Thread by @DiseaseEcology

Very happy to see announcement to re-open elementary schools in NYC. When preventative measures are in place, transmission in schools has been low. Unfortunately only subset of children will be able to return (minorities lose again).
Thread @elizashapiro
nytimes.com/2020/11/29/nyr…

The importance of in-person school for young children's learning has been a recurring them of the pandemic. It was beautifully laid out in article by @meiralevinson @mugecevik @mlipsitch
nejm.org/doi/full/10.10…

A key question early in pandemic was whether schools would be hotspots for transmission of SARS-CoV-2, as they are for influenza. Early papers suggested children were much less likely to be infected, but these studies had flawed methodology.

https://twitter.com/DiseaseEcology/status/1264958546367483914

Subsequent data showed mixed results w/ children often having lower infection but sometimes showing similar exposure. But few studies were done when schools were open so questions remained how schools would impact transmission.

Substantial transmission was documented in several schools (mostly high schools) that were open without preventative measures, leading to fears by parents & teachers that in-person schools would put them at risk.
npr.org/sections/coron…

However, infection in primary schools & schools with preventative measures in place has been remarkably lower leading to calls from many that schools should be kept open.
nytimes.com/2020/10/19/nyr…

Thus it's been frustrating for parents& epidemiologists to repeatedly see schools closed for in-person learning, especially when restaurants or bars are still open. I'm guessing this is b/c restaurants/bars have stronger lobbying power & teachers have often argued for closing.

Hybrid learning (a few days in-person; a few virtual) has also been a huge struggle for parents, teachers & kids. Kids sometimes mix pods b/w school & home days increasing risk. Teachers sometimes double-taught. Parents had trouble working leading to lost employment (esp. women).

So, this announcement to have in-person learning for primary schools in NYC is welcome. But it won't serve all children & will leave minorities disproportionately impacted b/c they didn't previously sign up for in-person learning & aren't allowed to opt-in now.

Article doesn't say why parents can't opt-in for their students now, but one issue faced by huge number of schools is how to keep key preventative measure - 6' distancing - in place in schools where there is no room to do so w/ full classes. Hybrid learning was 1 poor option.

Possible solutions for this issue - using unused spaces (e.g. gyms) - aren't sufficient in most schools. Outdoor tents have also been proposed in fair-weather places but aren't widely adopted (cost? space?). I haven't seen good cheap solutions for crowded schools - do they exist?

If not, $$ should be allocated to this very important issue. Maybe schools will get help from Biden-Harris?

In meantime, it's not clear what will happen to young kids who didn't sign up for in-person classes in earlier & can't switch now. @elizashapiro - any info?

Will classes be taught remotely & in-person simultaneously? This is tough for teachers & students but any other approach requires double teaching. I haven't seen good solutions for this either. Please suggest some if they exist.

One possibility I haven't seen proposed & haven't seen data on is whether masks & ventilation might be enough to keep transmission low w/out increased distancing. This would get around classroom capacity issue. Is there data to support this as being sufficient? @apsmunro

Otherwise, a return to in-person learning cannot benefit all kids & will widen gap between kids in learning. This is not a solution we should accept.