Parents Create COVID-Screening App for Schools

Dr. Brian Benson, a family physician and his wife, Kaley Benson developed a symptom-screening software for schools, reports a local news station.

The parents have three kids who attend Louisiana Key Academy, a charter school for children with dyslexia. The school is the first in the region to return to the classroom with new safety protocols in place.  

To aid in a safe reopening, the Bensons created a software called Cleared4School, which is currently being used at LKA. Each school day a parent answers 11 questions related to COVID-19 symptoms, including if their child has had a loss of taste or smell in the last three days. Once the parent has finished the survey and cleared, the child is able to enter the building.

 “You feel more comfortable trusting your child in that environment, and the teachers feel more comfortable because all of the kids have been screened,” Kaley told news station, WBRZ2.

The online program relies on the honor system. According to the Cleared4School website, no symptoms and no names are recorded.

The Bensons are talking to other school districts to see if they would like to implement the software.

About the Author

Yvonne Marquez is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Indiana University Launches Capital Campus in D.C.

    Indiana University recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new IU Capital Campus in Washington, D.C., according to university news. The eight-story facility will provide a central hub for the university’s existing programs and business operations based in D.C., uniting them under one roof and providing the opportunity to expand.

  • Myrtle Grove Elementary

    Phased Construction Keeps Students on Campus During Rebuild

    When Escambia County School District needed to replace most of Myrtle Grove Elementary School in Pensacola, Fla., it had three distinct challenges: honor the school's legacy in the community, bring state-of-the-art learning environments to the county, and be seamlessly built on the same site as the active school campus.

  • nursing students talk while studying in a hallway

    Elsevier Launches VR Simulation Solution for Nursing Students

    Elsevier has introduced Shadow Health Lab with Virtual Reality, a simulation platform that allows nursing students to interact with virtual patients and build clinical judgment skills in a safe, realistic environment.

  • Q&A: How to Prevent Kitchen Grease Fires in Commercial Kitchens

    School cafeterias and university dining halls serve thousands of meals daily, relying on high-heat equipment like fryers, grills, and ovens. While these operations keep students fed, they also generate significant grease-laden vapors. Without proper controls, this grease becomes a silent fire threat. As a certified exhaust cleaning specialist and business coach who has helped hundreds of institutional facilities achieve NFPA 96 compliance, I emphasize that proactive grease management isn’t optional; it’s a core fire/life safety practice.