Faculties wrestle as officers push for in-person studying after winter break

“Test to stay is an encouraging public health practice to help keep our children in school,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said at a news conference Friday.

Research shows remote learning and Covid-related disruptions negatively impacted children’s academic progress and development last year. Test scores revealed students fell behind, particularly low-income, Black and Hispanic students. Students who learned virtually also fared worse in social and emotional well-being, one study found.

“We must keep schools open for in-person instruction to ensure excellent educational opportunities and strong outcomes for all students, especially those who have been historically underserved and most impacted by the suspension of in-person learning,” Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Mohammed Choudhury said in a statement Monday.

In New York City where the omicron has taken hold, Mayor Bill de Blasio vowed to avoid any district-wide shutdowns unlike March of 2020 when the largest public school district in the U.S. was shuttered to contain the outbreak. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and California Gov. Gavin Newsom also said keeping schools open was a priority.

Still, individual schools and classrooms may close or move to online learning. More than 800 schools across the U.S. unexpectedly closed this week as of Wednesday, according to Burbio, a website that tracks school closures. The tally marks a sharp surge from the prior weeks, but is still lower than levels seen in November.

More than 500 schools have also announced closures in the first week of January, Burbio found. DC Public Schools plans to extend winter break by two days and offer free rapid antigen tests for families on those days.

Tallmadge City Schools in northeast Ohio shut down earlier this week. The district canceled classes Tuesday and Wednesday before the winter recess, citing “the rapid spread of Covid.”

“Closing school is a big deal for us and something we don’t want to do,” Superintendent Steve Wood said. “When we saw the surge and the number of cases, we felt the risk outweighed the benefits of keeping the buildings open.”

Wood said his district has been following Ohio’s “mask-to-stay/test-to-play” model that allows exposed students to stay in school by wearing a mask and getting tested. In the past week, however, Wood said these protocols did not prevent students from developing symptoms.

“Whatever is going on with this variant, the ‘mask-to-stay/test-to-play’ protocol I don’t believe is enough right now with how contagious this variant is,” Wood said.

Courtney Cogburn, a professor of social work at Columbia University and New York public school parent, kept her kindergartener at home for the last three days before winter break. Her son is fully vaccinated. However, he takes a bus to school, and Cogburn worried about potential transmission during his commute. Vaccination “wasn’t enough to sway me,” she said, citing breakthrough cases from the omicron variant.

Cogburn said she will monitor case counts and Covid test results when she decides whether to send her son to school after winter break

“I really respect the tricky position that these decision makers are in. It’s difficult, and a lot of people rely on school, not only for their child’s education, but they can’t just take off of work and have their kids come home,” Cogburn said, noting the privilege she has in having more flexibility in her profession.

Almonte, the New York science teacher, expects the holidays will drive transmission when students and staff return to school after the winter break.

“It seems like cases are going to rise, especially after the holidays. This is the worst time for this to happen,” Almonte said.