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Michigan’s early child care workforce is in crisis. Here’s why

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The median hourly wage for Michigan child care workers — many of whom are women of color — was roughly $11 in 2019, with nearly one in five early educators living below the poverty line. 

That’s one of the findings from a January report that led two groups — the Michigan League for Public Policy, including Kids Count in Michigan, and Think Babies Michigan — to declare that Michigan’s early childhood workforce is in “crisis” because of the low pay, plus staffing shortages. 

Child care providers say that despite providing a foundational service for the youngest children, they aren’t paid or valued enough. The COVID-19 pandemic only exposed existing issues, they say, leading to turnover and staffing issues.

Meanwhile, parents struggle to find adequate and affordable care that is essential for them to stay employed. In Wayne County, it cost parents about $662 a month for child care, or nearly 40% of a minimum wage worker’s income, according to a Michigan League for Public Policy analysis using 2020 data.

And while millions of dollars in recent federal aid injected into Michigan’s child care system is a welcome relief, continued support — including higher wages and increased subsidies — is necessary, providers and advocates say. 

“They are charged with a huge responsibility of taking care of the state’s youngest children and really aren’t valued in a way that is equal to the things that they are doing,” Alicia Guevara Warren, senior director of policy and advocacy at the Lansing-based Early Childhood Investment Corp., said of child care workers.

More:Report: 35% of Michigan kids under 5 qualify for child care subsidies. Only 5% use them.

More:Child-care providers can apply for grant money to thank their workers with $1,000 bonuses

Building back after COVID-19 closings

Early child care workers are at once parents, cooks, doctors and teachers, said Kai Young, owner and director of Squiggles and Giggles Child Care in Detroit, which she opened 29 years ago. 

She sees the job as her passion and wants to provide quality care for children in Detroit.

But there’s “a lot involved in child care and the money that comes with it is definitely not worth it,” said Young whose business is home-based. “We do it because we love the children. We love what we do. We do it not because of the money.” 

She had to close for five months during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and when she finally reopened, she was down to three kids.

She’s now back to her regular roster but “it didn’t happen overnight,” she said. Young estimates she lost about $30,000 during that time, but federal and private grants helped make her whole again. 

Still, there’s the issue of staffing and pay. Although Young has enough people on staff now, she struggled to hire employees in the pandemic. 

“We have to have the income in order to take care of the children, in order to give them quality care, in order to pay the staff, in order to buy the equipment that we need,” she said. 

Kai Young, 50, of Detroit, poses for a photo while children pretend to take her picture at Squiggles and Giggles child care in the Grandmont neighborhood of Detroit on Thursday, March 3, 2022. Young has owned the child care since she was 21 years old and said she always knew she wanted to work with children.

Young said she had to raise her tuition early last year to make up for rising costs of everyday items such as groceries and disinfecting products. 

Early child care education plays an important role in a child’s first five years of development, she said. 

“They become like family and you end up loving the children and the families like they’re part of your own family.” 

More than 200 open positions

In 2019, the median wage for child care workers in Michigan was $11.13, according to the report from the Michigan League for Public Policy. Many child care educators were eligible for public subsidies, like food assistance, lunch programs and health insurance. 

Nearly 20% of child care workers lived in poverty in Michigan, the California-based Center for the Study of Child Care Employment found. For a family of four in 2019, the poverty threshold was $25,750. 

Child care educators tended to make less than those in the K-8 school system in Michigan. Meanwhile, a survey conducted between June 17 and July 5 of last year found that 87% of child care centers said they were facing staffing shortages that led to serving fewer kids, longer waitlists and reduced hours, according to the Michigan League for Public Policy report. Most center operators said wages were the main “recruitment challenge.” 

Before the holidays, there were about 213 open positions across eight Head Start providers with multiple locations in Detroit, said Jeffrey Miles, senior director for early childhood excellence at the United Way for Southeastern Michigan. 

“That’s a huge gap in staff and what that’s actually meaning is they’re only at about 73% of full enrollment, so we are leaving a lot of seats on the table,” Miles said. 

Detroit needs another 23,000 high-quality child care seats as of January, according to Hope Starts Here, a connector for early childhood efforts in Detroit. A 2016 report funded by the Kresge Foundation identified a similar gap and found that the highest need was concentrated in 10 neighborhoods, mostly in northeast and southwest Detroit. 

Kai Young, 50, of Detroit, peeks into the bathroom to monitor two children washing their hands at Squiggles and Giggles child care in the Grandmont neighborhood of Detroit on Thursday, March 3, 2022.

