# Opening schools **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [May 21, 2020, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-schools/854247 "2020-05-21T15:36:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 42
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-schools/854247/822 "2020-08-05T18:14:44Z")
> [@raspberry\_hunter](#): > > Meanwhile, the way my sister tells it, there seems to be no guidance at all from her state and every school district is just kind of figuring things out on their own. Her school district is opening while all the ones around them are not, and their case rate is twice as high as in my county, I think, so… good luck with that Texas is like this but worse. No guidance, but constantly changing mandates from the state (from different factions within the state) upon which our funding hinges. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-schools/854247/823 "2020-08-05T22:51:16Z")
…this twitter thread does not inspire confidence. [https://twitter.com/Freeyourmindkid/status/1291067755186266113](https://twitter.com/Freeyourmindkid/status/1291067755186266113) And this line from the schools response just makes me want to scream. > [@Letter from the PCSD](#): > > I have attached a document from the Department of Public Health that states exposure to Covid-19 occurs after “being within 6 feet of a sick person with Covid-19 for about 15 minutes.” [https://twitter.com/Freeyourmindkid/status/1291137066500333571](https://twitter.com/Freeyourmindkid/status/1291137066500333571) These same schools that use a ruler to measure the length of a students skirt also have no “practical way to enforce a mandate” to wear masks. I know not every school will be like this, and I know that not every district will be like this. But still, Holy Fucking Shit. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-schools/854247/824 "2020-08-05T23:22:04Z")
Many schools are reporting infections in their first week of opening. [https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/mounting-research-paints-a-bleak-picture-for-schools-trying-to-reopen-most-large-schools-can-expect-coronavirus-cases-within-1-week/ar-BB17yRBn](https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/mounting-research-paints-a-bleak-picture-for-schools-trying-to-reopen-most-large-schools-can-expect-coronavirus-cases-within-1-week/ar-BB17yRBn) > [@](#): > > A recent [New York Times analysis](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/31/us/coronavirus-school-reopening-risk.html) found that more than 80% of Americans live in a county where a school of 500 students and staff would see at least one infection within the first week of reopening. The risk was particularly high in Miami, which might expect to see around 19 cases at a 500-person school, based on its current infection rate. A 500-person school in Los Angeles, meanwhile, might see around four cases in the first week of reopening. > > It’s no wonder, then, that 60% of US parents support delaying school reopenings, according to [a July survey](https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/press-release/by-nearly-a-2-1-margin-parents-prefer-to-wait-to-open-schools-to-minimize-covid-risk-with-parents-of-color-especially-worried-either-way/). Teachers have also expressed concern about their own welfare: The American Federation of Teachers, the country’s second-largest teachers’ union, has threatened to strike in states that reopen classrooms without proper safety measures. > **[These Tennessee school districts are already reporting COVID-19 cases after...](https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2020/08/05/tennessee-school-districts-reported-coronavirus-cases/3296529001/)** > > Just weeks after schools reopened, some have already closed due to reported COVID-19 cases among staff, students. > [@](#): > > Just two weeks after the first school districts in Tennessee reopened to students amid the coronavirus pandemic, [some are already closing their doors](https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/2020/08/04/east-tennessee-schools-reopen-already-see-coronavirus-cases/5557254002/). > > Nearly 50 school districts have started the school year as of Wednesday — the majority of them in-person — and at least 14 confirmed COVID-19 cases connected to schools have already been reported. > > Two school districts, Coffee County Schools and Blount County Schools, have already closed schools or altered their schedules as a result of exposures to the virus. More schools are going the remote learning route. > **[Chicago Public Schools to Begin School Year With Full Remote Learning](https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicago-public-schools-to-be-fully-remote-learning-in-the-fall/2317191/)** > > Chicago Public Schools will begin the school year in the fall with fully remote learning as the coronavirus pandemic continues, the district announced Wednesday. Yet, some parents are saying they will have a difficult time with remote learning. They interviewed a woman who has 5 children with one computer. She also takes care of her 51 year old sister. There aren’t good options for her household. Hopefully, the schools will be handing out more equipment to the students and that the system will work better than she’s anticipating. Her plea was that she wouldn’t know how to answer the questions her children asked, but the school is required to give remote lessons live for 3-4 hours a day with some office hour time online. > **['I don't know what I'm supposed to do.' Parents in distress over school...](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-08-05/parents-school-reopening-online-distance-learning-worry)** > > Reactions ranged from relief to disbelief from some LAUSD parents after the district and United Teachers Los Angeles struck a deal Monday for online learning. > [@](#): > > “The school district doesn’t understand we’re not qualified to answer a lot of questions our kids are asking,” said Adriana Ruiz, a mother of five children in Cudahy who also serves as a caregiver for her 51-year-old sister. “That’s the frustrating part. It’s like the school’s saying, ‘Hey, we’re here for two hours and then you’re on your own.’” While this is all happening, there are more studies, some showing that some children might have longer term psychiatric problems after their recovery from Covid-19. > **[COVID-19 may have lasting effects on some children's brains](https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/covid-19-children-doctors-see-link-between-virus-neurological-side-n1235501)** > > Emerging