RIGHT SPEAK: Schools Must Reopen NOW to Stop Further Harm to Children, Scathing Report States; The Science is Compelling: Open schools NOW! and other C-Virus Updates

Schools must reopen now to stop further harm to children, scathing report states:

Schools can safely reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic — and must do so with “extreme urgency” or risk lasting damage to kids across the nation, according to an extensive new report that will be presented to members of Congress on Friday.

The report, written by John P. Bailey, a former deputy policy director at the Department of Commerce, examined more than 130 studies on reopening schools and concluded that that the longer they are closed, the greater kids suffer.

Those risks include academic loss that could set kids back for life, as well as mental health problems concerning loneliness and isolation, according to the report, commissioned by the Walton Family Foundation, American Enterprise Institute and five other nonprofits.

“Severe learning loss for many children, particularly children of color, will lead to lower educational attainment and lower future earnings,” Bailey warned.

But while school districts needed to be cautious initially amid health uncertainties and political pressures, our understanding of the pandemic and its effect on children has now evolved significantly, he said. --->READ MORE HERE

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The science is compelling: Open schools NOW!:

Strong evidence that schools should be open during the pandemic has been building since last summer, but a report to be presented to Congress on Friday may be the most powerful yet.

The paper — commissioned by the COVID Collaborative, the Walton Family Foundation, the American Enterprise Institute and other nonprofits — looked at the findings of more than 120 studies of the risks and benefits of shutting down schools.

Its unmitigated conclusion: “Closing schools should be a last resort and done only after all other community mitigation measures have been deployed.” Indeed, it stressed the “extreme urgency” to reopen schools “as quickly and safely as possible.”

That is not a political recommendation; it’s what the science demands. Because the harm done to kids from closing schools, the paper suggests, is far worse than any harm from keeping them open. --->READ MORE HERE

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