The city had 445 licensed child care providers as of February, down slightly from around the same time last year, according to an analysis by Data Driven Detroit. 

Across the state, 44% of Michigan residents lived in “child care deserts,” or areas with a lack of child care options, the Washington, D.C.-based Center for American Progress reported. 

Pandemic takes a toll

Child care providers — like other sectors of the workforce — bore the brunt of closures and reopening in the midst of a continuing health crisis during the pandemic. They juggled keeping their businesses open, ensuring the safety of children and trying to hire and retain staff. 

“Largely in this industry, you have women of color who are doing this work,” said Denise Smith, implementation director at Hope Starts Here.

Sheri Williams opened up Detroit-based Agape Love Child Care in 2019, a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. She faced a temporary closure and fluctuating enrollment. 

Williams was able to hire two employees last fall because of a partnership she has with a local nonprofit program. What a child learns in the first few years informs the rest of their lives, she said. 

“If I want to keep them and if I want good employees, and if I want people who are qualified with the education — or willing to do the work and get the education — I have to pay them more,” said Williams, whose business is home-based. She pays her staff $16 to $17 an hour, which is higher than most places in her experience, she said. 

Felicia Legardy, director of Crystal Swann Child Care in Detroit, also recognizes the need for higher wages. She currently pays her staff $25 an hour. 

Legardy has been in business for 25 years. In 2020, her home-based business’ quality rating dropped because she got COVID-19 and was unable to submit required paperwork in time, she said. That rating is one of the factors that determines subsidy rates. Parents who don’t get subsidies pay $213 a week. 

Although she was able to recoup her losses, that experience was jarring. She’s planning on leaving the industry, she said. 

“I can’t have this happen to me again. … I was so depressed but I still had to keep going for the families that needed me at that time because they had to go to work,” she said.

Legardy loves working in the field, despite the hard work and long hours. Former students come back to her when they get to college. She forms connections with families, some of whom were reeling from homelessness and struggling to pay bills. She pushes employees to open up their own day cares, she said. 

For parents, the search for care is real

One of the reasons experts said women left the workforce in the pandemic was because they tended to shoulder their own child care responsibilities, amid school and day care closures. 

That was the case for Starnetrice Johnson, 33, of Farmington Hills, who had to let go of her hospital job in 2020 because child care places shut down and she didn’t have a place for her son to go at the time. 

“I was stressed, not knowing what I was going to do, not knowing where my money was (going to) come from, not knowing how I was going to pay bills, not knowing how we were going to eat. It was really stressful,” she said. 

Eventually, Johnson went back to work and found child care. She then switched to Legardy’s care earlier this year. Finding a suitable place for her 3-year-old was a “roller coaster.”  

“If I didn’t have child care for him, I couldn’t work,” she said. 

She left a different job late last year because her son was sick and she had to keep him at home, and was unable to take several days off, she said.  

“A lot of parents rely on child care because they don’t have the support system, they don’t have anyone to help them with their children,” said Johnson, who recently started a new job that aligns better with her son’s schedule. 

Finding care was also a challenge for Amina McClendon, a mom of two living in Oak Park. Having access to child care is key for her to continue working as well, she said. 

McClendon, 42, began her job  last July but didn’t find child care for her younger son until August. Until then, she was able to work remotely. 

Safety concerns and affordability were her top priorities. McClendon visited centers that she felt were understaffed and would cost anywhere from $300 to $400 a week, and that didn’t include diapers.

“It’s hard, I mean, the anxiety and the stress of finding appropriate child care that’s safe for your child with the pandemic and people being so short-staffed,” she said.  

Finally, she found Legardy’s child care which is within walking distance to her job. 

McClendon and her husband don’t qualify for subsidies because they are just above the income threshold and so they pay out of pocket. But quality child care is so important to her that it’s worth it, she said.  

 “It’s a stretch, but I’m willing to sacrifice other things,” McClendon said. 

Money is coming

The state has recently made investments into the child care industry that advocates say have been significant and historic. 

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last year unveiled a $1.4 billion plan to expand affordable child care with federal dollars. Licensed child care workers can get $1,000 bonuses and $700 million of the budget went toward stabilization grants for providers. Meanwhile, the state raised the income eligibly for child care subsidies to 185%, or a family of four currently making $49,025, from 150% of the federal poverty level — or $39,750 — through 2023, then 160% for the following years. 

