The debate over in-person learning is heating up as cases surge.
Schools across the country are struggling to keep their doors open. Scores of teachers are out sick, and the Omicron surge has ignited a debate over whether schools should return to virtual learning. Here’s the latest:
How are schools staying open?
In many districts, it’s been an all-hands-on-deck effort to keep students in the classroom. with principals and other staff filling in for sick teachers. The superintendent of Boston schools filled in this week for a fifth grade teacher, and in San Francisco, administrators are calling on any employee with a teaching credential to step up.
But in many parts of the country, that hasn’t been enough. At least 4,500 schools will close their classrooms for one day or more this week.
Should classes go remote?
That debate rages on, as the number of children hospitalized with Covid-19 has surged.
“It seems like people have tried to downplay the significance of the disease in children,” a physician in New Orleans told NBC. “We’ve spent two years rebutting myths pertaining to Covid and children, that it’s ‘harmless’ for children. It’s not.”
That has many parents on edge. Teachers are also concerned for their own safety, and many are pushing for more flexibility when it comes to virtual learning. In Chicago, classes were canceled for part of this week after teachers voted against in-person instruction. And in San Francisco, a group of teachers are calling for a “sickout,” urging their peers to call out in protest Thursday.
On the other hand, there’s growing evidence that Zoom schooling through the pandemic has caused millions of students to fall behind. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has remained committed to keeping schools open, arguing that with testing districts should be able to do so safely.
“We have better tools than we had in the past to get it done,” Cardona said on Face the Nation. “We know what works, and I believe even with Omicron, our default should be in-person learning for all students.”
