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Parents Weigh Return to In Person Classes , Remote Learning and Home Schooling

rhs 2020

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, As the US school year rapidly approaches, federal, state, and local government officials are working to develop and implement plans to resume classes. Proposals range from full-time, in-person classes to online/remote classes only, including a myriad of hybrid options in between. Much of the uncertainty and debate revolves around the direct risk to children and the role they play in community transmission. It is generally understood that children are at lower risk for severe COVID-19 disease and death than adults—although, certainly not zero risk—but it is much less clear how easily children transmit the infection to others, including adults or other high-risk individuals at home or in the community.


Governor Murphy said in Monday’s press conference, “the Department of Education will be releasing guidance allowing for parents to choose all remote learning for their children. Again, the details will be coming out later this week but we wanted everyone to know that we will allow for this step. We had a very good sort of whole of government meeting, I think I mentioned this in our Friday press conference, late Friday afternoon. There are a lot of moving parts with this, and this being back to school. This is about as complex a step as we will take or any American state will take and we want to get it right. We want to do it responsibly. We want to respect public health, but we also want to do everything we can to try to recapture that magic of some semblance of in-person education that no state does like New Jersey.”

Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security reported on a recent study by researchers in South Korea, published in the US CDC’s Emerging Infectious Diseases journal, found that SARS-CoV-2 transmission was far more common in household settings compared to public settings. Based on analysis of more than 59,000 contacts of more than 5,700 COVID-19 “index patients,” the researchers found that household contacts were more than 6 times more likely to become infected than non-household contacts. The study identified cases in 11.8% of household contacts, compared to only 1.9% of non-household contacts. Notably, households with an “index patient” aged 10-19 years were at even higher risk for transmission—cases identified in 18.6% of household contacts, compared to 11.8% in households with “index patients” of other ages. The lowest transmission risk among household contacts was for “index patients” aged 0-9 years. In these households, cases were identified in only 5.3% of household contacts; however, this was still greater than the overall risk for non-household contacts. This indicates that children who are infected at school could transmit the infection at home more easily than in other settings, particularly for older children, which would put other family members at increased risk. The study only evaluated symptomatic cases, so further evaluation is required to better characterize the role of asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic transmission by children.

The study contradicts some previous data in which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that of the first 68,998 U.S. deaths from COVID-19, only 12 have been in children under age 14 — less than 0.02 percent. Nor is coronavirus killing teenagers. At last count, the fatality total among children under 18 without an underlying condition is one; only ten of the 16,469 confirmed coronavirus deaths in New York City were among those under the age of 18. That’s similar to the fatality rate for those under 20 in France, estimated at 0.001 percent, and in Spain.

The death of even one child is tragic, of course. Yet, it must be kept in mind that as many as 600 children in the United States died from seasonal influenza in 2017-18, according to CDC estimates, while the CDC’s estimate for COVID-19 fatalities number just 12. A just-released JAMA Pediatrics study flatly states: “Our data indicate that children are at far greater risk of critical illness from influenza than from COVID-19.” If the COVID-19 hazard sets the new standard for health safety, the country will need to close its schools each year from November until April to guard against influenza.There’s two points that I want to make. One is that teaching is a young profession. In the United States half the teachers are 40 or less and a quarter of them are under 30. Ninety percent are under 60 in public schools.

Some have concluded with the study that it appears that there may be significant risk of transmission by children as they return to in-person classes, and many schools are evaluating options for remote/online classes this fall. Other options include home schooling, which some parents are investigating after positive experiences with remote classes this spring after most schools closed. While these options may appear similar on the surface, remote classes and home schooling are very different. Home school options vary widely, including utilizing existing curricula or developing personalized course work, and the standards and requirements vary from state to state. While online classes and home school may be effective, they may not be viable options for everyone. These options may require computers, tablets, or smartphones and reliable high-speed internet service to fully participate, particularly for live-streamed classes or video sessions. Availability for both computers and internet services may not be feasible for lower-income families or those living in remote areas, and many parents may not be able to continue to work remotely or remain at home in order to supervise their children during the day.

10 thoughts on “Parents Weigh Return to In Person Classes , Remote Learning and Home Schooling

  1. Home School time !

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  2. something tells me things will be safe again on November 5.

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  3. “Some have concluded with the study that it appears that there may be significant risk of transmission by children as they return to in-person classes, and many schools are evaluating options for remote/online classes this fall. ”

    If by “some” you mean medical professional, then I’m all ears. If you’re referring to parents’ opinions, then I don’t give a shit!

  4. Gotta reopen schools. The old cannot eat the young. This is unnatural and beyond selfish. I realize people are scared, but you can’t live in fear forever. Stand strong, vote for active social life for our children. And if you get sick, get tested, self quarantine, get better.

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  5. “…you can’t live in fear forever”

    I hope you’re joking. If not, then you’re a solid gold a$$hole!

    Opening schools will full time and with no restrictions will result in kids and adults transmitting this virus – and more death.

    If you’re dead, then you won’t be *able* to live in fear…

  6. It’s very important for the kids to go back to school, it’s healthy to be around other kids and they need their teachers. But for the safety of the teachers and the students we just need to be careful, we need to do this right.Some people are talking out of their ass thinking that this is the union trying to keep the schools closed. That’s not the story this is about safety.

  7. “Some people are talking out of their ass thinking that this is the union trying to keep the schools closed.”

    Unions are *not* trying to keep schools closed. Teachers do not want to be at home. They struggle with technology like everyone else. They would much rather be in the classroom.

    It’s all about safety!!!

    (not a teacher)

  8. Right
    Safety
    First
    It’s
    Going
    To
    Be
    A
    Home
    School
    Change
    In
    Fall

  9. If we can do remote learning, we don’t need the teachers union.
    Lets connect to cheaper young caring enthusiastic teachers from out of state instead of the tenured dead weight
    Save some big $$$ in taxes.

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