We can reopen schools in a way that keeps students, teachers, and the broader community safe from the dangers of COVID-19, while protecting children from another year of lost learning. The decision to return students to the classroom should be based on medical data and the needs of students, not political concerns. 

Also read: COUNTERPOINT | Rush to reopen puts us all at risk

COVID-19 is very real, and it has very real risks. However, the risks of keeping our students out of school far outweigh the perceived health risk of their return.

First and foremost, it’s important to note that COVID is significantly less dangerous for children. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics recently said that schools  “should start with a goal of having students physically present in school.”  They are advocating this approach because they say that “the preponderance of evidence indicates that children and adolescents are less likely to be symptomatic and less likely to have severe disease” from COVID and that “children may be less likely to become infected and to spread infection.” 

I am not a medical professional, but I am a mother. As most parents do, I have always made decisions for my children’s safety and well-being based on the best information available to me at the time. In this case, the nation’s premier association for child health has made it clear that the science and data favor reopening schools. I have middle school-aged students – they are old enough to safely stay home and learn remotely, but that is not in their best interest and I owe them better than “good enough.” My children and yours should have access to the very best education we can offer them.

If our primary concern truly is stopping the spread in the community more generally, the data says that closing schools is not an effective strategy. Researchers at the Global Policy Lab at the University of California-Berkeleyreviewed the effectiveness of various large-scale anti-contagion efforts across the globe.  They concluded that school closures in the United States did not help slow the spread of the virus and may have actually helped accelerate it. 

In addition to the public health considerations, the evidence around academic and mental health outcomes for children provides a compelling reason to return to in-person learning this fall.  The Common Sense Institute notes that research shows that when elementary students in other countries lost 80-90 days of instruction, students were harmed permanently, including lower educational attainment and lower labor market earnings as adults. We are talking about a permanent negative impact on an entire generation of students.

Furthermore, the most vulnerable students will be hardest hit if schools don’t reopen.  Single-family homes with a working parent, or low-income families without access to supplemental learning or access to the internet will fall behind and may never catch up. This does not even take into consideration the enormous number of students who rely on the school to meet their nutritional needs.  

Reopening schools will not be a smooth path. There will likely be stops, starts, and setbacks along the way. The reality is individual schools may have to shut down if there is an outbreak, and we need to have plans in place to serve students who choose not to come back to school in-person. No one is under the false impression that the 2020-2021 school year will be “business as usual,” but we owe it to our kids to commit to provide the very best we can under incredibly challenging circumstances.

Monica Colbert is a former Aurora Public Schools Board member, a mother of two middle-school students and an advocate for public education.