Vigilance is only course for opening schools

Look at the calendar (don’t get excited, it’s not a new year). It’s starting to look more like a clock, ticking down to the start of the school year. We’re almost a week into August, meaning the start of school is just weeks away. Normally, this would be the heart of vacation season. But in The Year Without Vacations, there is still a lot of work to do before the ticking counts down to that first bell.

Marc Jaffe, head of Stamford-based Children’s Learning Centers of Fairfield County, acknowledged what we are reminded of every September, that a child care center is a Petri dish for colds and the like.

Connecticut Office of Early Childhood Commissioner Beth Bye reports that 20 child care facilities closed permanently in just the past month.

Child care centers are the canary in the coal mine for schools. Half of the centers in the state opened last month for the first time since March. Bye says there have been 10 documented cases of COVID-19 among children and 37 among staff.

These are low figures, but indicate that no matter what precautions are taken, COVID will have a presence in our schools this fall. To pretend otherwise is folly. No matter how many efforts are made to stifle the flu, it thins out classrooms and workplaces every autumn.

Connecticut was offered hope from no less than Dr. Anthony Fauci, the national voice of caution about COVID. While joining Gov. Ned Lamont for an update Monday, Fauci said Connecticut is in a good position to avoid a resurgence if residents adhere to the discipline shown in recent months.

Fauci pointed to the wisdom of paying attention to the experiences of other states. While Connecticut is poised to offer some in-person education for most students, Rhode Island’s figures tilt toward opening schools favoring a hybrid model heavier on distance learning.

We advise taking that caution a step further. Teachers, parents (and Fauci), should consider some of the lessons offered by premature school openings around the globe. The New York Times reported Tuesday about Israel’s catastrophic mistakes in reopening schools in full in May. Within days, infections mushroomed throughout Jerusalem.

Sticking to its strict regimen begins with shutting down naysayers who dismiss mask-wearing and social distancing as a hoax. It’s the worst possible example to offer children preparing to return to the classroom.

Connecticut education this year will be nuanced as a result of the inequalities between school districts. It’s not merely a matter of technology in the hands of students, but how well economically starved districts are positioned to clean facilities. There are countless hidden challenges, such as aging ventilation systems. And while Child Care Centers adhered to a strategy of keeping kids outside as much as possible, that won’t be possible in centers and schools as temperatures drop.

That first bell will soon ring, but the clock will never really stop ticking this school year.

But in The Year Without Vacations, there is still a lot of work to do before the ticking counts down to that first bell.