In a January survey of nearly 5,000 childhood educators across the country, 92% of those who received stabilization grants from federal COVID-19 relief aid were able to keep their programs open, according to the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

“In order for us to really see those long-term changes, we’re going to need to find a way in the future to make all of these expansions permanent,” said Guevara Warren, of the Early Childhood Investment Corp.

Providers say pathways for education and professional training, like dual enrollment for high school students interested in the field, is crucial for the future of the workforce, along with increased compensation. 

“The child care industry has for a long time been overlooked and underpaid,” said Williams, who has been in the field for more than 16 years. 

Nushrat Rahman covers issues related to economic mobility for the Detroit Free Press and Bridge Detroit as a corps member with Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support her work at bit.ly/freepRFA.

Contact Nushrat: [email protected]; 313-348-7558. Follow her on Twitter: @NushratR. Sign up for Bridge Detroit’s newsletter. Become a Free Press subscriber. 

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DIY Filter System Helps Stop COVID-19 Spread

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As the United States enters a third year of living with COVID-19 — and many states begin to treat it as endemic rather than pandemic — a debate has begun over what lessons can be learned from the last few years and how they can be applied to public health. Among them is a growing recognition of the importance of air filtration systems, especially in indoor spaces.

A recent article by Saahil Desai at The Atlantic, for instance, pondered whether the coming months and years would see restaurants taking steps to improve their air filtration capacities. “At every turn, Americans have failed to grasp just how much indoor air matters for this pandemic,” Desai wrote. “HEPA filters would be in every restaurant already if that’s what customers truly wanted, or if governments required them.”

State-of-the-art air filters aren’t the only way indoor air can be made safer. A recent article by Douglas Hannah at Smithsonian Maagzine explored the flexibility of the Corsi-Rosenthal box, a kind of DIY air filter that can be assembled quickly — but which can also make the air in an indoor space a lot cleaner.

Hannah describes the system as “a cube consisting of four to five off-the-shelf furnace filters topped by a standard box fan blowing outward.” It costs less than $100 to get the materials for one, and they can be built in under an hour. The article describes the kinds of spaces where Corsi-Rosenthal boxes have proven useful — homeless shelters, classrooms and day care centers among them.

Studies suggest that these boxes can both augment existing air filtration systems and do a solid job on their own. It’s welcome news for those seeking an easy-to-implement measure to make indoor spaces safer.

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Cigarette Smoke Smell Removal Air Purifier

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Many places like restaurants, pubs, and night clubs are fast becoming smoke free, or at least mandatory to have a portion of the space sectioned off for smokers. If your senses are discerning enough though, you would know that the second hand smoke is drifted almost to every corner of the space, even if there are precautions set up. There are many reasons why this could happen, mainly due to the fact that the air ventilation and circulation is far from being ideal, or that the design of the space is not conducive, or that the air purification systems are lacking in capability.

Indeed, there are a variety of factors to consider when acquiring your smoke air purifier. First on the list is the type of contaminants and pollutants that need to be cleaned as well as other technical considerations.

The average machine can provide a cleaning efficiency rate of about 99.97 percent which seems very high for those of us not experience in shopping for one. Indeed, allergens, virus, gas, smoke and odours will require different technologies to clean the air and you need to ensure that you select the right machine with the right technology.

However, to those more informed individuals, it is known that many harmful pollutants are within 0.3 microns, some of which are fumes, tobacco smoke, odours, are most harmful to general health. To stop the infiltration of the above pollutants, robust smoke air purification systems should utilise advanced HEPA technology, the filters of which are capable of entrapping microbes and tiny airborne pollutants.

Also, the size of the room you intend to clean also decides which machine with specific capacity and cleaning capability to choose from. As a benchmark, you need at least about 5 air exchanges per hour relative to the size of your room and this is the least of performance you should accept from any smoke air purifier.

For more about best air purifier for cigarette smoke smell removal,you can pay a visit to Olansi China at https://www.olansichina.com/what-is-the-best-air-purifier-for-cigarette-smoke-smell-removal-and-pets-under-100.html for more info.

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Fair Lawn NJ 2022 budget calls for more trees, water treatment plant

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FAIR LAWN — The proposed municipal budget for 2022 includes a substantial increase for planting trees and also calls for a new water treatment plant. 

“We are really focused on greening up Fair Lawn, and it’s part of our overall plan with making sure Fair Lawn’s more environmentally friendly,” Mayor Kurt Peluso said. 

In the borough’s $60 million proposed budget, about $40,000 is going toward a tree planting initiative, an increase of $22,000 since 2020. The goal is to plant 150 trees.