research highlights a connection between COVID-19 and significant neurological effects in young brains. > [@](#): > > A series of four similar cases were detailed in a [recent study](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/fullarticle/2767979) published by JAMA, spearheaded by doctors at the Great Ormond Street Hospital, London’s other leading pediatric facility. > > The children were part of a larger cohort of 27 young patients who had suffered from the recently recognized [multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children](https://www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-health/back-school-what-doctors-say-about-children-covid-19-n1233550), or MIS-C. They developed new-onset neurological symptoms, in the absence of other respiratory symptoms. > . . . > But he and several neurologists in the United Kingdom and the United States who spoke to NBC News said the vast scale of this pandemic — with confirmed cases in the U.S. topping 4 million — could translate into thousands of patients with neurological complications associated with COVID-19, with some of those potentially focused on the children who suffered the multisystem inflammatory syndrome. > > “The virus has surprised us in many, many ways,” Abdel-Mannan said. “It does need really good quality longitudinal assessments and studies that will include looking at the cognition of these children, looking at their longer term psychological and psychiatric health.” ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-schools/854247/825 "2020-08-05T23:35:38Z")
Locally, we’re grateful that our district has gone to remote learning–but they’re requiring all staff to be in the building. Our children can be in the building with us, but must be in our classrooms 100% of the time, except when we’re escorting them to the bathroom or into or out of the building. They claim that this is going to lead to better education. Uh, no. Here’s an excerpt from a statement I wrote today and plan to put out via our union local tomorrow: > [@me](#): > > The FAQ sent out on August 4 contains several reasons for requiring teachers to be in the classroom, as follows. We will respond after each bullet point. > > - **We have the best staff, and we want to provide them with the best resources in the safest environment possible.** > > We appreciate the compliment about our staff quality, and we agree! Our quality manifests in our professional judgment: we, as the staff members, are best equipped to decide whether we will be most effective working in the building or remotely. The single best resource you can provide us is the professional flexibility to make this determination. > > - **Since the spring, we have received state and local guidance as well as implemented safety protocols that permit staff to work on campus. Additionally, we have worked with our local health department on determining which plan to proceed with as well as best practices on reporting any safety concerns.** > > We appreciate your attention to state and local guidance. North Carolina remains in Phase 2. [According to Phase 2 guidance](https://www.nc.gov/covid-19/staying-ahead-curve/phase-2-extension-faqs#should-north-carolinians-continue-to-work-from-home-if-possible), “All businesses in North Carolina are strongly encouraged to continue directing employees to telework, if possible. Additionally, non-essential travel and in-person meetings should be avoided.” This is the highest-level guidance we have, and our district should strongly consider directing employees to telework if possible, in compliance with these guidelines. > > In a separate email, the superintendent states, “Meetings will be held to a minimum, but, when required, social distancing and proper face coverings will be required. These are the guidelines we have followed during numerous meetings at central office for several months now, without incident.” It goes without saying that keeping COVID-19 out of Central Office is a tremendous success. However, it is less clear that the experiences of a few dozen workers in an office building can be extrapolated to the experiences of 700 district employees in buildings across the district. With the availability of remote meeting tools, it should not be required for any meetings to be held in person. Avoiding such meetings would keep our district in compliance with Phase 2 guidance. > > - **Through parent and staff surveys, it was shared that students are more engaged when they are receiving whole class sessions from a classroom setting.** > > Students indisputably benefit when they are in the classroom with their teachers. However, it is unclear what parent and staff surveys you reference. Are there surveys that suggest that, when students are at home, they learn better when the teacher is in the classroom than when the teacher is teaching from home? We would appreciate detail on which questions and responses led to this conclusion. > > - **Teachers’ classrooms are equipped with appropriate technology, manipulatives, specialized equipment, lab equipment, and other teaching resources to effectively engage remotely.** > > Our classrooms do have appropriate manipulatives and other equipment for teaching well. Not all of this equipment is appropriate for remote teaching, and much of it can be used in remote lessons from home. If our classrooms are open, our district’s “best staff” can make the decision about which lessons must be taught within the classroom, and which ones can be taught remotely according to Phase 2 guidelines. > > - **Our technology and devices on school campuses can receive appropriate maintenance and updates as needed.** > > This is absolutely true. If schools are open on a flexible basis, staff with technology issues can go to campus for technology support as needed. Most updates are already pushed out remotely. For the rare update that requires physical access to the device, this can be arranged with the staff as appropriate. We’ll see where it goes. I’m a little worried about keeping my own two children in the same small room for hours every day, a room adjacent to the staff bathroom and without access to outside air. If it were vital, that would be one thing; but when the reasons for it are so weak, it’s kind of infuriating. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2020, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-schools/854247/826 "2020-08-06T01:11:10Z")
