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By
Johann Calhoun, Chalkbeat PhiladelphiaJuly 15, 2021
School District of Philadelphia Chief Operating Officer Reggie McNeil points to the district’s new air and surface purifiers. Thursday’s announcement was made at Juniata Park Academy in the lower Northeast. (Johann Calhoun / Chalkbeat)
This story originally appeared on Chalkbeat Philadelphia.
Following a contentious year where Philadelphia teachers threatened to strike over ventilation problems in school buildings, Superintendent William Hite announced Thursday that all classrooms will have air and surface purifiers when school starts in the fall.
The safety of the city’s aging buildings became a key issue earlier this year in the debate about students returning to school for the first time since March 2020. After the district bought 3,000 window fans to improve air circulation, parents and teachers widely criticized the move on social media. Some even suggested that the fans were dangerous.
Philadelphia Schools to Install NASA-Designed Air Purifiers
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Philly schools to install air purifiers in every classroom and plan to require masks for in-person learning this fall
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, isLeadArt: , itemUrl: , itemCaption: , isStory: true, linkUrl: , description: }, id: 185339 }) }) Facing a classroom full of empty desks, and staring into a computer in front of her, Amanda Woods reminded the Pottstown seventh graders on the other side of the screen that their poetry assignment was due the next day. “Two minutes I have left with you please don’t leave,” she said. Woods implored her students to email her their drafts. “I love to read what you guys write,” she said.
Coronavirus Coverage The classroom at Pottstown Middle School was quiet. Most of Woods’ students don’t speak aloud during class, instead typing questions in the chat. Keeping them engaged is a struggle: On a recent Thursday, one student logged out after 30 seconds. Another joined 26 minutes after class began.