A school district in Ohio has canceled classes on Monday over concerns about students damaging their eyes while looking at the solar eclipse.
The superintendent of Jefferson Area Local Schools said Thursday that the eclipse could pose a risk to students who view it even inadvertently while at school or on the bus ride home.
The day will be used as a service day for faculty and staff.
Some school districts have cancelled classes for the entire day or are keeping kids inside
There is real worry that children may look at the sun without proper eye protection, unlike this sensible little girl wearing safety glasses
Jefferson is about 60 miles northeast of Cleveland. The area will see a partial solar eclipse from about 1pm to 4pm Monday.
Similar decisions have been made in other parts of the country. One Pennsylvania school district says children won’t be let outside for recess during the solar eclipse because of the potential harm to students who look at the sun.
The Cumberland Valley School District sent a letter to parents Monday saying the decision was made after consulting the district’s physician.
The letter says district officials recognize that the opportunity to view an eclipse is rare, but the safety of students is more important.
In Illinois, students in Edwardsville District 7 started their new school year last Tuesday, have been told to stay at home all day Monday because the eclipse is expected to take place around the time school normally ends.
A number of school districts said the same thing: that the eclipse would be at its peak around the time of dismissal in the afternoon, and teachers do not want to take the risk of having children watch it without proper eye protection.
Other schools have decided to make the entire event into a teachable moment where they can enthuse about science, space and the solar system
Jim Greenwald, superintendent of the Londdell R-XIV School District in Missouri, told KMOV that he was worried about teachers not being able to monitor every student to ensure they are wearing protective glasses. ‘We really felt we were not able to ensure the safety of all students,’ he said.
But other states are taking it upon themselves to teach pupils about the sun and moon in a unique moment in history.
Some Georgia school districts are extending the school day so that students can watch it under adult supervision, each of them with free protective glasses.
‘We’ve decided to extend the day so that we can provide authentic and in the moment learning experiences for our students,’ said Chief Learning Officer Laura Orr told the Washington Post. ‘We don’t want to miss the unique opportunity.’
Solar eclipse glasses are the only safe way to watch the eclipse as it takes place
In Nashville, which is on the path of totality, officials were conflicted and at first thought they should close the schools but then reversed that decision.
‘We had originally planned not to have school on the day of the eclipse but were asked by the Mayor to reconsider that decision as she felt strongly that young students could encounter safety issues if they were left home without supervision on that day. The district had already purchased safety glasses for students to take home so they could safely view the eclipse from home.’
NASA officials recommend viewing the eclipse through specially-made glasses to prevent eye damage.
During a total solar eclipse, the moon completely blocks the face of the sun
Elsewhere, the Tennessee Department of Transportation is especially worried about what could happen on the roads at the time of the eclipse.
Parts of Middle Tennessee are within the path of totality, which means thousands of people will have flocked to the region.
The TDOT is concerned that people might stop in the middle of the road to watch the eclipse.
‘We know we’re going to see a large increase in traffic for the days leading up to and probably the days after, but we’re hearing estimates between 300,000 to over a million that could come to the Middle Tennessee area to view this eclipse, so that’s a lot of people,’ the spokeswoman told WKRN.
A number of school districts decided that it was best for families to take responsibility for their children’s eye protection rather than leave it to the schools to deal with
In Missouri people have been told not try to take quick pictures with their phones while driving.
Drivers should also be told be extra vigilant and to watch out for pedestrians who might be looking up and not looking ahead. Headlights also should be used when it gets dark during the eclipse.
In South Carolina, the Highway Patrol will put 160 extra troopers out on the roads, the Department of Transportation will end all construction lane closures to eliminate delays.
State emergency officials are most concerned about people enjoying the spectacle and not paying attention.
‘It’s going to be something that’s unusual, and as much as people may say, ‘Oh, I’m prepared for that,’ they may look up and the car in front of them stops,’ said Adjutant General Robert Livingston to WSOC-TV.
PROTECTING YOUR EYES
The space agency says viewers should be equipped with special specs such as Rainbow Symphony, American Paper Optics, Thousand Oaks Optical, and TSE 17.
These are just four that meet the ISO 12312-2 international standard.
And, they warn that you should never look at the sun through an unfiltered camera, telescope, binoculars.
According to NASA, eclipse glasses should be put on when the partial eclipse begins, meaning when the sun becomes partially covered by the moon.
And, they should remain on for the entirety of the phases leading up to totality.
Once the moon has completely blocked out the sun, causing it to suddenly become dark, viewers can then remove the glasses for a short amount of time.
This may last just a minute, though, and the glasses will need to be put back on for the final stages of the eclipse.
Viewers must also be prepared with the proper gear to protect their eyes during the event. Otherwise, NASA warns, you could ‘severely hurt your eyes’
WHERE TO SEE THE TOTAL ECLIPSE
The path of totality will stretch from Lincoln Beach, Oregon, to Charleston South Carolina.
To find out exactly when and where it will be visible, visit NASA’s interactive map, and click on a city along the path.
In less than two weeks, the United States will be treated to its first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in nearly a century, sweeping across the country from Oregon all the way to South Carolina
Totality will cross the US from west to east, beginning at Lincoln Beach, Oregon, where totality will occur at 10:16 a.m. (PDT).
It will cross the US over roughly an hour and a half, passing through Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and North and South Carolina.
It will end near Charleston, South Carolina, at 2:48 p.m. (EDT), according to NASA.