The academic, mental, and physical health of Colorado’s children have not been prioritized during the pandemic. As a result, we are irreparably damaging an entire generation of children and dramatically exacerbating inequities in our society that will have impacts for decades to come.  Despite good intentions and hard work, Colorado’s education system has not shown that it is up to the challenge posed by COVID-19. 

Also read: COUNTERPOINT | Schools have gone above and beyond

Fundamentally, our rigid public school system lacks the imagination and flexibility necessary to respond to the pandemic, and our children are paying the price. 

Numerous studies have shown that school-aged children will suffer massive learning loss from school closures that may never be regained.  Those academic gains are only part of the story, as children’s mental and physical health will also be permanently damaged by school closures. The proportion of mental health-related emergency room visits for children aged 5-11 are up 24% and up 31% for children 12-17. 

The Journal of the American Medical Association calculated the impact school closures have on life expectancy. Researchers showed issues associated with missed instruction in 2020 will actually decrease our children’s life expectancy. They also found that “[t]his loss in life expectancy was likely to be greater than would have been observed if leaving primary schools open had led to an expansion of the first wave of the pandemic.” 

School closures are causing massive, potentially irreversible damage to Colorado’s children.  To say that we have let our children down is a gross understatement. 

Early on in the pandemic, I was a cheerleader for pandemic efforts made by our public schools, highlighting the work done by schools across the state in the face of massive uncertainty.  But as the school year approached, it became clear that schools were not taking the steps necessary to safely reopen schools.  Denver Public Schools kept changing its plans, leaving working parents constantly scrambling to adjust. Some schools, like District 49 in El Paso County, told parents they were going to reopen in person, just to pull the rug out from under them later. Major districts across the state saw similar problems – failing to set up the procedures for a safe return to school, despite months to prepare. 

Bizarrely, traditional public K-12 schools have been one of the least likely institutions to open after the lockdown. Bars, restaurants, marijuana dispensaries, offices, spas, salons, and even Mile High Stadium all found a way to open safely while children sat at home staring at a screen.

Schools didn’t fail to reopen because reopening represents an intractable danger.  An avalanche of evidence from around the globe has shown that schools can be reopened with very little impact on infection rates in the community and many European countries have prioritized keeping schools open. Here in Colorado, many types of schools have safely reopened: preschools, private schools, rural school districts, and public charter schools have all shown that it can be done.  Sadly, politics seems to be the deciding factor in traditional public school reopenings, not science. 

We simply haven’t prioritized schools or children’s wellbeing.  In Denver, the mayor proposed a temporary closure of liquor stores and marijuana dispensaries, which lasted about two hours before being rescinded in response to public outcry.  Meanwhile, in Denver and other districts, thousands of kids have been robbed of their chance to learn to read, without much recognition from school boards or other local elected leaders.   

What are we doing here?  Historians will look back on this moment with equal amounts of disgust and confusion. Our society has put the needs of adults before the needs of children. We let them down when they needed us the most.

Luke Ragland is the president of Ready Colorado, a center-right education advocacy organization.