More

    The Long Shadow of Covid School Closures

    spot_img

    Many other education leaders took a different approach in 2020 and came to favor a faster reopening of schools. In Europe, many were open by the middle of the year. In the U.S., private schools, including Catholic schools, which often have modest resources, reopened. In conservative parts of the U.S., public schools also reopened, at times in consultation with local teachers’ unions.

    Some people did contract Covid at these schools, but the overall effect on the virus’s spread was close to zero. U.S. communities with closed schools had similar levels of Covid as communities with open schools, be they in the U.S. or Europe. How could that be? By the middle of 2020, there were many other ways for Covid to spread — in supermarkets, bars, restaurants and workplaces, as well as homes where out-of-school children gathered with friends.

    Despite the emerging data that schools were not superspreaders, many U.S. districts remained closed well into 2021, even after vaccines were available. About half of American children lost at least a year of full-time school, according to Michael Hartney of Boston College.

    And children suffered as a result.

    They lost ground in reading, math and other subjects. The effects were worst on low-income, Black and Latino children. Depression increased, and the American Academy of Pediatrics declared a national emergency in children’s mental health. Shamik Dasgupta, a philosopher at the University of California, Berkeley, who became an advocate for reopening schools, called the closures “a moral catastrophe.”

    The closures also caused some Americans to sour on public schools. Nationwide enrollment fell by 1.3 million, or 3 percent, according to the latest federal data. The share of U.S. adults with little or no trust in public schools rose by a few percentage points, to 33 percent, according to Gallup. In last year’s elections, political candidates who supported vouchers — which effectively reduce public-school funding — fared well, as Jonathan explains in his story.

    Source link

    Share

    All countries
    704,753,890
    Total confirmed cases
    Updated on July 9, 2025 2:16 am
    Italy
    26,723,249
    Total confirmed cases
    Updated on July 9, 2025 2:16 am
    Spain
    13,914,811
    Total confirmed cases
    Updated on July 9, 2025 2:16 am
    Iran
    7,627,186
    Total confirmed cases
    Updated on July 9, 2025 2:16 am
    Germany
    38,828,995
    Total confirmed cases
    Updated on July 9, 2025 2:16 am

    Latest Updates

    Frequently Asked Questions

    spot_img

    Related Articles

    5 years later, long Covid is still a medical mystery: What scientists have learned

    When her school closed down in March 2020, Chimére Sweeney, an English teacher in...

    Covid vaccines for pregnant women, healthy kids are no longer recommended by CDC, RFK Jr. says

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will no longer recommend routine Covid shots...

    Here’s what you should know

    A new Covid variant that’s gaining momentum globally has landed in the U.S.The World...

    CDC says parents can decide with doctors if healthy kids get Covid shots

    The nation’s top public health agency posted new recommendations that say healthy children and...