There’s No Excuse for Shutting Down Schools Again
With billions in federal aid still unspent, districts need to keep their doors open — and their kids in the classroom.
Enough already.
Photographer: Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images
Nearly two years into the pandemic, America’s students are still suffering. Disruptions to in-person schooling have caused significant learning loss in math and reading, and widened racial achievement gaps. Millions of students have a basic need: more time in the classroom.
The good news is that public school districts have resources to make that happen, thanks to the Covid relief bills passed by Congress. Yet with coronavirus cases rising and a new variant adding to the uncertainty, some schools are once again curtailing in-person instruction. Even if limited in duration, such closures are wrong — and risk doing irreparable academic harm to the students who can least afford it.