[custom_adv] The school week looks vastly different, with most students attending school two or three days a week and doing the rest of their learning at home. At school, desks are spaced apart to discourage touching. Some classrooms extend into unused gymnasiums, libraries or art rooms – left vacant while schools put on hold activities that cram lots of children together. [custom_adv] Arrival, dismissal and recess happen on staggered schedules and through specific doors to promote physical distancing. Students eat lunch at their desks. Those old enough to switch classes move with the same cohort every day – or teachers move around while students stay put – to discourage mingling with new groups. [custom_adv] Teachers and other education staff at higher risk of contracting the virus continue to teach from home, while younger or healthier educators teach in-person. Everyone washes their hands. A lot. Frequently touched school surfaces get wiped down. A lot. [custom_adv] That outline of a potential school day was drawn from interviews with more than 20 education leaders determining what reopened schools might look like come fall. [custom_adv] In the absence of a vaccine for COVID-19, they know social distancing and hygiene will be important to limit spreading the virus. The question is how to implement those measures in schools usually filled with crowded hallways, class sizes of more than 30 people and lunchrooms of hundreds. [custom_adv] Instead, schools are getting conflicting cues. President Donald Trump reportedly said in a call with governors Monday that they should "seriously consider" reopening public schools before the end of the academic term. That's after 43 states and Washington, D.C., have already ordered or recommended schools be closed through the end of the school year, according to Education Week magazine. [custom_adv] The CDC's guidance for schools so far has been vague. It suggested schools look to their local health officials to make decisions on dismissals, event cancellations and other social distancing measures. The CDC never suggested outright that schools should cancel – governors and school leaders called for that on their own. [custom_adv] Reopening schools is critical to fully bring back the economy. More parents can work when their children are in school. Just as important: Many kids aren't learning much at home. Those learning the least are students who lack devices and internet access – many of whom were already academically behind before schools closed. [custom_adv] Many school buildings lack the space to keep children a recommended six feet apart. That's why education leaders foresee a need to continue virtual learning, with kids attending school in person on alternating days or weeks.
