At the start of Stafford’s first year back from virtual schooling, promises regarding students’ safety were made. Despite these measures being put in place, there have been countless inconsistencies in the system. An example of this problem is freshman Hannah Malin’s experience after being in contact with a sick classmate. 

“There’s a lot of confusion going on,” Malin said. “I had to call the school nurse, and the school nurse said ‘yeah, just stay home’. 

“She didn’t specify if it was for 14 days, or 7 days, or anything. The email was super vague,” Malin said. “After I went out for a week, I realized that I didn’t have to stay home, because I was vaccinated. That didn’t really mean anything, I just could’ve gone to school for a whole week.”

Although CDC guidance does state that vaccinated students will not need to be placed in quarantine following an exposure, and this fact is stated on the school website, the lack of direct instruction given to those who have been affected is a problem. 

If a student who’s vaccinated and supposed to be at school gets stuck at home, the opposite situation is a likely occurrence. A mistake like this could cause further contact tracing measures to be set up, only leaving more students isolated and confused. 

Contract tracing is a necessary tool for keeping students safe and healthy at school alongside the virus. The importance lies in how well the school can upkeep their system for the most efficient learning.