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The Urgency and Challenge of Opening K-12 Schools in the Fall of 2020

Educational Objective
To understand the challenges involved in opening K-12 schools in the fall of 2020
1 Credit CME

The sudden closure of kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) schools nationwide this spring likely helped to avert a medical catastrophe from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This decisive step, however, is casting a long shadow. By the time the school year ends in June, more than 55 million US children will have missed months of in-class instruction.1 The educational effect to date represents only one dimension of the harm to children.

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Article Information

Corresponding Author: Joshua M. Sharfstein, MD, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N Wolfe St, Room W1033F, Baltimore, MD 21209 (Joshua.Sharfstein@jhu.edu).

Published Online: June 1, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.10175

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None reported.

Additional Contributions: We acknowledge the research assistance of Trevor Wrobleski, BA, and the comments of Megan Collins, MD, MPH, and Anita Cicero, JD. They did not receive compensation.

References
1.
Map: coronavirus and school closures. Education Week. Accessed May 24, 2020. https://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/map-coronavirus-and-school-closures.html
2.
Bauer  L . The COVID-19 crisis has already left too many children hungry in America. Brookings. Accessed May 24, 2020. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/05/06/the-covid-19-crisis-has-already-left-too-many-children-hungry-in-america/
3.
Auxier  B , Anderson  M . As schools close due to the coronavirus, some US students face a digital ‘homework gap.’ Accessed May 24, 2020. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/03/16/as-schools-close-due-to-the-coronavirus-some-u-s-students-face-a-digital-homework-gap/
4.
Kuhfeld  M , Tarasawa  B . The COVID-19 slide: what summer learning loss can tell us about the potential impact of school closures on student achievement. Accessed May 24, 2020. https://www.nwea.org/content/uploads/2020/05/Collaborative-Brief_Covid19-Slide-APR20.pdf
5.
US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau. Child maltreatment 2018. Accessed May 24, 2020. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/cb/cm2018.pdf
6.
Esposito  S , Principi  N .  School closure during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic: an effective intervention at the global level?   JAMA Pediatr. Published online May 13, 2020. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.1892PubMedGoogle Scholar
7.
US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC activities and initiatives supporting the COVID-19 response and the president’s plan for opening America up again. Accessed May 24, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/php/CDC-Activities-Initiatives-for-COVID-19-Response.pdf
8.
Bryant  J , Dorn  E , Hall  S , Panier  F . Safely back to school after coronavirus closures. McKinsey & Co. Accessed May 24, 2020. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/social-sector/our-insights/safely-back-to-school-after-coronavirus-closures
9.
Cicero  A , Potter  C , Kirk Sell  T , Rivers  C , Scoch-Spana  M . Filling in the blanks: national research needs to guide decisions about reopening schools in the United States. Accessed May 24, 2020. https://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/our-work/pubs_archive/pubs-pdfs/2020/200515-reopening-schools.pdf
10.
Faden  R , Collins  M . There’s more to reopening than just deciding when to do it. Education Week. Accessed May 24, 2020. https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2020/05/08/lets-be-honest-about-the-ethical-trade-offs.html
AMA CME Accreditation Information

Credit Designation Statement: The American Medical Association designates this Journal-based CME activity activity for a maximum of 1.00  AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to:

  • 1.00 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;;
  • 1.00 Self-Assessment points in the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery’s (ABOHNS) Continuing Certification program;
  • 1.00 MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;
  • 1.00 Lifelong Learning points in the American Board of Pathology’s (ABPath) Continuing Certification program; and
  • 1.00 CME points in the American Board of Surgery’s (ABS) Continuing Certification program

It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting MOC credit.

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