Reopening Schools: Mental health vs Health & Safety?

by Marnie Dobson Zimmerman, Ph.D., & Pouran Faghri, M.D.

During the past few weeks in the U.S., the debate over school reopenings in the Fall, in light of COVID-19 surges, has been fever pitched. The negative mental health and academic impacts of social distancing and online learning on children are given as reasons to reopen schools despite being in the midst of an out-of-control pandemic. But while these are real, legitimate concerns, do they outweigh the risks to the health and safety of children, families, and teachers returning to…