Education expert weighs in on making decision for returning to school amid COVID-19

(FOX 2) - When and how to reopen schools this fall is up for debate in many communities. 

FOX 2 talked with a public health expert who previously worked as a teacher and principal about what parents, school districts and policy makers should be considering when making decisions on a plan. You can watch in the video player below or continue reading.

"For teachers, what they're saying is that now they're being asked to do things they have never had to do before like measure out desks, and consider what social distanced classrooms actually look like, to think about wearing masks all day and asking third and fourth graders wear masks on for six hours and policing that. So on top of the planning that teachers have to do and the amount of professional development they engage in over the summer, they're also trying to plan for fall where they are teaching in a new norm," Dr. Annette Anderson, a professor of education from the Johns Hopkins School of Education said.

What do you think a responsible strategy for reopening schools looks like?

"I would say first, I think districts need to be sure to get the community transmission rates under control. That's a huge ask and a huge list in many communities right now. And so the first thing everyone needs to do before they reopen the doors of the schoolhouse is to just make sure the transmission rates are low enough to go back physically in the building. 

"The other thing I would say is even as schools begin again virtually, what you were seeing is that school is a place, it's a physical building, but it's also a set of common experiences. So as the doors open in the fall to virtual learning, you can still open the schoolhouse to have small classes for special interest groups, for example, for afterschool clubs to meet. So there are ways to use the school building even in a virtual learning environment."

We have been heard of the concept sometimes called "school pods" more frequently, which is a group of families putting their kids in remote instruction together along with a tutor. What is your take on the concept?

"I think it is helpful for those parents. Parents are driving a lot of the conversation right now. I feel that they are not satisfied with the conflicting guidance we're getting from the federal, state and local levels so they are taking matters into their own hands and these pandemic pods are just an example of that. The challenge with the pandemic pods, however, is that it exacerbates existing inequities and so we have to be careful to guard against that."