School Re-openings: Is it worth the risk?

School Re-openings: Is it worth the risk?

By: Skylar Steffiare

In early March of 2020, schools across the United States planned to shut down for a short period of time to discuss ways of managing the rising number of COVID-19 cases. What started as a two-week break of online learning quickly morphed into the closure of schools for the rest of the academic year. Now as the academic year of 2020-21 is soon to begin, many schools are deciding whether or not in-person classes are possible. While there are both benefits and risks to re-opening schools, students should be reintegrated back into the school environment with proper precautions taken into account.

Benefits to Re-opening

Evidence shows that when students aren’t in school, mostly during summer break, learning is lost due to the lack of a school environment. Although remote learning is taking place across the country, each student has varying levels of success. Many parents may be essential workers, leaving students to complete their school work alone without an at-home teacher. Additionally, some students have limited access to electronics or lack of support at home, causing remote learning to not work for many. Schools are also able to provide students safety from abusive households, a return to school would allow the students a break from an unsafe environment and access to a community for support. If classes were conducted in schools, it would provide a safe and consistent learning environment for students. 

Along with safe learning environments, schools are able to provide social and emotional development for students, which they wouldn’t receive at home. Skills such as language, communication, and responsible decision making are all encouraged in the classroom, helping to build interpersonal connections between an individual and their community. 

The community connection and the feeling of support from both peers and adults also help to combat negative family relations as well as improve social and emotional skills.

Upon re-opening, students will also once again gain access to school resources. Many students find comradery with their peers, but students also grow attached to certain teachers, faculty members, or coaches. Teachers not only provide academic support for students but also emotional support and trusted adults students can go to for help. Additionally, students who have IEP’s (Individualized Education Program) lack one-on-one assistance with at home teaching. Students who speak a language other than English at home also may not have access to resources available through the school. Furthermore, schools provide resources for emotional help through psychological counseling, behavioral assessments, and more. For students with unsupportive home lives or lack of funds, school resources could be the only place students can access such help.

The Risks of Re-opening

In the United States, schools began to close in early March as they adopted remote learning in case of a surge of COVID-19 cases, with 22,652 confirmed cases by March 31st. Now by August 7th, there were 62,042 cases, and many local governments and schools are determined to hold classes in person in the fall. If the number of COVID-19 cases was deemed dangerous at 25,000, many believe it’s odd for schools to be re-opening when cases have doubled from that in March.

A recent study suggests that the closures of schools in the spring prevented thousands of cases of COVID-19. Although only temporary and prior to any social distancing measures and mask mandates, the closing of schools helped to prevent possible cases and deaths of school-aged children. When deciding if schools should open in the coming fall, they will, of course, be recommended to follow the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’ (CDC) guidelines provided to schools but many still are using this study to show that schools shouldn’t reopen in the fall.

As some schools do plan to re-open in the fall, many are asking what the plan is if a COVID-19 case is found within the school. If a coronavirus outbreak were to occur within a school, how would they manage? How many cases would cause schools to shut down again? With many back-to-school plans still in the works, these questions currently don’t have answers. With so much unknown, many parents are reluctant to have their children head back to school in the fall. 

The COVID Catch-22

With varying numbers of cases nationwide, it is up to state and local governments to decide what is best for their schools. The differences in re-opening plans, a quick return to normalcy versus longer shutdown procedures, show a clear partisan divide in the government’s systems. A new survey done by the POLITICO-Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health demonstrates how the partisan tensions and differences in opinions greatly impact a state’s reopening plans, and consequently the number of cases within the state. State and local governments must decide if they are able to properly provide the precautions necessary to ensure the safety of students and staff. 

The risk of students returning to school is further transmission of COVID-19. Whether a student is a carrier of the virus and brings it to an elderly or immunocompromised relative, or the students themselves is immunocompromised is not extremely susceptible to the virus. The increase in the number of cases, and possible deaths, is not something to be taken lightly. Many school systems, such as Los Angeles, San Diego, and New York City are working towards a hybrid model to allow safety for students and staff as well as access to the school environment and the resources that come with it. If safety precautions are executed with utmost care and precision, the benefits of returning to school outway the risks.