Jul 16, 2020, 4:59 PM
(From The New York Times) In towns across the country, independent schools are planning to reopen for full-time instruction, while neighboring public schools say they won’t reopen this fall. The biggest challenge for schools is how to maintain physical distance, and independent schools are “more likely to have smaller class sizes to begin with, and money to hire additional teachers,” according to Times correspondent Claire Cain Miller. Those independent schools may reverse course if there are outbreaks in their communities, and governors could still shut down all schools if they determine that local infection rates call for it. Still, the ways in which private schools are reopening show it can be done with creative ideas and the resources to carry it out.
(From The Washington Examiner) In the past week, Catholic dioceses across the country announced that they intend to bring their students back for in-person classes, with many using the uncertainty about the fall as a way to recruit parents who otherwise would send their children to public schools. The Diocese of New Hampshire, for example, announced in early July that it will offer tuition breaks to people who transfer their children into their schools before the end of August. Other non-religious private schools this month have made similar announcements.
More from The Washington Examiner
(From NPR) A new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine recommends schools prioritize full-time, in-person classes for grades K-5 and for students with special needs, two groups that generally struggle the most with online learning and need the most supervision. The report goes into detail about processes for decision-making going forward and says schools should form coalitions to make decisions on opening, school operations and staying open. Coalitions, the report says, should work closely with local public health authorities in order to do contact tracing if someone at the school contracts the virus. This partnership should allow schools to keep tabs on the rate of infections in the broader community, which will determine whether they can stay open, according to the report.
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