“Over the years a lot of the tree canopy in Fair Lawn has been lost, either to extreme weather or to people coming in and taking down trees,” said Councilmember Gail Rottenstrich, who is at the forefront of the initiative. “We started a campaign to educate the community about the importance of trees.”

Many residents already value trees, Peluso said. “The one thing with the pandemic is you had a lot more people going out for walks and visiting our local parks,” he said. 

FOR SUBSCRIBERS:‘As much a part of NJ as asphalt’: Why loss of this neighborhood’s trees was so emotional

Fair Lawn residents may call Borough Hall and request that a tree be planted on their property. On average, the borough’s cost to plant a tree is $150 to $300, but there is no charge for homeowners. 

Even so, at times getting residents to request trees “is a struggle,” said Jane Spindel, co-chair of the Shade Tree Advisory Committee. “Some find them a nuisance because the roots may lift sidewalks, or sometimes the falling acorns, but we really need to get trees in the ground. They are beneficial for cooling the environment,” she said.

The advantages go beyond that. “Oak trees are the most beneficial, because they are home to birds and a number of insects, moths, that are beneficial to the overall environment,” Spindel said. 

John Nugent (age 90) of Fair Lawn, reads a book in the shade of a tree on a very hot day on Monday at Otto Pehle Area of Saddle River County Park in Saddle Brook on June 12th, 2017.

Tree-lined streets add curb appeal, Peluso said, and encourage walking in natural areas. 

Planting trees is key to keeping the climate crisis from worsening, scientists say, as trees remove and store carbon dioxide emissions that drive global warming.

Water improvements 

Fair Lawn has a separate water infrastructure budget, and $6 million is being allocated for a new water treatment facility as part of ongoing significant improvements.

Over the past several years, improvements have been funded by companies that polluted Fair Lawn’s groundwater, under a settlement with the federal government.

Fair Lawn received $20 million to improve drinking water.

“We are working very closely with Congressman [Josh] Gottheimer’s office, because there is a lot of available funding within the infrastructure bill,” Peluso said. 

“We know that if we make these investments, the value of Fair Lawn will continue to increase as well,” he said. 

Fair Lawn budget 

The borough’s $60 million overall municipal budget includes a $36.8 million tax levy. In 2021 the budget was an estimated $56 million and carried a tax levy of $36.5 million. 

The municipal budget had a first reading in February. It needs final approval from the council before going into effect. 

The tax levy does not include school taxes or Bergen County taxes, the other two portions of residential tax bills. 

Shaylah Brown is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: [email protected] 

Twitter: @shaylah_brown

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Poultry owners need to protect bird health

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The Delaware Department of Agriculture has been warning poultry owners since January to take extra precautions to protect their birds after detections of highly pathogenic avian influenza in wild birds in the Atlantic Flyway.

Now, after a case of HPAI was announced in late February in a commercial poultry farm in New Castle County, DDA is reminding owners that biosecurity is the best way to protect bird health.

Biosecurity refers to measures people can take to protect their flock and keep anything that causes disease away from the birds, property and people.

Avian influenza is an airborne respiratory virus that spreads easily among chickens through nasal and eye secretions, as well as manure. The virus can be spread in various ways from flock to flock, including by wild birds, through contact with infected poultry, by equipment, and on the clothing and shoes of caretakers.

Wild birds typically do not show signs of illness, but they can shed the virus at high levels in their manure or droppings if infected. In fact, one gram of contaminated manure, enough to cover a dime, can infect 1 million birds. Therefore, Delaware poultry is at risk from exposure if the birds have access to areas where free-flying waterfowl and wild birds are present in the environment. Additionally, if a person steps in contaminated manure while out and about, they can bring the virus back to their domesticated birds, causing infection.

So what can poultry owners do, especially when wild birds fly overhead, dropping fecal matter all over during their migration?

• Keep poultry away from wild ducks, geese and their environment, including ponds, lakes and swampy areas
• Maintain outdoor enclosures with solid roofs and wire mesh or netted sides. Repair any holes or tears that would allow birds or rodents to enter
• Provide feed and water in an indoor or covered area. Change it daily and promptly clean up any spilled feed so as not to attract wildlife
• Wear designated farm shoes when working with birds or use disposable shoe coverings upon every entry to the flock area. If there are multiple chicken houses, keep a dedicated set of footwear in each house. Use foot baths before entering a chicken house
• Wash hands before and after working with birds to reduce disease spread
• Clean and disinfect any equipment or bird housing/coops before bringing them onto the property 
• Wash vehicles and trailers after visiting other poultry facilities and go through a car wash before returning home
• Keep visitors to a minimum. Only allow people who have direct responsibility for taking care of the flock to come in contact with the birds
• Keep track of everyone who comes onto the property at all times by using a logbook. If they had contact with other poultry, have pet birds, or had contact with wild birds (e.g., hunting), do not let them come in contact with the flock.
• When adding birds to a flock, make sure to purchase them from a reputable source. Make sure to keep new birds or returning show birds separated from established home flocks for 30 days.

