School Operation for the 2021-2022 Academic Year in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

In-person learning is essential for the learning and overall well-being of children and youth. Therefore, barring catastrophic circumstances, schools should remain open for in-person learning.The level of community COVID-19 burden should inform the degree of school-based measures: the provided framework should be implemented at the regional level by public health units, considering local vaccination coverage rate and metrics of COVID-19 disease severity and to a lesser extent, SARS-CoV-2 transmission rate.Permanent measures that support the ongoing operation of schools, irrespective of the COVID-19 pandemic, include vaccination of all eligible individuals, exclusion of sick students and staff, hand hygiene, adequate ventilation, and environmental cleaning.Temporary measures (e.g., masking, physical distancing, cohorting) implemented in response to changes in COVID-19 disease burden should take into consideration student age, grade, and vaccination status.Re-initiation and maintenance of extracurricular activities (e.g., music, sports, clubs) is an important component of return-to-school plans.

Disruption to Education During COVID-19: School Nonacademic Factors Are Associated with Children's Mental Health

“…It is possible that repeated and prolonged periods of school closures may have affected children's perceptions about the importance of school, with public health officials determining opening rules based on whether a business or service was considered “essential.” 27 As school was not labeled as an essential service, there may have been unclear messages about the priority to keep children in their learning environments and the value of school, which may have affected children's perceptions of the importance of school during the pandemic. 28…”

“…27 As school was not labeled as an essential service, there may have been unclear messages about the priority to keep children in their learning environments and the value of school, which may have children's perceptions of the importance of school during the pandemic. 28 The association between school importance and internalizing symptoms (anxiety and depression) may also be understood in the context of decreased opportunities for children to make meaningful connections between themselves and their learning as a consequence of changes to their learning environments during the pandemic. Children's attitudes toward school are supported by making explicit connections between who they are and the purpose of what they are being taught.…”

Utility of SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Sequencing for Understanding Transmission and School Outbreaks

“…A school outbreak was defined as all cases associated with a school until a 14-day period with no identified cases. 18 …”

COVID-19 school closures and social isolation in children and youth: prioritizing relationships in education

“…They also tend to have lower academic achievement (Samara et al 2021;Wentzel et al 2021) than children and youth who are more socially integrated. Thus, because relationships matter for health and learning, the COVID-19 school closures undertaken in certain provinces, are untenable, and are, in fact, causing harm (Science et al 2021).…”

“…Their central concern was that the losses that children and youth experienced because of these closures "may never be recouped". The Ontario Science Table acknowledged in their 2021-2022 school operation document that "school closures, and the various distance learning strategies deployed to ensure educational continuity, should be part of a pandemic control strategy in only the most catastrophic of circumstances" (Science et al 2021). They also conceded that children and youth have been "deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions placed on schools".…”