[BostonCard]

Goes to the heart of a discussion the country can’t seem to honestly have.  The harm to low income kids that closing schools brings is obvious.  One would think with increased discussion on social justice issues that this would be at the top of the list.  But Trump was advocating for it.  Which means progressives must be against it.  Sadly where we are these days.

I work in the lowest income neighborhood in the Bay Area. Our zip code led the state in the rate of new Covid cases for several weeks recently. I have had positive Covid tests on over 30 kids in the last month. Most of their parents are sick as well. Several grandparents have ended up in the hospital. Although kids don't get as sick and they might not be as contagious, let's not fool ourselves into thinking there are no consequences for the poor. Their diets are of poor quality and their immune systems therefore are not of the same quality. One of our teen patients just barely survived a stay in the ICU. He has organ damage that may be permanent.



Every child in the Oakland School district has received a computer and I haven't met a family yet who hasn't found access to Wi-Fi. Sure, education is affected, but it is affected for everyone this year.

While all of this is undoubtably true, the data provided in the original article suggests that kids are generally not becoming infected at school, and kids with hybrid or in person classes are no more likely to be infected with COVID-19 than kids who have a purely distant learning experience.  What appears likely is that the kids are getting sick from their parents, rather getting sick from each other and infecting their parents.

In the meantime, as you note, education is affected, as is the social/emotional development of kids.  Furthermore, a record number of (mostly) women have had to withdraw from the labor market altogether because a laptop and access to wifi is necessary but not sufficient to enable distance learning.

I am a firm believer in following the data.  If analysis of COVID-19 transmission to date had shown that there has been frequent spread of COVID-19 in in-person or hybrid school settings (and that the adult family members were getting sick from their kids), I would be much more hesitant towards endorsing in person classes, but the data is supportive of cautiously restarting in person classes.  The risks will never be zero, but in this case they are low enough and substantially outweighed by the benefits.

BC

[BostonCard]

Goes to the heart of a discussion the country can’t seem to honestly have.  The harm to low income kids that closing schools brings is obvious.  One would think with increased discussion on social justice issues that this would be at the top of the list.  But Trump was advocating for it.  Which means progressives must be against it.  Sadly where we are these days.

I work in the lowest income neighborhood in the Bay Area. Our zip code led the state in the rate of new Covid cases for several weeks recently. I have had positive Covid tests on over 30 kids in the last month. Most of their parents are sick as well. Several grandparents have ended up in the hospital. Although kids don't get as sick and they might not be as contagious, let's not fool ourselves into thinking there are no consequences for the poor. Their diets are of poor quality and their immune systems therefore are not of the same quality. One of our teen patients just barely survived a stay in the ICU. He has organ damage that may be permanent.



Every child in the Oakland School district has received a computer and I haven't met a family yet who hasn't found access to Wi-Fi. Sure, education is affected, but it is affected for everyone this year.

While all of this is undoubtably true, the data provided in the original article suggests that kids are generally not becoming infected at school, and kids with hybrid or in person classes are no more likely to be infected with COVID-19 than kids who have a purely distant learning experience.  What appears likely is that the kids are getting sick from their parents, rather getting sick from each other and infecting their parents.

In the meantime, as you note, education is affected, as is the social/emotional development of kids.  Furthermore, a record number of (mostly) women have had to withdraw from the labor market altogether because a laptop and access to wifi is necessary but not sufficient to enable distance learning.

I am a firm believer in following the data.  If analysis of COVID-19 transmission to date had shown that there has been frequent spread of COVID-19 in in-person or hybrid school settings (and that the adult family members were getting sick from their kids), I would be much more hesitant towards endorsing in person classes, but the data is supportive of cautiously restarting in person classes.  The risks will never be zero, but in this case they are low enough and substantially outweighed by the benefits.

BC