in a way where that\u2019s becoming something that\u2019s possible. This doesn\u2019t seem to be stopping anytime soon.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

Brimah:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \n \n \n

I\u2019m watching the numbers steadily rise, continuously go up. So we had to make a decision. And the decision was to pull our kids out of school.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

Virtual [charter] school so far is working out very well for us. But my concern right now is, what about those families that don\u2019t have that option, those parents that can\u2019t work remotely and stay home, or that have to worry about when the children are being quarantined and [that] they have to now stay home for 10 days?<\/p>\n \n \n \n\n

In Week 4, the number of COVID-19 cases in Cobb County schools reached an all-time, single-week high.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

ProPublica asked the district if its COVID-19 protocols had been sufficient to minimize the spread of the virus among students and staff in the first month of school. But the district did not respond to the question about that first month, instead pointing to the steady drop in cases during the second month. \u201cSince the week of August 27, COVID-19 cases in Cobb Schools have decreased by 66%,\u201d a spokesperson said in a statement.<\/p>\n \n \n \n \n \n

A ProPublica review of COVID-19 case counts by week in eight metro Atlanta school districts shows that seven of them started seeing steady declines by or soon after Aug. 27 (the eighth had consistently low case counts) \u2014 and that Cobb County, the only district without a mask mandate, had the highest percentage increase in cases over the first four full weeks of school.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

Top school officials in Cobb County have given few signs that they will meaningfully engage with those who remain concerned about the virus. At a school board meeting in late September, the superintendent gave a 29-minute presentation in which he claimed that \u201cthe data clearly indicates that a mask mandate does not provide a significant change in the cases.\u201d<\/p>\n \n \n \n

After the superintendent concluded, Scamihorn refused to grant a request from a member of the board\u2019s all-Black Democratic minority to allow questioning of the presentation. Minutes later, all three minority school board members walked out of the meeting in protest.<\/p>\n \n \n \n\n

\n Has Your School Had a COVID Outbreak? Is Your District Following CDC Guidelines? Help Us Report.<\/a><\/strong>\n <\/p>\n\n \n \n

This post was originally published on Articles and Investigations - ProPublica<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Nicole Carr
\n ] <\/p>\n

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