The Census Bureau’s pre-pandemic statistics suggest that over 53 million children were enrolled in public school and over 4 million in private school, ages K-12, nationally. No longer.
When the pandemic began and officials closed schools, forcing students to learn virtually at first, it seemed like the right thing to do. At the same time, parents and children were assured the closures were temporary. Nearly a year later, research shows that lockdowns have had worse effects on students than most cases of COVID-19 in children. Unfortunately, no amount of evidence seems to persuade stubborn teachers unions to open schools.
On Tuesday, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers wrote in the journal of the American Medical Association that there is “little evidence that schools have contributed meaningfully to increased community transmission.” The CDC and other medical experts have been advocating for schools to reopen since mid-summer, echoing nearly the same information: COVID-19 spread seems minimal among children. This COVID tracker reports there have been approximately 505,000 COVID-19 cases among K-12 students. If that sounds like a lot, remember there are over 50 million children enrolled in public schools.
Some states, like Texas, opened their doors in the fall. However, schools in many other states such as Virginia, New York, Kentucky, Oregon, California have remained shuttered or at least partially so. Forcing children to learn virtually has adversely affected their emotional and mental well-being. The CDC found that suicide and depression rates among children have skyrocketed. After an unusual uptick in suicide rates this last week, the Clark County School District — the nation’s fifth-largest school district that pulls students from Las Vegas, among other cities in Nevada — decided to reopen schools for in-person learning as soon as it could. There’s another point to make here: Virtual learning doesn’t work very well. NPR recently reported that 4 of 10 teenagers don’t even log on for virtual learning! Children at risk for abuse and neglect are even more so with their school buffers gone.
Despite the evidence in favor of reopening schools now, teachers unions are offering de facto picket lines against children. In July, the United Teachers Los Angeles demanded a bevy of liberal policies be instituted, such as defunding the police and starting programs about systemic racism, in order for the district to reopen schools. Many unions cite safety concerns as an issue, despite evidence to the contrary. Just this week, members of the Chicago Teachers Union voted not to return to schools to teach students, defying the district’s administrators’ reopening plans. In an audacious tweet, the union posted a video of six teachers using “art form as a voice to express their desire to feel safe amidst CPS’ teacher return policy.” Rather than cite facts, the union tweets that “no one should have to choose between life and livelihood.” It’s
simple fearmongering.
It gets more absurd.
Scott Wilson, president of the Pasco Association of Educators, a teachers union in Seattle, Washington, claimed that reopening schools for in-person learning is an example of “white supremacy” and unease about children committing suicide “white privilege.” Teachers in Fairfax County, the largest school system in Virginia, demanded vaccinations before reopening schools to in-person learning. Many teachers received their first dose, yet the system still refuses to reopen. That has prompted some to question whether those teachers should have been bumped to the front of the line!
For months now, teachers unions have been moving the goal posts, using students as bargaining chips, and inventing exaggerated safety concerns. We should come together to demand that they put children first. That is, after all, their job.
Nicole Russell (@russell_nm) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She is a journalist who previously worked in Republican politics in Minnesota.
