Why We Need to Get Our Kids Back in School

Last March, we all had unanswered questions that only time would answer. Now the data is screaming to get kids back in the classroom.

• Students are safer in the controlled environment of a school. We're not just looking at SARS CoV-2. We need to consider all risk factors for the groups.
• The quality of remote learning is hurting all demographic groups of children. It is crushing the progress of kids from low-income families.
• Schools that have remained open through the fall semester have not been shown to be significant spreaders of SARS CoV-2.

Dr. Robert Redfield, Director at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recently supported getting kids back in the classroom. “The truth is for kids K through 12, one of the safest places they can be from our perspective is to remain in school, and it’s really important that following the data, making sure we don’t make emotional decisions about what to close and what not to close.”

In many cases the resistance to open comes from faculty and staff, many of whom may be in higher risk groups. Even those in the lower-risk groups are reluctant though. How do we get them back at the front of the class? Transparency. You don't "convince," you assure, you document, you measure, and you show all stakeholders that nothing is slipping through the cracks and you constantly demonstrate you actions.

Transparency builds trust.