Keep the Schools Open!

The editors of Bloomberg call for the public schools to remain open:

At this point, the evidence against remote learning is overwhelming. A November study from the National Bureau of Economic Research compared standardized test scores from schools in districts that fully reopened early in the pandemic with those that remained at least partly virtual. While passing rates in math slumped by an average of 14.2% overall, the decline was smaller for districts that returned to in-person instruction. Drops in reading scores were heavily concentrated in areas with large populations of minorities and low-income students, which were slower to reopen.

Though students have largely returned to the classroom, the vast majority still have ground to make up. Additional instruction — in the form of longer school days, summer classes and individual tutoring — is critical for those at greatest disadvantage. Instead, some districts, from Bellevue, Washington, to Brevard County, Florida, have done the opposite. Citing staffing shortages related to teacher exhaustion, among other excuses, schools have been adding last-minute vacation days, often with little notice for parents. Leading the mental-health relief trend, officials in Detroit announced that schools would conduct in-person instruction only four days a week during December, with Fridays all remote.

Reducing in-person class time is not just a disaster for students — it’s also a betrayal of public trust. Congress has passed three separate relief packages, across two administrations, with funds intended to help districts stay open. But tens of billions of dollars apparently remain unspent.

Policy makers should require districts to demonstrate that they’re using these funds to keep schools open. At a minimum, the practice of adding unplanned vacation days should be halted. More support for teachers may be warranted, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of learning. Schools should instead expand professional development and mental-health services for teachers so that more of them remain on the job. They should hire reading and math specialists to supplement classroom teachers. Reforming licensing policies to allow teachers to use their credentials across state lines could help ease any localized staffing strains.

Meanwhile, federal and state officials should better prepare schools to stay open during a possible winter surge driven by the Omicron variant. On-site vaccination clinics and access to rapid tests should be expanded. School leaders should adopt “test-to-stay” strategies, which allow more students to continue in-person learning, even if classmates test positive for the virus.

As I’ve been pointing out since the beginning of the pandemic there are actually multiple parties involved in this issue. There are parents and students, faculty, and politicians and their interests are not always aligned.