WSB-TV shows how schools are using IPC Global's Campus Health Tracker to minimize spread of Covid19

And tracking it down. The new tool helping a local school stomp out COVID

cases on campus. Mark: What we're trying to do here is put out

little fires. Jorge: Now we want to show you this local

classroom, with partitions. Look at that, going back to school 2020 style. And this

school has a plan also in place to stomp out any COVID

cases. Mark: Since we know it's going to happen why not have a protocol and a supporting

system to enable that. Jorge: The school is using this health tracker

right here on your screen to find COVID when it pops up.

We're breaking down, how it's going to work to protect students and

teachers. These partitions will help protect students from COVID19 when they

head back to class at one Metro Atlanta private school.

You're looking inside a classroom at Pinecrest Academy, where a new online

tool will also help school leaders track

infections and take the appropriate steps to keep students and teachers safe.

Let's bring in channel 2's Michael Seiden live for us on this one tonight;

and Michael you had a chance to speak with a school

official who told you that their decision to start the year in person

is actually attracting new students. Haven't heard about this before.

Michael: Jorge had a great conversation with the school's assistant headmaster and she

told me since they announced the decision to bring kids and teachers back

into the classroom their phone has been ringing off the

hook from prospective students parents who

want to tour the campus and potentially enroll their kids there this fall.

Diane: She's on the countdown, even last week she said

next week I can say, that next week, we go back to school,

so she's really excited. Michael: Diane Patota is the proud parent of a Pinecrest Academy

student she says despite the pandemic she isn't concerned

about sending her daughter Kate, a rising sophomore, member of the

school cheerleading team, back to school. Diane: I'm very comfortable

sending her back to school. I feel that the COVID19 task force and the executive

team at Pinecrest has absolutely done everything possible to

keep the safety and health of our kids in mind. Michael: Students

at Pinecrest Academy a Private Catholic School in Cumming that serves grades

pre-k through 12 are scheduled to begin in-person classes

on August 6th for high schoolers and August 10th.

for other students. Charlene Dougal is the school's assistant headmaster

she also serves as the head of Pinecrest's COVID19 task force.

Charlene: For us we know what we do best is when we're in person. Michael: So Dougal in her

task force which is made up of teachers, pediatricians, infectious disease

specialists, and business owners started working on a

plan back in May, to figure out how to get their doors open again

for this upcoming school year. Charlene: We have three courses of actions that we're

looking at red, yellow, and green. Michael: Each color

indicates safety measures for different scenarios

Pinecrest Academy plans to start the year in yellow

in-person learning with safety measures like daily temperature checks and health

questions. Among the biggest challenges how to

maintain social distancing, which is currently one of the guidelines from the

state health department and CDC. Charlene: So in every classroom, you'll

either see the desks spaced apart or if we can't

space them fully apart there'll be a partition separating them

they'll be teachers or children in masks and then each teacher will have a

partition in front of their desks or in front of their teaching station.

Michael: But what if a student or teacher test positive for covid19.

What if there's a major outbreak? Will school leaders reverse course

and head back to online learning? How will they handle contact tracing?

The task force took these concerns to IPC Global

an Alpharetta based company that specializes in data

and analytics. Mark: What we're trying to do here is put out little fires. So when they

pop-up, we follow a procedure, we snuff them

out and we move on. Michael: Mark Meersman and his

team have been developing this Campus Health Tracker, which he says could be

the decisive factor between in-class instruction and online learning.

Mark: We can identify, rapidly communicate to

leadership, and then ultimately out to the folks

that are within one two degrees of separation

from a given COVID case. Michael: This is how the Campus Health Tracker works student A

isn't feeling well so he or she heads to the school clinic, where a nurse

assesses the situation. Mark: A child will be sent

from campus home. For a period of time, until they get a release.

Michael: As the student awaits results, school officials are already taking action.

Mark: We'll communicate immediately to the parents

and to the guardians. who are responsible for those children.

We'll communicate to the teachers. Michael: In this slide you can see the amount of

suspected and positive cases. School leaders are now able to use this

data when making decisions. Especially when it comes to additional safety

measures in online learning. Mark: We're able to very quickly see the

classes that were directly affected and those

that are in red we're suggesting, virtual classes.

We're able to then quickly see the activities

in which those students were involved in beyond the classroom.

Michael: As hundreds of students and faculty prepare to head back to the classroom

leaders at Pinecrest Academy say they're hoping for a smooth school year.

Charlene: We're not thinking we'll never get a case of COVID. Michael: That's why they want to

make sure they're prepared for anything. Charlene: It helps us make smart decisions. It

helps keep our kids in school. It helps show the Department of Health

that we're being responsible. We are reacting properly and we have

protocols to handle it. Jorge: Channel two's Michael Seiden joining us

live now again, and Michael, it seems like school officials there, by your story

happy about what they did they accomplished a lot. I would only

imagine that there's some parents out there who may think twice

about sending their kids back to class.

Michael: No question, Jorge about they told me about 10 percent of the student body

still has concerns. They say the task force is working

diligently, trying to come up with a plan possibly

virtual classes, but right now, they don't have a definitive plan. Now

back to that Campus Health Tracker, Really cool stuff there, I want to make

it very clear, that although you saw students names there, when it is up and

live we are told that only school officials

will be able to see that information so you

don't have to worry about names getting out there. Now we have a demonstration it

is on our website right now WSBTV.COM and

of course on our app. Jorge, Jorge: Interesting stuff.

Michael Seiden, thank you so much as always