Let’s make sure we get the return to in-person school right

The Anchorage School District is planning a return to in-person instruction for the district’s youngest students this month, and the circumstances could hardly be more fraught. As schools prepare for the first full classrooms since March, Alaska’s COVID-19 case numbers have never been higher. Some consider the move risky: Resuming classes would be the broadest systematic return to “normalcy” since the pandemic began, and it heightens the risk of an outbreak among young students and their teachers.

However, as Superintendent Deena Bishop reminded the school board in discussion of the plan at an October meeting, there are significant negative effects on students who can’t participate in in-person learning — particularly for younger students. Unlike middle and high-school-aged students, those in kindergarten, first and second grades get much less out of online classes and miss out on crucial development milestones in their education. They also require much more supervision by parents during the work day, straining the entire family. The result could be a ripple effect that leaves these students continually lagging as they grow older — and academic achievement is one of the best predictors for children’s eventual productive contributions to society.

It’s a tough call for the district, and it’s easy to see why district administrators want to see kids back in schools. We also understand why some are questioning that decision. If we want to make sure the decision to begin returning kids to classrooms is successful, we have to be careful and do it right.

Let’s be clear: In-person school for kindergarten through second grade students increases our community’s risk of additional COVID-19 spread. More gatherings, even with proper health measures, mean more risk. But across society, we’ve been forced to balance new risks. And in this case, the benefit of returning our youngest students to in-person learning outweighs the potential risk of virus spread. It’s worth noting that data shows that risk may not be as severe as we would be inclined to suspect: Two recent international studies couldn’t establish a relationship between in-person schooling and increases in COVID-19 spread, provided that health measures were followed by students and teachers.

Children under 10 years old have been the demographic that has so far proven most resistant to catching COVID-19, particularly serious cases. That’s a boon in itself, and requiring the universal wearing of masks in class, as is already the case in districts and private schools where in-person instruction is underway, will be a further insurance policy. And with only three grades resuming classes, there should be more space available in school buildings for distancing. Mitigation measures that provide social distancing, stop mixing of student populations, and require staff to monitor students contacts are onerous and hard. Those measures require creativity and determination, two qualities that ASD — and our educators — possess.

Part of making sure in-person school doesn’t end up a fiasco is timing. Current plans have classes scheduled to resume in person on Nov. 16; some skeptics of the plan have pointed out this is just a week before the Thanksgiving holiday begins, which would lead to a jerky start to live instruction and a potential liability if families don’t play it safe during a holiday that revolves around gathering together. It would make more sense for in-person instruction to resume the week of Nov. 30, giving teachers more time to prepare and allowing time for any people who contract COVID-19 during the holiday to become symptomatic and isolate rather than returning immediately to classes and spreading the disease further.

The biggest share of responsibility for ensuring in-person schooling is a success lies on our own shoulders. If we continue to flout limits on gatherings, fail to wear masks in public and don’t maintain distance between ourselves and those outside our household, we could ruin the attempt at returning to in-person classes almost before it begins. Just as classes present a risk to us because of students gathering together, so do adults' gatherings pose a risk to students. We can’t afford a lackadaisical attitude toward transmission now — we certainly won’t be able to afford one once classes have resumed.

We can manage in-person instruction safely for Anchorage’s youngest public school students, and the positive impacts will be huge. Students will have a better learning environment. Parents will be able to return to work — or improve their focus while working from home. Teachers won’t have to perform the Herculean task of trying to keep the attention of dozens of students simultaneously over a Zoom call. If it works out, it stands to reason that the effort could be expanded to more grade levels — say, grades 3-6 beginning in January.

But it won’t work if we can’t stop COVID-19′s uncontrolled growth in our community. If we want a return to normalcy to stick and be worth it, we have to earn it — by getting and keeping the case counts down. We all have a responsibility to be a part of that solution.