As schools go further towards remote learning, families with the means will seek private options- either full private school, private tutors, creating 'pods,' etc.

Kids who do not have these options will suffer. Equity gaps, already massive, will widen further.

I've heard of boarding schools that are bringing their entire student body in, testing them, and bubbling off the entire campus- no contact with the outside world for the year.

They'll have a superb education.

Not every kid can go into school at once. The systems aren't ready for it, they need to be tested and developed- this is done best with small cohorts and small very safe trials. Like most systems, this is quality improvement: you learn the most by doing. Rapid cycle testing.

the bottom line for school safety is community safety. if the community has high rates of transmission, schools are a no-go. But when rates drop, the 1st thing to open should be schools, and the last should be high-risk leisure activities w/o the same community benefit.

If you have low rates, you should be thinking: How can we 'break all the rules' for teaching, prioritizing safety for staff/kids first & curriculum last to get in-person safely and comfortably?

People have been on serious quarantine for months. This is a different message: now it is ok to come out! that is really scary for a lot of people. Many ppl don't see shades of risk like we do, but rather, "zero risk" vs "risk"

But staying at home is not zero risk either- most kids got infected in MA during the surge when lockdown was the most intense. There is no perfect safety. We have to start to wrap our heads around degrees of risk and what we will accept or not.

I'm writing this as:
- a physician involved in public health
- a member of school's reopening expert advisory panel
- a parent of 2 young kids in the same school
On all three points, collaboration with teachers & admin is essential. Education is impossible without collaboration.