After almost a year virtual learning because of the corona pandemic, Philadelphia’s youngest students will see the inside of a classroom in February. “We have relied on science and data to inform every step we have taken to develop and execute a plan,” said Chief Inspector William Hite.
The reopening comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that there is little evidence of coronavirus transmission in schools if precautions are followed. In addition to face masks, physical distance, and increased room ventilation, schools should limit high-risk activities such as indoor sports and restricting eating indoors.
Dr. Joseph Allen, the director of the Healthy Buildings Program at the Harvard School of Public Health, called school closings “ a national emergency. ”
“We see the devastating costs piling up,” he said. “The reports we see of suicides and decreases in literacy, less access to food, food insecurity issues. “
The new data “supports that schools are not the source or contribute meaningfully to the dissemination of the community,” Allen said.
But across the country, the divisive discussion raging between districts and teacher unions refusing to return. Chicago, the country’s third largest school district, is on the verge of a teachers’ strike.
“My message to the teachers’ unions is that we need you,” said Tameika Hinton, a single mother of 10-year-old Destin.
After reducing her working hours, Hinton had to move in with her grandfather to stay home to supervise her child’s learning.
One of the reasons unions are backtracking is because there are only 23 states that prioritize teachers every year Covid-19 vaccine.
The Biden administration tries to get younger students back into class as quickly as possible. The White House confirmed to CBS News that President Biden’s goal is to reopen a majority of schools in his first 100 days does not apply to secondary schools and there is no word on a timeline for reopening high schools.
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