VOICES: One-size-fits-all approach is not appropriate when it comes to reopening schools

We recognize that children learn best when physically present in the classroom. But children get much more than academics at school.

They also learn social and emotional skills at school, get healthy meals and exercise, mental health support and other services that cannot be easily replicated online.

Schools also play a critical role in addressing racial and social inequity.

Our nation’s response to COVID-19 has laid bare inequities and consequences for children that must be addressed. This pandemic is especially hard on families who rely on school lunches, have children with disabilities, or lack access to Internet or health care.

Returning to school is important for the healthy development and well-being of children, but we must pursue reopening in a way that is safe for all students, teachers and staff.

Science should drive decision-making on safely reopening schools. Public health agencies must make recommendations based on evidence, not politics. We should leave it to health experts to tell us when the time is best to open up school buildings, and listen to educators and administrators to shape how we do it.

Local school leaders, public health experts, educators and parents must be at the center of decisions about how and when to reopen schools, taking into account the spread of COVID-19 in their communities and the capacities of school districts to adapt safety protocols to make in-person learning safe and feasible.

For instance, schools in areas with high levels of COVID-19 community spread should not be compelled to reopen against the judgment of local experts.

A one-size-fits-all approach is not appropriate for return to school decisions.

Reopening schools in a way that maximizes safety, learning, and the well-being of children, teachers, and staff will clearly require substantial new investments in our schools and campuses. We call on Congress and the administration to provide the federal resources needed to ensure that inadequate funding does not stand in the way of safely educating and caring for children in our schools.

Withholding funding from schools that do not open in person full-time would be a misguided approach, putting already financially strapped schools in an impossible position that would threaten the health of students and teachers.

The pandemic has reminded so many what we have long understood: that educators are invaluable in children’s lives and that attending school in person offers children a wide array of health and educational benefits.

For our country to truly value children, elected leaders must come together to appropriately support schools in safely returning students to the classroom and reopening schools.