Getting schooled
New Mexico can’t afford not to reopen classrooms
I understand the fear many teachers have regarding returning to the classroom this fall. It is the fear of the unknown, especially for older teachers. I also understand the deficiency of adequate learning from teaching remotely. Our Public Education Department has adopted both hybrid and remote plans to begin this school year.
However, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield recently told Congress that it’s in the public health best interest for K–12 students to get back to face-to-face learning.
Redfield said, “There’s really very significant public health consequences of the school closure. We’re seeing an increase in drug use disorder, as well as suicide in adolescent individuals. So, I do think it’s really important to realize, it’s not public health versus the economy about school opening — it’s public health versus public health.”
The CDC has issued school reopening guidelines that include social distancing, masks and hygiene measures. Studies from Iceland, Sweden and Germany found no increased risk of infection among or from students returning to the classroom.
In January 2018, the Quality Counts Report released by Education Week magazine ranked New Mexico next to last nationally in education. Kids Count, a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, also gave New Mexico a poor grade for its public education system.
Recognizing the deficiencies in remote learning and due to the COVID pandemic, our Public Education Department has requested a reprieve from federal student testing and accountability requirements for the 2019-20 school year. In essence, they are projecting failure of distance learning.
With this continuing poor showing in mind, it is time to consider creative methods to get our kids back in the classroom and improve our student outcomes. Teachers unions oppose returning too soon. Some local unions have blatantly politicized not returning until their police are defunded. Will the teachers unions’ funding of mainly Democratic politicians who make the rules in New Mexico continue as a restraint on better solutions?
To encourage face-to-face education, the Trump administration is considering some form of financial assistance to parents wishing to get their kids back in the classroom this fall.
The U.S. Supreme Court just sanctioned the use of public funds for private tuition. In May, using the CARES Act funds, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos created a $180 million voucher program for private and religious schools. DeVos is additionally trying to redirect CARES Act funds to enable low-income students to attend private schools.
Some private and parochial schools continuing normal classroom activities, with CDC guidelines, are reducing tuition costs to encourage enrollment.
With 40% of our workforce having school-age children, this could solve several problems. If both parents work, they can continue to work and not leave one parent behind with a child for remote learning from home. Nationally, that figure is about 27 million parents. In addition to increasing family income, it will also benefit the students’ learning process. A creative win-win.