No matter the size, all poultry farms should be monitoring flocks for any signs of increased mortality or signs of respiratory illness or distress, such as sneezing, gasping for air, coughing, and/or runny nose. Other signs of HPAI in poultry can include swelling around the eyes, neck and head; purple discoloration of the wattles, combs and legs; tremors, drooping wings, circling, twisting the head and neck; watery, green diarrhea; lack of energy, poor appetite; and a drop in egg production, or soft or thin-shelled, misshapen eggs.

Backyard flock owners who notice any of the signs of HPAI in their flock should contact the Delaware Poultry Health Hotline at 302-698-4507 or email [email protected] with contact information, size of flock, location and concerns. Backyard flock owners will be contacted if a sample needs to be taken. Do not take dead or sick birds to a lab to be tested or move them off-site.

Commercial poultry producers should follow all prescribed procedures and contacting the company they grow for when they notice signs of disease.

 

 

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Improving school air quality is crucial to student health

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Mark Ereth, MD, MA, is an emeritus professor at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. Barbara A. Garza is superintendent of the AESA International School System and head of school at AESA Prep Academy in Austin, Texas.

The rapid spread — and now decline — of the omicron variant raises critical questions about how to fight the pandemic long term, especially at schools. With more schools rethinking mask requirements, now is the time to shift our collective focus to a more sustainable and effective solution to fighting COVID: improving indoor air quality.

No one is opposed to cleaner indoor air. In fact, a focus on indoor air offers a source of common ground that sidesteps polarizing issues like masks and vaccines. Improving air quality will also provide protection against other airborne bacteria, viruses and chemicals that are damaging to our children’s health.

Early in the pandemic, the recommendation to schools about indoor air was alarmingly simple — open windows and doors and let the fresh air inside. While increased ventilation with outside air is a good idea, it doesn’t work for all climates, and, most importantly, it’s not enough to ensure the air inside is clean.

Outdated HVAC systems, especially in schools, tend to circulate dirty air regardless of whether the window is open or not. The U.S. Government Accountability Office estimates one-third of the approximately 100,000 American public schools have these outdated systems. It’s time to change that.

At AESA Prep Academy in Austin, Texas, we are facing the indoor air problem head-on. Early in the pandemic, we invested in a cutting-edge air purification system as part of our comprehensive reopening plan. This plan, which also includes testing and masking, prioritizes clean indoor air.

We installed a hospital-grade HVAC system that captures and kills COVID, as well as other airborne contaminants, to ensure our children have the safest, cleanest air to breath. It’s the same technology used in some of the most respected medical facilities in the country, including at MD Anderson Cancer Center’s main campus in Houston.

Teachers have also urged school districts to address air quality. For example, the American Federation of Teachers supports improvements to indoor air and has encouraged the federal government to implement minimum ventilation standards.

During the pandemic, support for these measures intensified. The National Education Association designed indoor air quality plans and, at the local level, teacher unions from Chicago to Oakland and New York City all pushed administrators to implement better air quality technology.

The good news is that federal funding is available to help install air purification technology in schools across the country. The American Rescue Plan Act — one of the federal stimulus bills passed during the pandemic — provides money to help schools address air quality through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund. We urge leaders at all schools to use this funding for HVAC improvements. Clean air for our children needs to be a priority for everyone.

It’s time to shift our thinking away from piecemeal measures and focus on the big picture. If our indoor air is free of all airborne viruses and bacteria, volatile organic compounds and particulate pollutants, parents and teachers can feel more confident about sending their kids to school without having to debate masks or vaccines. And if we adopt a cleaner indoor air strategy universally, we may just prevent the spread of the next COVID variant.

No one wants to go through this experience again. If schools make smart investments and focus on longer-term solutions, we may not have to.

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Albuquerque city councilors have opposing views on vaccine mandates for city employees

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Albuquerque city councilors are meeting on Monday. On the agenda are a number of hot-button issues that include competing legislation.

