Read on Twitter
The science is clear: students are better off in school than out. The risks of #COVID19 can be managed, but the educational and social risks for millions of students stuck at home cannot. If we’re going to “believe science,” then let’s do just that: (THREAD)
“The conversation on schools has gotten very reductionist in terms of in-classroom risk. That risk is important, but it actually can be managed & very few are talking about the risks of kids being out of school. The consequences are devastating.” @j_g_allen https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/10/is-the-slow-approach-to-reopening-schools-failing-kids/
Millions of students started this school year completely online out of concern for safety “… but recent data are shifting the discussion on school safety and infection rates of Covid-19. They argue strongly for opening K-12 schools.” https://www.wsj.com/articles/end-the-school-shutdown-11603235888
“It’s now October. We are starting to get an evidence-based picture of how school reopenings and remote learning are going… the evidence is pointing in one direction. Schools do not, in fact, appear to be major spreaders of COVID-19.” @ProfEmilyOster https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/10/schools-arent-superspreaders/616669/
“Two new international studies show no consistent relationship between in-person K-12 schooling and the spread of the coronavirus. And a third study from the United States shows no elevated risk to childcare workers who stayed on the job.” https://www.npr.org/2020/10/21/925794511/were-the-risks-of-reopening-schools-exaggerated
“The more and more data that I see, the more comfortable I am that children are not, in fact, driving transmission, especially in school settings,” said Assistant Professor Dr. @brookenichols, an infectious disease modeler at @BUSPH https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/22/health/coronavirus-schools-children.html
"The data so far are not indicating that schools are a superspreader site," said Dr. @PreetiNMalani, an infectious disease specialist at @umichmedicine. https://www.npr.org/2020/10/21/925794511/were-the-risks-of-reopening-schools-exaggerated
“Schools aren't immune but we are likely overestimating their danger. We really do need to open more schools,” Dr. @ashishkjha, Dean of @Brown_SPH
Thread: https://twitter.com/ashishkjha/status/1315655616627650565
Thread: https://twitter.com/ashishkjha/status/1315655616627650565
Dr. David Rubin, a pediatrician and infectious disease expert at @Penn, told the @NYTimes that weighed against the substantial harms to children and parents from keeping schools closed, elementary schools should at least offer in-person learning. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/22/health/coronavirus-schools-children.html
“California has not seen a link between the reopening of K-12 schools for in-person learning and increased coronavirus transmission,” Dr. Mark Ghaly, head of @CAPublicHealth https://abc30.com/california-schools-school-reopenings-reopen-are/6840899/
“[O]ur society’s decision-making on schools doesn’t deserve a passing grade. Let’s start evaluating school policy related to the pandemic with the attention, balance and evidence it deserves.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/10/14/us-schooling-during-covid-19-doesnt-deserve-passing-grade-heres-way-forward/
“There are devastating costs of keeping kids out of school. When we have this discussion about sending kids back to school, we have to have it in the context of the massive individual and societal costs of keeping kids at home.” @j_g_allen, @HarvardChanSPH https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/06/harvard-expert-outlines-recommendations-for-school-reopenings/
“It’s becoming increasingly clear that school closings are not protecting us from coronavirus spreads. They are instead a particularly awful form of coronavirus safety theater...” https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/10/08/its-past-time-schools-reopen/
“When the history of this pandemic is written, it will reveal that school shutdowns imposed far greater harms to our children than COVID-19 ever did--particularly for children from low-income families.” Mayor of San Jose, @sliccardo https://sanjoseca.gov/Home/Components/News/News/1981/4699
”[Y]ou can predict the headlines we’re going to see in the coming months and years about kids who disappeared from the system, the virtual dropouts, the loss of learning, the loss of income, which we know happens when kids are left behind with schooling.” https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/10/is-the-slow-approach-to-reopening-schools-failing-kids/
This pandemic has not affected students equally. Those most at risk—low income students and younger students—have borne the brunt of school closings.
New K-2 data from @dcpublicschools is especially troubling.
New K-2 data from @dcpublicschools is especially troubling.
. @karol: “Our hapless leaders close schools first and figure out why later. Kids are adrift. Parents are faced with unthinkable choices. It’s breaking us.” https://nypost.com/2020/10/11/cuomos-and-de-blasios-school-shutdowns-are-breaking-parents-like-me/
Parents know the truth: “Most parents of K-12 students are worried about their children falling behind in school because of pandemic-related disruptions.” https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2020/10/29/most-parents-of-k-12-students-learning-online-worry-about-them-falling-behind/
. @j_g_allen, @HarvardChanSPH in @Slate: “There’s always something you can do...Opening up the window, using a portable air cleaner, bringing in a bit more outdoor air through your existing systems, replacing the filters... and everyone in a mask.” https://slate.com/human-interest/2020/10/reopening-schools-the-progressive-case-from-joseph-allen.html
. @BrookingsInst: If public health were driving districts’ decisions, we might expect to see districts with relatively high COVID-19 rates opting for distance learning. In reality, there is no relationship between reopening decisions and cases. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2020/07/29/school-reopening-plans-linked-to-politics-rather-than-public-health/
“Contrary to the conventional understanding of school districts as localized and non-partisan actors, we find evidence that politics, far more than science, shaped school district decision-making.” @AnnenbergInst, Michael Hartney and @LeslieKFinger: https://www.edworkingpapers.com/ai20-304
So why is this happening? “Teachers unions have been an influential force against reopening schools even in cities and states where elected officials felt it could be done with reasonable safety.” https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/10/remote-education-distance-learning-schools-teacher-unions-red-for-ed.html
. @jonathanchait in @NYMag: Union’s incentives are misaligned with those of their students. Following the interests of the most powerful organized constituencies has produced a result that is irrational. The damage we are incurring now will haunt us for generations.
The cost is just too high for kids to continue to be held captive by political special interests’ fears and agendas. Our children’s future and the future of our nation is at stake.
