As students across Cobb County continue to re-enter classrooms in accordance with Cobb's Reopening Plan, and as part of the District's COVID-19 response, several creative solutions are being tested to keep students and staff healthy and safe at Bryant Elementary School, Belmont Hills Elementary School, and Argyle Elementary School. Knowing COVID-19 continues to impact both students and staff in the classroom, Cobb has identified three different partners that have designed solutions to help schools solve various COVID-19 challenges.
The District is utilizing a "proof-of-concept" process in these three schools to test these technologies' effectiveness, reliability, and usability. These proofs-of-concept, along with enhanced sanitizing and cleaning procedures that are already being used by custodians in all Cobb schools, should make classrooms safer and healthier for students and teachers across all of Cobb county. Superintendent Chris Ragsdale highlighted the importance of this work, "These technologies which could keep students and teachers safe were necessary before and definitely are now. One day, COVID-19 will be in the rearview mirror, but health and safety will remain a priority in our schools and classrooms."
The first of the three new products was developed by 30e Scientific. Its product – Iggy™ – uses a specially designed spray of water on hands and incorporates a low concentration of aqueous ozone to enhance hand hygiene effectiveness. Aqueous ozone has been shown to neutralize a variety of bacteria and viruses, which could include coronavirus. The spray is free of chemicals and soaps, will not dry out hands like alcohol-based hand sanitizers, and does not rely on individual hand washing techniques. 3Oe Scientific’s Iggy™ will be installed in high-traffic entry points in proof-of-concept schools throughout Cobb. The goal is to ensure all high-trafficked areas in school buildings are clean for the staff and students who use them every day.
The second is called Cleanz222, which is produced by ProTek Life. Cleanz222 is a low-voltage ultra-violet light that sterilizes classrooms overnight. Installed into the ceiling in a standard 2 x 2 tile space, Cleanz222 runs for at least an hour every night, in the middle of the night while the building is empty, to sanitize the air and cleanse all surfaces of germs, bacteria, and viruses that cause illnesses. The UVC frequency used in the Cleanz222 claims to kill 99.99% of microbes. This technology is the most unique of the three and, if proven, will give classrooms a fresh, sanitized start every day.
The third technology is designed to keep teachers and school buildings symptom-free. It is called SymTem (pronounced like "symptom") and is a symptom & temperature screening app produced by InfoMart. Much like the checklist and temperature checks performed before allowing spectators into public events, SymTem automates this process with an easy-to-use app that users install on their phones. Once a few questions are answered, and the temperature is logged, the app issues a work-ready badge as a QR code that expires at the end of that day. SymTem also issues healthcare referrals to those who prove to be symptomatic. This proof-of-concept helps ensure that teachers are healthy before entering a school building and is being implemented at Argyle, Belmont Hills, and Bryant Elementary.
"The priority in the Cobb County School District has always been to provide every student with the opportunity to succeed. To provide this opportunity, we must do our best to ensure the health and safety of our students and staff; these new technologies will help us do just that. Once again, Cobb Schools is leading the way in educating our students and meeting the needs of our community," School Board chair Brad Wheeler said.
These measures are just a few of the preparations which have been made by Cobb Schools to ensure that school buildings are as healthy and safe as possible. In direct response to COVID-19, all Cobb schools are cleaned daily, masks are required of all students and staff, and various enhanced health and safety protocols have been implemented, all of which can be found here.
Representative Bert Reeves took the time to commend Cobb Schools and Superintendent Chris Ragsdale for the district's response to the ongoing pandemic, "My hope is that what has been implemented here at Bryant is going to work and will become the model that we will see across the county and the state. I am proud of Superintendent Ragsdale and his vision on this. The commitment that Cobb has given to safely reopening is inspiring. Cobb has handled this perhaps the best in the entire state, and I am very proud of all the work that has gone into this."
Parents can be assured that the District will continue to do everything it can to keep education spaces clean and healthy as we offer both face-to-face and remote classrooms during the 2020-2021 school year.
