Delhi Unified to debut new tool to help administrators keep COVID out of schools

Delhi Unified School District is about to debut a new tool that might help administrators with their goal of keeping COVID-19 out of classrooms.

Officials say this week they are expected to receive a shipment of 3,000 Temperature Alert Devices — which are essentially watches that monitor body temperature.

The devices will provide a simple way for schools to check for fevers and temperatures without coming into close contact with students and faculty.

The K-12 district, which serves 2,450 students and has 295 district employees, aims to give one to every child and employee.

Delhi Unified Superintendent Adolfo Melara said administrators came across the idea online and decided to order a shipment.

“It really was an idea that came from the team as we continue to discuss ways to create a sense of confidence in how we monitor our children and ourselves,” Melara said. “Ultimately every student in the district will have a chance to have their temperatures taken immediately throughout the day.”

The watches check temperatures every 15 minutes. If the temperature is normal at 98.6 degrees it stays green. If it elevates, then the color will turn to orange at 99.6 degrees and then to red at 100.4 degrees.

While the shipment has not arrived yet, a few district employees like Patricia Marsh, the district’s nurse, said the temperature watch is comfortable to wear and effective in showing those temperatures.

“It’s a very simple indicator for us to notify or to identity those students right away or staff members to self identify themselves and therefore be able to get them out of the classroom and over to our health room for evaluation and get them sent home if they do have a fever, and help break the spread of COVID,” Marsh said.

After Merced Union High School District’s school board voted on the return to a traditional five day a week form of in person instruction, Melara said the watches may be a step in the right direction in order to help Delhi Unified pursue a similar path.

For now, the district is staying with hybrid learning, but the watches are key to alleviating the spread of COVID-19 and hopefully returning to a somewhat normal learning environment, said Melara.

“Our goal is to provide access to as many children as possible,” he said. “The end goal is to come back fully, and want to do it in a way that is safe.”

Thus far, Melara said Delhi Unified hasn’t had any outbreaks since the pandemic began.

Still the watches are “another layer of protection for our staff and children in our community,” he said.

This story was originally published March 31, 2021 at 7:00 AM.