Good2BeBack Enables School Districts to Begin and/or Maintain In-Person Instruction

G2BB, LLC announced today that their School-based COVID-19 health screening application (Good2BeBack) has been successfully launched for public and private schools in the United States and Canada.  Nearly all public-school districts and private schools have begun or want to begin in-person instruction and perhaps, more importantly, once in-person instruction has begun, they want to maintain it throughout the 2020-2021 school year.   While we are still in the midst of a pandemic, this is a complex, arduous, and expensive goal, which explains why there is hesitation, disagreements, and/or grave concerns on behalf of many districts and health experts as to when to begin and how to stay open.

To help expedite the reopening of schools and simplify the complex, arduous process it entails, Good2BeBack enables them to conduct daily health care screening in a simple, inexpensive, and efficient way that keeps their data secure (i.e., HIPAA and NY State Ed Law 2D Compliant) and them in compliance should a regulatory agency (e.g., Department of Health or State Education Department) request COVID-19 or other infectious disease reports from them. Currently many school systems are using paper or digital forms (e.g., Google Forms) for these screenings, which will not go the distance when actual data consolidation and reporting is needed, leaving them struggling in an already challenging, resource-drained situation.

“Like all school Districts, our leadership team at Hudson Falls Central School District in New York State is intently following Department of Health and State Education Department guidelines to safely return students to in-person instruction,” said Dr. Jon Hunter, Superintendent of Hudson Falls Central School District.  “The people and programs at Good2BeBack have been a partner in this critical work. Their technology enables parents and staff to collaborate with us by reporting health screenings every school day.  The design and support teams at Good2BeBack have worked side by side with us to enhance protocols, confidentiality and ease of use to promote health and safety for all.”

The New Back-to-School Normal

While the COVID-19 Pandemic continues to plague this school year, many school districts have reopened by utilizing a “hybrid or blended learning model” whereby they allow a combination of in-person and virtual learning to occur and/or have allowed students [with the permission of their parent/guardians] to opt out of in-person learning altogether.  This crisis has affected 13,000 public school systems in the United States alone, and thousands of additional public and private schools across the United States and Canada.

The regulations, policies, and costs of producing either learning model along with COVID-19 health and data compliance procedures (e.g., wearing masks, social distancing, sanitization, and health screening) varies greatly, thereby making each school system’s reopening plans customized to what works best for them while maintaining their regulatory compliance.  Even if a plan is in place, it is simply not written in stone due to ever-changing COVID-19 virus statistics along with the complexities of managing the process altogether.  For example, NY City Schools was set to reopen in-person learning on September 21, 2020 (yesterday), however, just last week, Mayor Bloomberg announced that the nearly one million students will be brought back on a rolling basis instead of all at once on September 21^st.   While some stakeholders have aired their disapproval, Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Cuomo stand united on taking additional cautionary measures to ensure the safest possible return to in-person learning.

“We understand the data collection, data consolidation and security needs that every school and every school system has concerning COVID-19 in the dawn of this new infectious disease era,” said Robin Baker, Founder and CTO of G2BB. “As former Co-Founder of Learning Today and former CTO of SilverShield Safety & Security Systems, my teams and I developed the original version of what has become the most highly-utilized learning management system in the country for K-12 Schools (i.e., iReady) and one of the most powerful Visitor and Emergency Management Systems ever created.  Our vast experience in developing learning management and security systems for schools has enabled us to continue to create apps that simplify complex, arduous real-world problems that plague schools today, which is exactly what we have done by delivering Good2BeBack.”

The CDC states that schools play a critical role in the wellbeing of communities and further state that “Schools are a fundamental part of the infrastructure of communities. Schools provide safe and supportive environments, structure, and routines for children, as well as other needed support services to children and families. Schools play a vital role in the economic health of communities by employing teachers and other staff and helping parents, guardians, and caregivers work.” https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/prepare-safe-return.html 

In keeping with that notion, Hudson Falls Central School District, has engaged Good2BeBack as part of their school reopening team.  “The G2BB Team has been with us every step of the way,” said Kevin Tucker, Coordinator of Network and Technology Services, Hudson Falls Central School District. “From training, implementation and customer support, their communications and attention to detail at every level has been fantastic.”  See Hudson Fall’s release of the Good2BeBack app here:  https://www.hfcsd.org/district/reopening-updates-and-information/good2beback-app-for-daily-health-reporting/

About Good2BeBack

Robin Baker and her team revolutionized learning management systems in 2001 with the introduction of Learning Today (now known as iReady) and again in 2018 with the introduction of graspU. The team then also revolutionized visitor & emergency management systems with the introduction of SilverShield Safety & Security Systems in the 2018-2019 school year. Baker and her team are leaders in both learning management, visitor & emergency managements systems, and now health screening management systems for schools, businesses, hospitality, and events, providing a seamless experience for end users and organizations alike, leaving the world a more educated, secure place.