Should Schools Reopen in Fall?

The Trump Administration is pushing the nation to open our schools this fall, but there has been hesitation on the part of individual schools and communities who feel as though they are not ready to have students and teachers return to the building.  What is the ideal plan of action to keep communities safe from COVID-19, while also ensuring students are getting the education they require?

The White House’s official stance on school reopenings this fall is aggressively positive.  In early July, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos emphasized opening schools for all students and teachers, five days a week, in all communities, even those whose coronavirus numbers continue to grow. However, many individual school districts have expressed the importance of keeping their students and teachers, and ultimately their entire communities, safe rather than push to reopen too much too soon without a proper plan in place to prevent subsequent outbreaks.  Science supports these school districts’ decisions, stating that teachers and older students would be extremely susceptible to catching and spreading the virus in a close-quarters environment such as a school, even with the best systems in place to combat infection. Arguments have been made for reopening elementary schools and preschools, as students in that age range are far less like to catch the virus, and less likely to have it become severe if they did.  However, it’s been shown that even though younger students aren’t as susceptible to catching COVID-19 themselves, they are far more likely to spread it to members of their schools and families who aren’t as lucky.  Students that young learn about the world through physical touch, and unfortunately, our current world is not safe enough for that.

For real-world proof of these predictions for U.S. school systems, we can turn to other countries who have begun to open their school and been less than successful.  A prime example would be Israel, who simply did too much too soon.  At the beginning of the pandemic, Israel had been globally praised for their handling of the coronavirus.  They immediately closed all schools and restricted movement of the general public, quickly containing the virus.  In May, Israel decided to reopen their schools.  They implemented social distancing rules, mask mandates, and a staggered schedule to reduce the amount of contact students and teachers would have with others.  Within weeks, coronavirus numbers skyrocketed.  Their rigorous safety systems were undermined by the prevalence of COVID-19 cases still lurking in the country.  Sweden is another example of the impact communities and their schools have on one another.  Swedish schools never closed, claiming that their number of infected students was no higher than neighboring Finland’s, who closed their schools immediately.  They have admitted, however, that they have no idea how these numbers have affected the rest of the country, considering school-aged children are less likely to catch the virus themselves, but more likely to spread it.

The decision should be up to individual districts to decide whether or not they will open this fall.  There is no possible way President Trump can know what is best for all schools, especially since communities are facing different problems that don’t all require the same solution.  No school should be forced to open if they do not believe they are ready to handle the outbreaks that will inevitably occur, and no student or teacher should be forced to return to school if they do not feel safe to.  Schools shouldn’t be threatened into creating an unstable environment for the exact demographic they are meant to protect.  Education is undeniably important, but if there’s a choice between teaching in a classroom and putting countless lives in danger, or teaching online and keeping the community safe, the choice seems fairly obvious.