The first to be heard, introduced by council president Isaac Benton would put in place a vaccination mandate for city employees that includes Albuquerque Police officers and firefighters. Councilor Benton says vaccines should be required for city employees and Councilor Dan Lewis wants to ban vaccine requirements for city employees. Benton argues vaccines should be required to continue the progress the city and state have made against COVID. Lewis says vaccines are a personal choice and should not be based on fear and consequences.

It’s now a race for city councilors to finalize how the city will regulate the cannabis industry in Albuquerque. Items on the agenda include amending the Clean Indoor Air Ordinance which only regulates tobacco, to include cannabis. It bans cannabis from being smoked at places like the BioPark and on public transit to comply with changes to the state law. Councilor Benton is also asking to remove paraphernalia from the criminal code.

Another item on the agenda would take steps to renegotiate the Department of Justice’s oversight of APD. APD has been under the scrutiny of the justice department since 2014 after the DOJ found a pattern of excessive force. The resolution introduced by Councilor Dan Lewis would let the city petition to reopen the agreement and negotiate its terms. This comes after Attorney General Merrick Garland made changes to how the DOJ monitors police departments. The resolution would allow the city to look into if any of those changes would benefit the department.

They will also discuss the future of the plastic bag ban in the duke city. The ban was put in place to help the city be more green. Councilor Brook Bassan wants to get rid of the ban, saying paper bags use more energy to produce and cause more damage to the environment. She also says it is a burden to businesses because of supply chain issues. But a group of 35 local businesses says they want the ban to stay in place, that large retailers are the ones complaining.

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Clearing the Air: UConn School of Nursing donates air purifiers to Coventry schools | Connecticut & Region

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COVENTRY — Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, many schools with aging ventilation systems have struggled to remove virus-carrying particles from the air. The University of Connecticut School of Nursing has devised an innovative solution, however, that was being installed today in Coventry schools.

Some 150 do-it-yourself air purifiers, known as Corsi-Rosenthal Boxes, built by university students on the Storrs campus over the weekend, were donated to Coventry schools to help them properly ventilate indoor spaces. The purifiers are built from commonly found materials, such as a box fan, air filters, cardboard, and duct tape, said Mikala Kane, UConn School of Nursing spokeswoman.

“I was pretty excited to have this opportunity come this way,” Coventry Superintendent David Petrone said last week. “It’s no secret that our (ventilation) systems are on the older side of things.” There’s no cost to the town for the air purifiers, which come as a result of a partnership between the school district and the university started seven years ago, he added.

“This is a very simple unit that costs about $60 that students, adults, teachers and even our students here at UConn can make, using just these simple materials,” said Marina Creed, a nurse practitioner with UConn Health who spearheaded the initiative with Michelle Cole, an associate clinical professor with the university’s School of Nursing.

Watch UConn Health Nurse Practitioner Marina Creed explain Corsi-Rosenthal boxes, which are a type of inexpensive air purifier that can remove virus carrying aerosols from the air and are built using commonly found materials. 150 of the boxes are being built by UConn School of Nursing students to be donated to Coventry Public Schools.

“Corsi-Rosenthal Boxes provide immediate relief to improve indoor air quality, the benefits of which not only impact COVID-19 but also pollen, mold, dust and other indoor allergens that can negatively impact school performance and lead to missed school days,” Creed said during a Saturday event where UConn students assembled 100 of the air purifiers for Coventry schools. Some of the purifiers have already been given to the schools, and the final delivery will be made today.

Kane said the boxes could remove up to 90% of virus carrying aerosols, dust and allergens from the air. Each box can last up to six months before filters need to be replaced.

The cubed boxes have air filters on four sides, cardboard on the bottom, and a box fan on top that is covered with cardboard with a hole cut out of the middle. It is sealed completely with duct tape to create “negative pressure,” Creed said.

“When you turn the fan on, the air has nowhere to go except through the filters to be discharged through the top of the fan,” Creed said, adding that this construction allows for “extremely high performance.”

“It reminds me of science projects I used to do as a child, but instead of taking it home for mom and dad to see, when you’re done with it, you can plug it into the wall and it actually serves a purpose. It cleans the air immediately upon turning it on,” she said.

Petrone said that the boxes would be placed in “every space occupied by students,” including classrooms and cafeterias. The hope is that the filters can help protect students and staff for months.

“We’re excited just to have another mitigation strategy,” Petrone added.

Jennifer DeRagon, George Hersey Robertson School principal, said last week that teachers “greatly appreciate” that the boxes run quietly in their classrooms all day. UConn students personalized each unit with their names and unique designs, giving local students “a sense of authentic innovation to solve real world problems using the engineering and design process.”

