We were all hoping for clarity and certainty at the start of this school year, and we are there in some ways and not in others. This year, there is no doubt that when the first bell rings, children across the Miami Valley will fill the hallways of our schools. A review of regional school districts’ plans recently reported by local media showed district-after-district will not be offering remote learning this fall, with few exceptions. So in uncertain times we know that students will certainly be in classrooms within the next two to three weeks.
That’s good news because many students lost academic ground or didn’t progress as much as expected during the last two school years dominated by remote learning activities. Data from the Renaissance Start Assessment last school year found that students were 1-1/2 to almost 3 months behind pre-pandemic expectations with math being affected more than reading and, not surprisingly, students of color, children in poverty, those with disabilities and English language learners were once again disproportionally impacted. In order to catch up this academic year, schools will need to be open and students need to be ready to learn.
A big impact the pandemic has had on families of my practice is altered sleep schedules causing inadequate or fragmented sleep. We have to do better at getting children in bed earlier without devices and TVs so they can be rested and ready to learn everyday.
In support of school district policies that will allow them to remain open for business, the American Academy of Pediatrics in its recent statement advocated for plans that focus on keeping students safe and physically present in school. To do that, school and public health officials must work collaboratively to keep up with the continually emerging science about the pandemic, then use that information to make decisions that are void of political influence and focused on mitigating as much risk as possible.
We learned last winter that we can effectively lower transmission of respiratory illnesses from person-to-person. By frequently washing hands, keeping physical distance from one another and properly wearing masks, we had fewer sniffles, sore throats and, for the first time in my almost 30 year career, my office wasn’t overrun by influenza or other school yard illnesses last winter.
There’s plenty of discussion about the impact of the Delta variant, vaccines, mask mandates and more, but this is what we know.
On July 30, more than 18 months into this pandemic, the state of Florida set a single day record for new infections and in June, 98% of COVID-19 hospitalizations and 99% of COVID-19 deaths occurred in unvaccinated people. Current science shows the Delta variant can be spread almost as easy as chickenpox.
As we filter through the news and the noise, expect an ongoing evolution of the scientific understanding of the pandemic, changes in recommendation but a continued focus on what we can do.
We can make decisions driven by personal responsibility to look out for our own health and others in our communities. Everyone eligible can get vaccinated to prevent hospitalization and death from COVID-19. We can send our students to school masked to protect the unvaccinated.
We can be supportive of policies that are developed and adapted considering the level of COVID-19 transmission, test positivity and vaccination rates in the community, understanding that differences may exist between urban, suburban and rural districts. We can trust that these policies will be designed to protect students, teachers and staff and keep in person learning as safe as possible.
Dr. Alonzo Patterson, a Dayton native, has spent his nearly 30 year career serving children throughout the city as a general pediatrician.
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