Reopening K-12 Schools, Not Such a Good Idea – Anthony Ciriello

Anthony Ciriello

Reopening K-12 Schools, Not Such a Good Idea

As summer 2020 has crossed the midway point, the debate over local Kindergarten through High School has become hotly debated throughout the country. On July 7th, President Trump said “We want to reopen the schools. Everybody wants it. The moms want it, the dads want it, the kids want it. It’s time to do it.”

There are very valid arguments for re-opening K-12 schools. All parents do not have jobs that can be shifted from an office to working remotely from home. Critical care workers need day-care or school for their kids to be able to be the front-line worker that so many of us applaud.

According to CDC.gov, they list amongst the importance of re-opening schools as:

1. Educational instruction
2. Social and Emotional Skill Development
3. Safety
4. Nutrition
5. Physical Activity

The CDC’s points are all valid, and they argue school-aged children, at least in areas with low community transmission, are unlikely to be major drivers of the spread of the virus. “Low community transmission” is where my argument of not re-opening K-12 schools comes in. According to census.gov, US cities are home to 62.7% of the US population. In addition, the population density in cities is more than 46 times higher than the territory outside of cities. To add to this, an August report published by the American Academy of Pediatrics resulted in 97,000 children testing positive from July 16th to July 30th. The basic laws of statistics will say that there is a high probability that these students will be in schools of densely populated areas (in other words, US cities).

Death rates in children are low, however, the spread from children to parents and grandparents, can become more problematic. In March, when states started shutting down, schools were generally in the last quarter of the school year. If Coronavirus spreads in September and October, then schools may need to shut until either a vaccine is widely taken and accepted, or schools will need to shut down similar to March, without the luxury of a couple months off for summer.

To me, these schools should re-open remotely. While young children can be taught to wear masks, but do they have the discipline to social distance? Do middle schoolers have the discipline to remain socially distant in school cafeterias? Will common use bathrooms, door-knobs, and locker spaces be sterilized regularly? North Paulding High School in Georgia was forced to go online two days after re-opening last week, when six students and three staffers tested positive. Pictures show students not wearing masks in crowded hallways.

Most school districts have been making contingency plans for this decision (including the schools of both of my brothers) and are now having public forums with parents, teachers, and other concerned citizens on how to move forward. The economy shutdowns in March and subsequent premature re-openings this summer have resulted in large spikes of new cases in many states. Schools can be a virus incubator that everyone wants to avoid. It is not worth the risk to have another spike in children under 18, and then spread to extended family. Then can the US economy survive another severe shut-down to flatten the curve yet again? It is a worthwhile sacrifice to have school remotely this fall to make sure other vulnerable age groups minimize their exposure.

Sources:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-safely-reopening-americas-schools/

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/reopening-schools.html#:~:text=Reopening%20schools%20creates%20opportunity%20to,staff%20and%20all%20their%20families.&text=CDC%20COVID%20Data%20Tracker.

https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2015/cb15-33.html

Blog Post 2 Image- Anthony Ciriello