May 5, 2022
May 5, 2022
In recent months, COVID cases in children have been on the rise across the United States. This has had a big impact on many aspects of life, including schools. It’s also brought with it some really important questions that need to be answered, such as: Should students go back to school during COVID-19? And: What does the rise in COVID cases mean for education?
It’s a complex issue, and the last couple of years have already been exhausting for many families due to the pandemic. Here’s what you need to know about COVID-19 and your child, including the direction in-person education seems to be trending as the COVID waves continue to come.
What Is The Risk Of My Child Becoming Sick With COVID-19?
Before it can be understood what COVID-19 means for schools, it’s important to understand what COVID means for kids.
Just as a refresher: COVID is caused by a virus. Most people who contract this virus will have mild symptoms, but there are some that can become very ill. However, even those with a mild case of COVID can have symptoms for weeks or months afterward. These post-COVID conditions are new, ongoing, or returning health problems that people suffer in the wake of a COVID infection, including children.
COVID is spread through respiratory droplets. An infected person breathes out these small droplets that and someone else either breathes them in when standing close to the infected person, has contact with the droplets to the eyes, nose, or mouth, or touches their eyes, nose, or mouth with their hands that have virus particles on them.
Even though it is thought that children are less likely to become severely ill with COVID, they can and do get severe illness. Many children may be asymptomatic or have a mild case; children with underlying medical conditions are considered to be at higher risk for severe disease, but it’s important to understand that there’s no way to know how sick your child may become with COVID. The Omicron variant has seen more children hospitalized than previous waves. Being in large groups, such as at school, without proper mitigation measures such as masks and handwashing puts your child at even higher risk of getting sick.
What Does The Rise In Child COVID Cases Mean For Education?
There’s no doubt that COVID has impacted children less than adults up until now, but the Omicron variant seems to be changing that. Children have been hospitalized more often with Omicron than any other COVID variant that has come so far. There’s not any evidence that Omicron affects children more seriously, but simply that it is infecting more kids.
More infections in schools leads to several problems. Disrupted learning is one – not only because a child has to be out for a certain number of days if they are sick, but also because entire classes may be considered close contacts and have to go online for a period of time.
Teachers are also catching COVID from their students, and with a shortage of substitute teachers at the ready to fill in, this leads to further disruption of learning. Kids may be in school, but not learning what they should be because the teachers simply aren’t there to teach them.
Needless to say, COVID has been very disruptive to learning in schools for children over the past several years, and it may take years more to fully understand the impact.
Is It Mandatory To Send Your Child To School During COVID-19?
As parents, it’s your legal duty to ensure that your child is educated. In many districts, it’s the law that your child be in school between the ages of five and 16. COVID has not impacted this. Of course, there are other options now if you are uncomfortable sending your child to school, or if they or a family member are immunocompromised. Many districts offer online schooling options, or you can find online coursework to sign your child up with.
The bottom line is this: yes, it’s mandatory for your child to be educated, but there is some wiggle room in how that can take place if you don’t want to send them to school in person. Contact your school district to find out what options may be available.
CDC Guidelines For Reopening Schools
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognize that in-person learning benefits children, so they want all kids to be able to go back to in-person learning safely. To this end, they recommend that anyone who can be vaccinated should be, and that all students over the age of two wear masks when inside. If possible, the CDC also recommends that schools keep a physical distance of three feet between students in the classroom to help reduce risk, and that schools implement testing, handwashing, and ventilation strategies to help reduce transmission. If schools can do these things, they can stay open safely.
Should Students Go Back To School During COVID?
It’s certainly challenging for many families to know what the right course of action is when it comes to COVID and your child. There’s a definite balance between your child’s health and wellness and their education.
However, in-person schooling should be a priority in the community for kids, even when COVID cases are high. It’s important to remember that the world is in a different place than it was two years ago when schools closed entirely because of COVID. It’s now understood how mitigation measures such as masking, handwashing, and physical distancing play a role in controlling transmission. Most students also have access to vaccines now, which can help to make the illness milder if they contract it, as well as making it less transmissible.
The mental health needs of children are met in many ways with schooling, and it’s important not to lose sight of that. Mental health is a very important component in a child’s overall health and wellness. Social interactions at school help to ward off mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, so these should be prioritized. Schools should stay open to the best of their ability in order to serve their students educationally as well as socially.