During the summer (which feels like ages ago), the primary concern was whether or not schools would reopen. There were numerous questions surrounding this issue: When would they open? How would they operate? Who would actually attend? On one side, teachers, parents, and public health experts expressed fears that classrooms could become hotspots for virus transmission. Meanwhile, government officials were quick to push for school openings, often resorting to emphatic tweets urging “OPEN THE SCHOOLS!” (because all caps are clearly the hallmark of sound reasoning).
Ultimately, it became clear that schools would reopen, and as both an educator and a parent, I faced tough decisions. Should I return to the classroom? Should I send my kids back? While I longed for a return to normalcy, I opted to wait. Despite some early indications that COVID-19 may be less transmissible among children, particularly younger ones, there was insufficient data regarding infection rates in schools. I hoped that by the end of fall, more information would be available to help me make an informed choice.
So what’s the outcome? Are kids contracting the virus in school settings? Did the reopening of schools trigger widespread outbreaks across the nation? The troubling truth is that we still lack clarity on these questions because there is no federal tracking system for COVID-19 cases in schools.
I receive weekly updates from my children’s schools about new cases (typically around two or three per week). Others in different areas receive similar notifications. Yet, there’s no centralized effort to compile this data into a national database. No one is analyzing this information to provide evidence-based conclusions about the safety of keeping schools open during a pandemic.
Since September, COVID-19 cases in the U.S. have surged (we recently recorded over 100,000 new cases in a single day), which could lead to the assumption that schools may be contributing to these outbreaks. However, numerous other venues have also reopened, such as offices, bars, and restaurants. Without a clearer picture of where the virus is spreading, we can only make educated guesses about the necessary steps to take as individuals and as a community.
While there have been reports of COVID-related deaths linked to schools, including a few teachers and students, it raises the question: Should this change our assumption that student-to-student transmission is rare? How rare is it — 1 percent? 5 percent? Without concrete data, we simply can’t know. These instances need to be contextualized within broader trends.
In the absence of a federal tracking system, some researchers have attempted to monitor COVID-19 cases in schools. However, they face significant limitations in accessing comprehensive data. Some districts publicly share their numbers, while others prefer to keep them private due to privacy concerns. While it’s understandable that schools prioritize privacy, this lack of transparency hampers our ability to assess national trends. We’re left navigating in the dark, relying on local figures and media reports, drawing our own conclusions without solid data.
The government is uniquely positioned to handle this data collection and analysis. If school districts hesitate to share COVID figures publicly, they should still report them to local health departments. Unlike private entities like universities and hospitals, the federal government can collect this data for public health experts to review. Failing to do so is a significant dereliction of duty.
Schools across the country have implemented varying safety measures. Some enforce strict masking policies, while others are “mask-optional.” Some schools take social distancing seriously, adjusting class sizes and hallway traffic, while others have returned to pre-pandemic routines. Although it’s disappointing that we lack national safety guidelines to curb the virus’s spread, tracking this data could help us understand the effectiveness of different mitigation strategies.
Which school districts are experiencing the most outbreaks, and what common characteristics do these schools share? What types of masks are being mandated? How are students arranged during lunch? Is there another crucial factor at play? We cannot answer these questions without data collection.
Moreover, there is inconsistency across states regarding testing and contact tracing protocols. While I understand that the federal government cannot dictate state actions, it could establish national standards and encourage adherence. As a result, when a family member falls ill, it may be possible to trace the infection back to a child exposed in school. Given that children are often asymptomatic, they may unknowingly spread the virus to family members. If the federal government tracked and traced these cases, we’d have a clearer understanding of what’s happening in schools and communities.
My children have been learning remotely since September, and soon I must decide if they will return in January or continue with remote learning. With COVID-19 cases on the rise, keeping them home seems like the safest option. However, if we had comprehensive nationwide data indicating the effectiveness of various mitigation efforts, or the rate of school transmission, I would feel more secure in my decision.
I hope the incoming administration will prioritize collecting and sharing data that we, as parents and citizens, need to make informed choices. The public is demanding change, yet when it comes to tracking school COVID-19 outbreaks, the current government appears to have given up.
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Summary:
The lack of a federal tracking system for COVID-19 cases in schools is a significant oversight, preventing parents and educators from understanding the safety of in-person education. While some schools provide local data, there’s no national database to analyze trends or assess the effectiveness of safety measures. With rising infection rates, the need for comprehensive data is critical for informed decision-making about school operations. The hope is that future leadership will prioritize data collection to aid families and communities.