Kansas became the first state in the nation Tuesday to declare its schools would close for the remainder of the school year.
By now, a majority of states have closed their schools, though to a lesser degree.
The disruption will be immense and strengthens the argument for year-round school so that when a crisis such as the COVID-19 or a natural disaster occurs, children can get back on track with their education as soon as possible.
We appreciate the severity of this health crisis and don’t argue with the Governor’s decision to close the schools in order to suppress the spread of the virus. It was a painful, but necessary, decision and one most other states will be forced to make as the full impact of the coronavirus is made evident.
The wisdom of Gov. Kelly making such a proactive decision is that it forces schools to immediately come up with interim models to keep students learning instead of wasting precious time waiting to see how devastating this new virus will be.
We know from the experience of other countries that unless we take drastic measures to isolate ourselves that the highly contagious virus will spread rampantly and will be increasingly harder to tackle.
No offense, but schools are nothing short of germ factories. Ask any parent.
THE FALLOUT from closing the schools until the fall semester, however, is not to be downplayed.
Most important is the effect on children whose families are ill-prepared to partially assume responsibility for their education in the interim.
Many factors come into play here including:
* A lack of supervision to see that content is adequately studied and lessons completed;
* An unsafe home environment, again because of a lack of adult supervision due to work requirements;
* A lack of social interaction with their peers; and,
* Inadequate nutrition, which impedes learning and development.
For so many of our children, schools are their safety net, a place where they are well-fed and well-cared for.
