July 9, 2020

No Easy Answers on School Reopening

A girl wears a face mask in a classroom in Dortmund, Germany.

VOX
  • New York City public schools will not fully reopen this fall, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced , and children will only attend in-person classes between one and three days a week. Social distancing measures will also be in effect, and both students and teachers will be required to wear masks. [NYT / Eliza Shapiro]

  • The NYC announcement stands in sharp contrast to some other states' plans. As Axios’s Ursula Perano points out, Florida is on course to reopen its schools fully, and Massachusetts intends to resume school in the fall with social distancing in place. [Axios / Ursula Perano]

  • It’s also not quite the approach that President Donald Trump has pushed for. On Tuesday, he tweeted that “SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL!!!” and falsely accused presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden of wanting to keep schools closed for political reasons. [Twitter / Donald J. Trump]

  • New York City’s plan, according to de Blasio, is intended to “make more space in every classroom” by keeping students home for a portion of each week. “What we WON'T do,” he said on Twitter, “is ignore the science and recklessly charge ahead like our president.” [Twitter / Bill de Blasio]

  • As things stand, there’s really no easy answer on schools reopening. Teachers in Florida have warned that the state's reopening plan is “completely unacceptable” and dangerous ... [CNN / Christina Maxouris]

  • ... but research has found distance learning is unsustainable. Students miss out on learning gains in reading and math relative to in-class instruction, and the negative impact is even greater on students from lower-income households. [Vox / Matthew Yglesias]

  • School reopening plans will affect parents too. If students aren’t back in the classroom full time, it will be difficult for many adults to return to work even if their employers proceed with reopening. [Washington Post / Laura Meckler]

  • As Vox’s German Lopez points out, the school reopening debate is ultimately a question of priorities. “If you want to reopen schools this fall, then you need to get the spread of Covid-19 down,” he writes. “And that means opting not to reopen — possibly at all and definitely not at full capacity — restaurants, bars, nightclubs, or other places.” [Vox / German Lopez]