Why Schools Can't Reopen This Fall

Schools cannot open or reopen this fall.

Because they never closed in the first place.

Schools, you see, are not brick-and-mortar structures, desks and hallways. They are not cafeterias, musty locker rooms and student art on the walls.

Schools are people.

First and foremost, they are children and young adults bound together in a learning community.

They are professionals who have made careers out of introducing others to a world of ideas and knowledge.

They are support staff who nurture young bodies and minds, physically and emotionally.

And they are the community that surrounds these people — parents, grandparents, neighbors, government officials, clergy and taxpayers.

So when many governors — including Ohio’s Mike DeWine — ordered districts to close last spring in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, they were shuttering buildings, not schools.

Because the business and passion of education continued.

Schools changed because of these orders, to be sure. The student’s desk moved to the kitchen table. The classroom shifted to a computer screen or a thick packet of activities. The cafeteria became a line of cars in a parking lot, picking up bagged lunches for the next day or the weekend, delivered by workers smiling behind their masks.

Some teachers went live on Zoom, delivering content in real time. Others recorded their lectures and posted them on YouTube.

I know teachers who visited students’ homes and presented lessons through screen doors or open windows, who answered emails in the wee hours of the morning as students worked through challenging math problems or complicated reading passages.

I know principals who mailed birthday cards and planted yard signs to honor the Class of 2020. Don’t forget technology resource workers who delivered wifi hotspots and diagnosed troubles with tablets and laptops.

And students responded. They submitted work through Google Classroom or email. They dropped it off to front offices or sent it by snail mail. They scheduled one-on-one conferences through video chats.

They persevered even in the face of incredible odds. Some became the primary breadwinners after their parents were laid off. Others cared for younger siblings. At least one of my students was diagnosed with the virus. Would it be OK, they asked politely, if their work came in a little late for the next couple of weeks?

Was it easy? No.

Was it equitable? Sadly, not always.

Were there trade offs? Of course. Students lost out on sports and other extracurriculars. They missed socialization with friends.

But was it school? Undeniably.

Now the nation’s administrators face tough choices — from the kindergarten to the collegiate level: How to juggle students’ educational, social and emotional needs during a still-dangerous pandemic.

How do kids go back to classrooms safely when they could be asymptomatic carriers, spreading a virus with no vaccine, no proven treatments and a variety of long-term side effects even for its many survivors?

And what effect will that return have on the nation’s healthcare system? Will hospitals be overrun with cases? And what happens when flu season begins in earnest?

I feel for every administrator wrestling with these issues, compounded by contradictory messages at the federal level, financial considerations and pressure from stakeholders across the political spectrum.

Many schools are opting for online-only classes again this fall. Some are advancing a hybrid solution — partially online and partially in-person. Others are going back full-tilt.

All have to remain flexible and be prepared to walk back plans if numbers spike or a governor speaks.

Regardless, none of them are truly reopening schools. Because you can’t restart something that never stopped.

chris.schillig@yahoo.com

@cschillig on Twitter