Captain Nathan Hale Middle School Principal Dena DeJulius said last week that teachers there plan to use the purifiers “as a lesson for our students in using creativity to help others.”

Town Councilman Matthew Kyer, who also works as the Library Media Center specialist in Coventry Grammar School, said last week that the partnership between Coventry schools and UConn is “just amazing” and that the purifiers are very quiet and non-intrusive.

“They’re just very much appreciated,” Kyer added.

Gov. Ned Lamont announced last week that he is proposing legislation to establish a grant program that would fund improvements to school air flow systems, using $90 million in federal pandemic relief funds the state received last year. Municipalities would have to provide matching grants under the plan.

“One thing the COVID-19 pandemic exposed is that many school buildings in our state, particularly those that are of a certain age, are in serious need of air quality improvements,” Lamont said last week in a prepared statement. “Some people may erroneously think that heating and cooling systems are only about temperature control, but modernized ventilation systems provide an important public health function that filtrate the air and reduce airborne contaminants, including particles containing viruses.”

Digital Editor Emily Perron contributed to this story.

Ben covers Coventry and Tolland for the Journal Inquirer.

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Pentagon to shutter fuel facility that leaked into Pearl Harbor tap water

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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered the permanent closure of the Navy’s Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in Hawaii, the final chapter in an embarrassing saga for the Pentagon after leaks from the massive facility contaminated Pearl Harbor’s tap water.

The fuel tanks, dating to World War II and built into the side of a mountain to protect them from Japanese attacks, had leaked into a local drinking water well, sickening nearly 6,000 people in military housing near or at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Nearly 4,000 families were forced to relocate in an episode that became a major public relations black eye for the Pentagon.

Mr. Austin‘s decision came after Pentagon inspectors made a new assessment of Red Hill’s viability. Hawaii state health officials also had recommended draining the fuel tanks.

“After close consultation with senior civilian and military leaders, I have decided to defuel and permanently close [Red Hill] in Hawaii,” Mr. Austin said in a statement Monday. “This is the right thing to do.”

He said it would take about a year to develop a plan for decommissioning the site before the tanks can be drained. He said the Pentagon now has a much more dispersed array of forces in the Pacific and the need for a centralized refueling center has declined.

“We will develop an environmental mitigation plan to address any future contamination concerns,” Mr. Austin added. “When we begin to consider land-use options for the property after the fueling facility is closed, we will stay in lockstep with communities in Hawaii. Nothing will be decided without careful and thorough consultation with our partners.”

He also pledged to work with families whose lives and health had been affected by the leaks.

“We owe you the very best health care we can provide, answers to your many questions, and clean, safe drinking water,” Mr. Austin said. “Quite frankly, we owe you a return to normal.”

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Plenty of smiles, some nerves as ‘mask optional’ rules start in large N.J. school district

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As the chapter on face masks in New Jersey schools ended Monday morning, future lawyer Diana Zanga did not hesitate when she arrived at Grove and Murray Streets in Elizabeth.

Crossing guard, Deborah Walker, didn’t either.

They hugged. But Zanga made sure her face mask was fastened on first and Walker had hers at the ready for any students who felt more comfortable around her with it on.

“COVID isn’t 100% over yet,” the seventh-grader at Abraham Lincoln School No. 14 said Monday morning. “There’s still a chance that you could get it, so I’m not taking any chances.”

Walker said she couldn’t be more elated. “I missed seeing their faces,” she said, stop sign in hand.

The Elizabeth School District, the third largest district in the state with over 28,000 students, joined hundreds of other New Jersey school districts starting mask optional rules Monday as Gov. Phil Murphy lifted the school mask mandate and the public health emergency.

Other large districts, like Jersey City and Edison, have also installed mask optional policies. Meanwhile the largest district in the state, Newark Public Schools, said it would continue to require masks indoors. New CDC guidance indicated face masks were no longer needed based on declining case figures but some districts said they won’t drop mask rules until after spring break.

Victoria Candles works with kindergarten teacher Michelle Buska. Face masks became optional Monday at Abraham Lincoln School 14 in Elizabeth, N.J. March, 7, 2022.Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

For many students, it was the first time they were allowed to be maskless while in classes and on school buses since many districts reopened for in-person instruction in September 2020.

Many students kept their masks on. A few went without them — one even tossed his into the air after getting off the bus — and more kept them in their pockets in case the urge struck to put it on.

