For children, keeping K-12 schools closed is a cure that’s worse than the disease.

Children rarely suffer any severe consequences of Covid-19, and they are at risk of suffering academically and emotionally if they miss more months of school https://trib.al/eEAlYLC ">https://trib.al/eEAlYLC&q...

If there’s any consensus, it’s that getting kids back into the classroom is worth the risks.

“Even two months of schools closing in the spring did significant damage to the educational process in children,” says Colorado pediatrician Sean O’Leary https://trib.al/eEAlYLC ">https://trib.al/eEAlYLC&q...

During a normal summer, students lose one month’s worth of learning, with math retention taking the biggest hit.

The pandemic will exacerbate those losses. Estimates show that students could be as much as a year behind by the time they return in the fall https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-05-12/coronavirus-school-disruptions-will-be-made-worse-by-summer-break?sref=2o0rZsF1">https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/a...

To the parents wondering whether they should stop their kids from going to school in the fall, maybe we should take a look at the past:

A polio epidemic in 1916 kept many schools from reopening that fall caused some students to drop out permanently https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-06-26/history-of-school-closings-for-disease-shows-high-dropout-risk?sref=2o0rZsF1">https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/a...

Another concern is that school openings will spark virus outbreaks.

But studies suggest that kids may be less likely to transmit the disease than adults. In Iceland, children and teenagers were about half as likely to test positive for the virus as adults https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-05-29/coronavirus-why-it-s-time-to-start-reopening-schools?sref=2o0rZsF1">https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/a...

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📝" title="Memo" aria-label="Emoji: Memo">School closures also compound preexisting problems like poverty:

A 2017 analysis in the U.K. found that pupils from economically disadvantaged backgrounds were on average 18.9 months behind the rest of their peers at the end of secondary school https://trib.al/SayQjgL ">https://trib.al/SayQjgL&q...

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="➡️" title="Pfeil nach rechts" aria-label="Emoji: Pfeil nach rechts">Abuse
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="➡️" title="Pfeil nach rechts" aria-label="Emoji: Pfeil nach rechts">Alcoholism
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="➡️" title="Pfeil nach rechts" aria-label="Emoji: Pfeil nach rechts">Depression
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="➡️" title="Pfeil nach rechts" aria-label="Emoji: Pfeil nach rechts">Disability
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="➡️" title="Pfeil nach rechts" aria-label="Emoji: Pfeil nach rechts">Marital breakdown

In homes where the above — not to mention unemployment and Covid-19 illness — are prevalent, concentrated learning becomes almost impossible https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-05-01/coronavirus-the-costs-of-keeping-schools-closed-are-adding-up?sref=2o0rZsF1">https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/a...

Schools should strive to maintain as much continuity as possible.

Step one should be a concerted effort to pay and retain teachers during the crisis. They& #39;ll be key to reopening schools quickly, and could provide some much-needed stability for students https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-04-27/children-may-be-the-silent-victims-of-coronavirus?sref=2o0rZsF1">https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/a...

When schools reopen, students of all ages will be encouraged to:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧼" title="Soap" aria-label="Emoji: Soap">Wash their hands more often
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👋🏽" title="Waving hand (mittlerer Hautton)" aria-label="Emoji: Waving hand (mittlerer Hautton)">Use hand sanitizer
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😷" title="Gesicht mit Mundschutz" aria-label="Emoji: Gesicht mit Mundschutz">Wear masks on the bus and in the hallway https://trib.al/eEAlYLC ">https://trib.al/eEAlYLC&q...

Different schools will find ways to limit the number of children in a classroom:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⏲️" title="Tischuhr" aria-label="Emoji: Tischuhr">Having an early and late shift
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🖥️" title="Desktop-Computer" aria-label="Emoji: Desktop-Computer">Having half the kids attend every other week on Zoom

These measures are flexible since they will be easier for some schools than others https://trib.al/eEAlYLC ">https://trib.al/eEAlYLC&q...

All these changes will have unintended consequences.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👂🏽" title="Ohr (mittlerer Hautton)" aria-label="Emoji: Ohr (mittlerer Hautton)">Will students be able to hear masked teachers?
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🏫" title="Schule" aria-label="Emoji: Schule">Will staggered schedules cause conflicts with parents’ work schedules?
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🚍" title="Entgegenkommender Bus" aria-label="Emoji: Entgegenkommender Bus">Will bus drivers be put at unacceptable risk?

We’ll soon find out https://trib.al/eEAlYLC ">https://trib.al/eEAlYLC&q...