Another thing to point out is that if they start to make exceptions for high risk individuals, they run into huge issues of equity and fairness that they can avoid by giving teachers discretion. Some school districts here are even requiring teachers to be on campus for PD. It’s insane. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2020, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-schools/854247/827 "2020-08-06T10:52:16Z")
Yeah–when I asked to speak to beginning teachers about our union, it turned out they were holding the meeting in-person on my school’s campus. It was pretty messed up. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2020, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-schools/854247/828 "2020-08-06T14:21:20Z")
That is mind-boggling. Like, what is even the point? This is another example of how teachers are treated as professionals when convenient (we know the job can’t be done in 40 hours, you aren’t an hourly worker) and as hourly workers when convenient (if your butt isn’t in the building, you aren’t at work, we won’t pay you, you can’tbe trusted to do an honest day’s work at home). ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2020, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-schools/854247/829 "2020-08-06T14:28:54Z")
I don’t understand all these schools are that closing as soon as someone (student or teacher) shows up infected. Were the school officials who approved opening the school not expecting that this would occur? I mean, I can understand opening the school with the plan that things would be shut down when some critical number of cases is reached. But I don’t understand opening a school and then shutting these down with a single case. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2020, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-schools/854247/830 "2020-08-06T14:32:29Z")
Quite a few are not, but the person reporting or summarizing the story is saying they did because they assume they would. Standard procedure, near as i can tell, is to send home close contacts (which isn’t automatically even kids in the same class. Just kids within 6 ft for 15 min or more, potentially only if unmasked) and sanitize the space. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2020, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-schools/854247/831 "2020-08-06T18:14:57Z")
Photos went viral yesterday of a school with packed hallways, no social distancing, and very few masks in sight. So, how did the school respond? By suspending the kids who took the pictures, and threatening to suspend students who criticize the school. > **[Two Students Say They Were Suspended From Their Georgia High School For...](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/laurenstrapagiel/north-paulding-high-school-suspensions-for-hallway-photos)** > > The images of students packed together in hallways went viral on Twitter as the school faces scrutiny from staff and students. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2020, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-schools/854247/832 "2020-08-06T18:17:09Z")
Shooting the messenger would be hyperbolic, but “suspending the photographer” is not. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2020, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-schools/854247/833 "2020-08-06T18:19:57Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Photos went viral yesterday of a school with packed hallways, no social distancing, and very few masks in sight. So, how did the school respond? By suspending the kids who took the pictures, and threatening to suspend students who criticize the schoo How do the parents of those kids not raise a huge complaint? If my kids were suspended for that stupid crap, I’d be all over the news (as much as I could). ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2020, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-schools/854247/834 "2020-08-06T18:45:20Z")
I mean, it’s in the news. That’s a sign of a pretty big fuss. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2020, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-schools/854247/835 "2020-08-06T18:48:48Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > I mean, it’s in the news. That’s a sign of a pretty big fuss I haven’t seen anything from their parents. Did I miss it? ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2020, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-schools/854247/836 "2020-08-06T19:21:28Z")
I imagine they were instrumental in called the media. They aren’t the story, so they won’t be mentioned. But there is no reason to assume that means they aren’t supporting it. Most teens would need parental help to get a story like this out into the world. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2020, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-schools/854247/837 "2020-08-06T21:08:13Z")
> **[Texas school superintendent diagnosed with COVID-19 dies](https://www.kwtx.com/2020/08/05/texas-school-superintendent-diagnosed-with-covid-19-dies/)** > > A Texas school superintendent diagnosed with COVID-19 died Wednesday. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-schools/854247/838 "2020-08-07T00:34:11Z")
Confirm that it was a parent who called the media: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/vvwJNNLuUBI/maxresdefault.jpg "Student suspended after showing fellow students without masks l GMA") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvwJNNLuUBI) ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-schools/854247/839 "2020-08-07T00:39:59Z")
This confirms, or I need to confirm? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-schools/854247/840 "2020-08-07T00:41:44Z")
If you watch the video, it confirms that it was a parent who called the media. Sorry for the poor syntax; I’m doing several things at once right now. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2020, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-schools/854247/841 "2020-08-07T17:37:26Z")
> [@Chris Hayes](#): > > Every single problem we’re dealing with now stems from the fact that we never actually suppressed the virus and then put the infrastructure in place to keep it suppressed. It’s like we’re trying to figure out a way to live in a burning building. It doesn’t work. Quoted for truth. [https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/07/us/barrow-county-georgia-schools-covid-19/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/07/us/barrow-county-georgia-schools-covid-19/index.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-schools/854247.md?page=41) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opening-schools/854247.md?page=43)