The school day, like others, kicked off with morning announcements, then Principal Diane Matos-Reis walked over to Michelle Buska’s Kindergarten class, where Lincoln’s littlest practiced writing sentences with a song from the animated movie “Sing” playing in the background.

“Good morning!” they said together when the principal walked in — about half from behind small masks.

“All of our kids are really supportive even when we had to wear masks. They were very diligent about keeping their friends safe … to cover their coughs and sneezes, so they’ve been really helpful with all of that,” Buska said.

Elizabeth’s 37 schools were able to make masks optional due to Union County’s low transmission rate, school officials said.

Elizabeth schools’ district spokesman, Pat Politano, said there have not been any issues with bullying. However, he noted, school officials would continue to be mindful of potential problems students could encounter based on their mask preferences.

Hallways and classrooms in Elizabeth school buildings went unchanged from Friday. Students and staff will still be asked to maintain three feet of distance and water fountains will continue to be closed “with the personal dispensers in place,” Politano said.

Other signs of the pandemic that remain in place: directional arrows in stairwells, windows in classes and buses will remain open to increase air flow, distancing will be encouraged at sports and performing arts events and staff will continue to disinfect “high-touch areas.”

Expressing what the new mask rules meant at the 800-student Abraham Lincoln School came in many forms Monday.

“I wanted to keep mine on to be safe but I do think about spring and summer when it gets warmer and I don’t want to wear it inside,” said Kendry Cruz, 10.

Her mother, Marbella Cruz, dropped off Kendry and her 11-year-old brother, Oliver.

“I haven’t ever told them they can come in without (masks). For me to be fine with them not wearing them, I’d need to know most kids are vaccinated,” said Marbella Cruz.

When asked what the “mask optional” policy meant for her, teacher Teresa Ruiz, sighed in relief.

“I teach kids with special needs, they run and play and it can be hard for them to catch their breath when they have the masks on,” she said in Spanish. “They’ll be much more comfortable now.”

Mask wearing optional in schools

Face masks became optional Monday at Abraham Lincoln School 14 in Elizabeth, N.J. March, 7, 2022.Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

While heading down the hall to Donna McDonald’s first-grade class, art from the kids coated the walls as did reminders to show classmates respect.

Eight of the 14 kids in McDonald’s class kept their masks on.

Each took turns recapping their weekends. One filled everyone in on the cheeseburger he ate (sans pickles). Another said he was recovering from feeling somewhat unwell over the weekend.

“Today is pretty monumental. We’ve come a long way as a community and a district,” said Matos-Reis, the school’s principal. “I think at the end of the day it’s important everyone feels comfortable choosing the (mask option) they prefer.”

Mask wearing optional in schools

Face masks became optional Monday at Abraham Lincoln School 14 in Elizabeth, N.J. March, 7, 2022.Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

State officials continue to implore that the pandemic is not over. In the state’s last COVID press briefing Friday, Murphy and state health officials urged that future case spikes will likely happen.

For Nemeceo Medias, a dad whose kids attend Albert Einstein Academy School No. 29 in Elizabeth, the setting is the biggest factor, he said.

“If they’re in a crowded place I’d want them to keep them on,” Medias said as his daughters mounted the school bus.

Marvin, 13, and Marcus Francois, 10, sat together on the steps of Lincoln School.

“Yes, we should keep them on,” Marvin said, his little brother nodding next to him. “We don’t want to get sick or go back to learning from home.”

For the 2021-22 school year, the Elizabeth School District entered a virtual format twice. Once after the remnants of Hurricane Ida hit New Jersey — causing two city schools to close (they’ve since reopened). And again between Jan. 3 and Jan. 15 as the height of omicron swept through the state.

Politano said the Elizabeth School District’s mask requirements have not resulted in major backlash or criticism by parents or staff.

In her letter to the community Friday, Superintendent Olga Hugelmeyer said going forward the school district will “update our health and safety protocols as appropriate.”

Would the district leave the door open to require masks again?

“Throughout this whole process, we followed the data, the science, so based on CDC recommendations (and) based on the New Jersey Department of Health recommendations, our local health department most importantly, if we started to see the cases increase we certainly would,” said Hugelmeyer on Monday morning.

But for many at Lincoln School, reverting to mask mandates did not feel like it would be necessary. Spring would soon begin, classrooms were bustling and many more smiling faces were on full display.

“We are ecstatic that we are at this point,” added Hugelmeyer. “But certainly cautious.”

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Steven Rodas may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @stevenrodasnj.

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