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Carroll DMACC Uses A Variety Of Real-Time Assessment Tools In Community Spread PreventionTactics

Primary and secondary schools across Iowa are monitoring two-week positivity metrics and absentee rates to determine what learning model they need to implement for the immediate future. At Des Moines Area Community College’s (DMACC) Carroll Campus, Provost, Joel Lundstrom, says they have stuck to and extended the hybrid model implemented when the pandemic hit in mid-March.

While it is critical to stay up-to-date with the latest information from Carroll County, and the surrounding counties’ public health departments, along with the Iowa Department of Public Health, Lundstrom says they are also using another source to gather statistical data in real-time.

Lundstrom say they are passing along the latest information to students as well as recommendations for mitigation.

In working to get in-person numbers down for labs, they are also utilizing many different inventive new resources to provide hands-on types of experiences. Many area school districts have students taking college credit classes at DMACC, and Lundstrom says the districts have been very easy to work with as they monitor active cases and employ contact tracing between entities. He adds they are able to report a very positive enrollment rate at the high school level, but COVID has had an impact on the regional post-secondary enrollment rate to some degree.

A return to face-to-face instruction at DMACC, according to Lundstrom, will require assurances that the mitigation methods they have put into place are working to reduce spread, even if someone is positive. As of right now, Lundstrom says they have not seen any cases originating from DMACC campuses.

Although the $4.2 million expansion and renovation project at DMACC has not been hampered by COVID yet, Lundstrom says there are some possible pros and cons as they look to the future. He says they could encounter some supply chain issues that may slow construction, but they will also likely benefit from having reduced student and staff traffic when it comes time to work within the existing building. A link to the full interview with Lundstrom and to the Georgia Tech Planning Tool can be found below.
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Link to full interview with Carroll DMACC Provost, Joel Lundstrom: https://www.1380kcim.com/episode/kcim-interview-dmacc-provost-joel-lundstrom-2/
Georgia Tech Planning Tool: https://covid19risk.biosci.gatech.edu/

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