If the community’s Jewish day schools are held to this standard, it will keep parents out of work and prevent our teachers and office staff from coming in since they will need to stay home with their children. It would also mean asking our students to participate in Judaic and general studies via remote learning every other day until the government loosens up their standards. This could extend well into the fall.

Back in March, Governor Hogan closed public schools and recommended that non-public schools close down as well. With fatalities on the rise, shuls and schools were rightfully closed. But there is a different reality now. As the country reopens, businesses, schools and organizations are making reopening decisions according to their own unique situation. It is reasonable to expect that the standards of one environment (public schools) will be different than another environment (private schools). As long as the reopening is done legally and safely under the guidance and supervision of highly credentialed medical specialists, we have no reason to link our reopening standards to that of public schools.

On June 25, The American Academy of Pediatrics, an organization that represents 66,000 pediatricians, published a Critical Update to their Guidance for School Re-entry. It calls for schools to reopen with limited social distancing and discourages classroom size restrictions so long as basic safety precautions are enforced. 

This past week the Archdiocese of Baltimore announced plans for the reopening of Catholic schools with procedures following the American Academy of Pediatrics. Their schools, which total more than 25,000 students across the state, are scheduled to open on August 21, 2020. In-class instruction five days per week will be available to all their students. They will maintain 3’-6’ spacing in the classroom between desks/students and children will be required to wear face coverings. 

It makes sense that Baltimore Jewish day schools should follow suit and reopen as well. A careful review of accumulated data from Maryland, other states and foreign countries tells us that children 14 and under have an extraordinary small risk of serious illness and death from this virus. In Maryland and surrounding states, middle aged adults and senior citizens fatalities have dropped significantly over the past two months. Medications and therapies which attenuate Covid-19 illness in hospitalized patients are now available, as are adequate numbers of ICU beds.

Perhaps more importantly, the benefit/risk ratio in favor of opening schools with a regular schedule has shifted remarkably since April. The emotional and financial toll that Covid-19 has had on many families has been growing rapidly and has been devastating to some. This includes fear of, and actual loss of family income, changes in sleep or eating patterns, worsening of depression and other mental health conditions, and the increased use and abuse of alcohol and other substances. A growing number of families are becoming destabilized and dysfunctional. Many in our own kehilla have been directly impacted by these effects. In addition, many children do not learn well remotely and such children are already lagging behind their peers. The risk of Covid-19 illness and the rare fatality has now been clearly offset by the growing emotional, academic and financial risks facing our community.

There will no doubt be parents who will not send their children to school due to ongoing health concerns. They are certainly free to make that choice and should consider alternatives to traditional school. The rest of our children are counting on us to bring a sense of normalcy back into their lives.

This recommendation is subject to change in the future if there is new information regarding the pandemic. However, given how things stand now, and with the new school year fast approaching, parents and staff deserve clarity on how our day schools plan to open. It is unfair to keep them in a continued state of uncertainty. Schools should reopen without classroom size restrictions. This can be done legally, responsibly and safely. And it should be announced as soon as possible.

Dr. Edelman is a Professor Emeritus of Medicine at the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He is an internationally recognized expert in viral infections and vaccine development. Dr. Scheller is a Pediatrics Specialist and board certified in Neurology with Special Qualification in Child Neurology. He is also board certified in Pediatrics and has two years of specialized training in epidemiology at NIH.