Social distancing in schools

Some plans are just not realistic. That’s the message from a recently published study from theRANDCorp. that looked at what social distancing measures in schools might actually work— and which ones would work, but simply aren’t feasible. The study, published in April and focused on mitigating transmission of the flu, asked the opinions of focus groups made up of school personnel. The results? Reducing the number of days per week students are expected in school, and the number of hours students spend in school per day, are both valid ways to maintain social distancing and are considered feasible by school personnel. Recess, though, is apparently necessary. Some respondents said that recess might help with social distancing efforts, but other barriers to eliminating recess were also expressed— there are regulatory issues in some districts, for example, and recess is important to both teachers and students. The “need for teachers to remain on duty during the time recess was supposed to occur” was also listed as a concern. Other social distancing efforts were also considered less feasible, like shortening cafeteria hours or moving class outdoors. And though shortening the school day or week might be valid and feasible, staggering classes was less so, with focus group members decrying the possible difficulty for parents and rasing concerns for “logistics and scheduling.”