Large majorities of Republicans and Democrats agree it's time to reopen schools: Poll; It’s Time to Rectify Our School-Closing Mistake, and other C-Virus Updates

Large majorities of Republicans and Democrats agree it's time to reopen schools: Poll:

An overwhelming majority of K-12 parents from across the country want to see a return to in-person schooling for their children.

Seventy-nine percent of K-12 parents believe students should return to the classroom, according to the results of a Gallup Poll released last week. Parents from across the spectrum agreed in-person instruction should return, with 82% of working parents voicing that view, 62% of Democrats, 80% of independents, and 94% of Republicans.

The poll comes as about 1 in 3 students in the United States still do not have the option to take classes in-person, raising concerns over student academic progress, psychological health, and social development.

The findings also come as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released updated guidance on how to return students to the classroom safely, which did not include vaccinating teachers as a prerequisite to opening school doors. --->READ MORE HERE

Albert Gea/Reuters

It’s Time to Rectify Our School-Closing Mistake

Just over one year ago, on March 12, 2020, the children of Ohio were the first in the nation to be sent home from shuttered schools because of COVID-19. Within two weeks, every other state had followed Ohio’s lead. Given how little we knew about the virus then, most people believed closing schools was the safest decision. But a year later the evidence says something entirely different: Closing schools was a mistake.

The high costs of closing schools are indisputable. Surveys of parents and teachers, as well as projections and trends in test scores, indicate that students are far behind in their learning, and that achievement gaps are growing. Economic estimates predict that students will lose $12,000–$15,000 in lifetime earnings for every month schools remain closed, and related U.S. GDP losses are forecast to run into the tens of trillions of dollars.

Even more important costs cannot be measured in dollars or test scores. The social isolation that students have struggled with in this “new normal” has led to widespread increases in child anxiety and depression, punctuated by tragic rises in adolescent mental-health emergencies and suicides. These costs are a strain for most students, and almost inconceivable for the very youngest, who may struggle to remember life without them. --->READ MORE HERE

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