Dallas City Wire

A recent report claims that schools should prioritize full-time reopening, especially for grades Kindergarten through 5th grade, and for special needs students as the risks to children without in-person learning will result in long-term negative consequences.

In its report titled Reopening K-12 Schools During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Prioritizing Health, Equity and Communities, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) assert that opening schools for in-person learning will have significant benefits that outweigh the risks. The NASEM report claims that without in-person teaching, many young children will fall irreparably behind in their development. 

“Opening schools will benefit families beyond providing education, including by supplying child care, school services, meals and other family supports,” NASEM said in a news release. “Without in-person instruction, schools risk children falling behind academically and exacerbating educational inequities."

Enriqueta Bond | https://www.healtheffects.org/

The organization says that it will be impossible to completely eliminate the risk of COVID-19, but younger children will suffer deeply from not having in-person classes. They may even “suffer long-term academic consequences if they fall behind as a result.” 

For children in kindergarten through the 3rd grade, who are still developing behavioral, emotional and attention skills, the NASEM report said they will suffer with remote learning. Therefore, the organization recommends that schools prioritize reopening for those in kindergarten through 5th grade, and for special needs students.

“This pandemic has laid bare the deep, enduring inequities that afflict our country and our schools,” said Enriqueta Bond, chair of the committee that authored the report, in prepared remarks. “Many of the communities hardest hit by the virus are also home to schools with the least resources and the greatest challenges. Education leaders need to be careful when making the decision to reopen to not exacerbate these inequities.”

NASEM also recommended numerous protocols to reopen schools safely, and said that federal and state governments provide the resources to schools to help them fund those measures. They include masks, enhanced cleaning, facility upgrades and reconfigured classes. 

The organization recommended that masks are provided for all teachers and staff, and that all students should also wear masks. In addition, hand-washing stations or hand sanitizer should be provided. Large gatherings such as in the cafeteria or assembles should be limited, and classrooms should be reconfigured to enable distancing. 

NASEM also recommended that schools “create a culture of health and safety in every school, and enforce virus-mitigation guidelines using positive approaches rather than by disciplining students.”

The cost for the recommended coronavirus safety measures is expected to be $1.8 million for a school district that has eight buildings and approximately 3,200 students. The organization said many school districts will be unable to afford all the recommended mitigation measures, which could potentially lead to great risk of infection.

Additionally, those staff members who are in a higher-risk age group may also be hesitant to return to work, so staffing could be a challenge, NASEM said. When the decision to reopen is made, input from school representatives, families, local health officials and other community members should be taken into account, the group recommended.