“Chicken coop classes, anti-Covid rules at risk”

“No to chicken coop classes”, “until school is safe #nonandratuttobene”. These are the banners that hang outside the Isacco Artom municipal kindergarten in Colli Portuensi. This morning the parents gathered outside the institute to protest after weeks of meetings and discussions among themselves and directly with the XII municipality.

The reasons for the mobilization? The arrival of four new classes at the complex, the consequent increase in the number of children and staff in the school, from about 100 to 200, the fear that the anti-coronavirus distancing regulations will not be met, and the delay in the reopening of the institute, postponed to date yet to be communicated.

“The issue of security concerns us a lot, we have seen the classrooms, they are not suitable to accommodate children all day. We would like documentation that certifies that everything is safe and that distances will be respected” Massimo Romano, from the Artom Parents Committee, comments to RomaToday. But let’s understand better.

The four classrooms in question come from the nearby Girolami school, closed since April 2019 after the collapse of a false ceiling. The complex in question will not reopen for at least a year, and for four classes of 30, of about 15 children each, the city council has opted for the transfer within the Artom in fact, obtaining new spaces.

Two classrooms on the ground floor, sacrificing the dining room, and two more on the first floor in correspondence with the gym and the administrative office. The authorization from the city council arrived on August 11. Construction work has started, but the reopening of the school can only be postponed beyond September 14. “We still don’t know when our children will be able to return to class” still declares Romano, from the parents committee. “On the part of the municipal council, there was a will to look for valid alternatives, all however rejected by the department. We want clarity on compliance with security measures ”.

Hence the protests, even from the opposition in the town hall. While schools try to respect social distancing even with the introduction of individual desks, in Monteverde Mayor Raggi seems to think backwards and in fact agrees to transform the school into a chicken coop by forcing spaces, fire regulations and building a canteen “ commented the councilors of the Lega Giovanni Picone, leader of the group, and Marco Giudici. The Democratic Party is also on the same line. “No one has explained to the students what kind of work has been done, if the school is safe and if there will be enough space for about 80 more people than expected in the middle of the Covid emergency – commented director Elio Tomassetti – Neither President Crescimanno nor the competent councilor have seen each other in these parts ”.