Schools must fully reopen in the fall

The AFT, with the NAACP, the League of United Latin American Citizens, and others, recently polled parents of public-school students across the country. Only 73 percent of all parents said they are comfortable with full in-person learning for their child this fall; only 59 percent of Black parents said this. But if the safety measures in the AFT’s reopening plan—layered mitigation, testing, and vaccines—are in place, the comfort level jumps to 94 percent of parents, including 87 percent of Black parents. Parents whose children’s schools are open feel more comfortable with in-person learning. The same is true of educators: The more they are in school with appropriate safeguards, the more they trust in-person learning. Mitigation measures create trust. So does collaboration. So here’s an idea: Every school should have a committee of school staff, parents, and, where appropriate, students to plan for and respond to safety issues. These committees can conduct health-and-safety walk-throughs this summer, as we just did in Washington, D.C., at McKinley Technology High School and McKinley Middle School. Here’s another idea: Let’s integrate the best practices for both health and learning. One way is to link class size to the CDC’s revised guidance that, with universal masking, students should remain three feet apart in classrooms. For the most part, this will mean fewer students in each class—effectively aligning health and pedagogical best practices. Smaller class size has been shown to have a positive impact on academic achievement, suspension rates, and teacher retention. So why don’t school systems work through the summer to find adequate space in order to set up classes they can keep intact all school year? The constant reconfiguring of classrooms and classes is part of what has created such uncertainty during the pandemic.