I think we should keep schools open in places where the infection rate is low. I also think we should continue distance learning as best when can, when we have to close schools. But I also think an optional extra year should be added at the end of elementary, middle, and high schools so kids can “catch up” without stigma if they still have skill gaps when they hit that transition. I think it could be presented in a way that limited any stigma. In fact, affluent parents might be the most enthusiastic about it.
This paper suggest the rates of household transfer was much higher during the New York crisis. Table 2 says that of those houses with a proband case, 57% of the time another household member also tested positive. In houses with children 5-17 32% of them tested positive.
Just to clarify, the data are from New York State, excluding NYC.
This is a back reference from the Vox article that @Trom posted, which points out that these are different findings than the much lower household transmission rates from China.
The obvious conclusion from this, is that if any member of a household has Covid-19, then all household members need to stay home from school for an appropriate length of time.
Poor kids often don’t learn much at school as it is because of funding and caring issues. I don’t see how that wouldn’t condemn at least SOME kids who might otherwise have made it to definite poverty.
Unless we are in a hard shutdown of nearly everything, many kids will not be staying isolated at home, just because school is closed. Many of the children are just going to be in day care if they’re not at school. So some of the kids may not be receiving any additional protection by having schools closed. Closing schools may still be the reasonable response.
I think the idea is that if they were in 3rd grad last year, start 4th grade Sept 2021. And it’s not a terrible idea, but a year of total verging seems bad.
Plus, do we layoff every employee from the largest single employer in many places?
They would still be a lot more isolated, especially the big kids. Unless we radically shoft the structure of schools to cohort, students are mingling with hundreds of other kids and adults in a day. Many also are bringing in exposure from their own retail jobs, which multiplies. Hanging out with friends doesn’t compare.
The percentage of kids getting sick in CA/FL/TX is growing, and more are developing complications.
On a lighter note Trump made campaign stops in Florida today, and he wasn’t wearing a mask.
~VOW
Thing is it isn’t just China that that result is an outlier from. In South Korea found 7.56% with hardly any under 19. In Taiwan about 5% among family contacts and less than 1% among those under 19.
So these first cases in New York State having high numbers of others in the household (actually 38% in the household when the index case was not included), albeit still with less than half the rate in children as in adults (see Table 2), makes one wonder what was different about the early cases in New York State …?
Then I noticed that the overwhelming majority of those tested were in households with 5 or more household members (240 of 343) and remember (Doh!) that ground zero for COVID-19 in New York State was the Hasidic Orthodox community, large families with crowded schuls, regularly attended. Yeah, “common sources cannot be ruled out”.
Not sure I’d extrapolate from there to the rest of America.
Where did you see that?
ABC news
~VOW
Joint statement today from AAP, NEA, AFT, and AASA:
The emphasized pieces are pretty flippin’ important. The NC legislature looks to be pulling some parliamentary bullshit that’s trying to force schools to be fully open for the first 5 days, without having any additional funding to districts and without consulting with any educators in the process. That’s scary as hell.
All the teacher rage that’s been trembling under the surface of our country over the past few years? Get your seismographs ready.
Quoting a friend of mine from elsewhere:
When does NC open?
Our superintendent suggested the other day that we may delay the first day of school 3 weeks, to the say after Labor Day. We’d make up the time, and it would give us the opportunity to get a little more settled.
Our superintendent is an inexperienced corrupt megalomaniac who used the position as a failed stepping stone to a lieutenant governor campaign; he’s basically said nothing. Plan is to open August 17.
Texas child care centers had a increase 759% in the number of infections from last month to this month. 1800 individuals, both staff and children.
ABC news, “World News Tonight.”
~VOW
The emphasized portion from above leaves out one very important aspect: MONEY. School districts across the nation don’t have extra bucks in a Bible or under somebody’s mattress to pay for the recommended safety measures.
~VOW
That is our original date. I’m sorry you have especially bad leadership at a time of crisis. (Familiar theme!)
Our superintendent is very solid. He’s been here since 2005, which is basically unheard of in large urban districts. I am super, super grateful.
They are aware.
My wife’s school district just announced a plan: All distance learning until there are no new cases in our county for seven days.
Yep. That’s just one month. https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/06/health/texas-coronavirus-cases-child-care-facilities/index.html