[Susan McCann]

Hi Everyone!

I wanted to share that a few collegues and I staged a number of classrooms last week to enable the Executive Team, representatives from the teachers union and a few other people see what rooms would look like at 3′ and 6′ with desks, 3′ and 6′ with tables, what a Kindergarten classroom, as well as instructional spaces in a gyms, auditoriums, and cafeterias would look like without access to anything but desks and chairs.

As an educator, I was particularly struck by the coldness of all of these recommendations/requirements. I was also thinking about how difficult it will be to teach under these circumstances, which is the antithesis of what we have strived to establish over the past few years to make classrooms be collaborative, flexible learning environments.

Not to get too touchy-feely here, but this is going to have a major impact on classroom management, morale, and overall mental health.

I was not present for the walkthrough with the team, but imagine that it was very sobering.

If you haven’t provided an opportunity to let folks see what it will look like, I highly recommend that you do. It helps to physically see how stipped down education in the classroom will be going forward – hopefully not for ever…

My two cents…

Stay well.

Sue McCann

Boston Public Schools

[Susan McCann]

October 22, 2007
School Administrators

RE: MRSA

Below are steps that we as your professional building services company are implementing to provide your students, staff and the community a safe and healthy environment. These steps have been developed with recommendations from the US Center for Disease Control (CDC), and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The following common areas of frequent contact will be targeted with our preventive measures and methods, using EPA-registered and approved products.

Daily – “Spray and Wipe” method – 3M Quat disinfectant

Handrails, doorknobs, bathroom fixtures, light switches and plates, weight room equipment, exterior of lockers, public phones, drinking fountains, desks, counters, table tops and other horizontal surfaces.

Daily- disinfect completely using 3M Quat disinfectant and 3M multi-use disinfectant and cleaner

• Nurse’s rooms
• Bathrooms
• Locker areas

We recommend the computer labs be provided with sanitizing wipes for sanitization of keyboards, and computer screens. The wipes would also be recommended for sanitization of staff phones.

This is what we are doing, hope it helps.
Mike