Morgan Barth is a Nashville-based educator, entrepreneur and father. Morgan has years of experience, including founding and running some of the highest-performing charter schools in the country. Currently he advises educational organizations and advocates for children. This is Morgan’s take on why public schools can (and must) open this fall.

I’m the parent of twin girls who are enrolled to start Kindergarten in Metro Nashville Public Schools. I have also been an educator for twenty years. My wife is also an elementary educator in Nashville. As parents, educators, believers in science and generally cautious people we both felt strongly that MNPS should open on time!

I know that Covid-19 is serious. I believe in the science behind wearing masks in public. I also believe in the preponderance of evidence that says children are very low risk and play an insignificant role in spreading Covid-19. I trust the advice America’s Pediatricians. I trust the experience of daycares in ground-zero of the epidemic – New York City – that did not experience any outbreaks despite caring for children of all ages of essential workers.

I’m very worried about families whose parents desperately need to find work and do not have access to childcare. I’m extremely worried that the MNPS decision to delay opening will only exacerbating Tennessee’s achievement and opportunity gaps. Suburban and private schools are going to figure out a way to open and will further leave MNPS kids in the dust with educational opportunities. I’m worried about the continued toll this will take on the psychological and social-emotional development of children. I’m worried about children who will have fewer hot and healthy meals. I’m worried about the thousands of Metro students who rely on school for counseling, special education, occupational and physical therapy and wrap-around services and so much more that cannot be delivered virtually.

I am also worried that this decision will make children demonstrably less safe. The leading causes of childhood mortality are 1) Accident (which increases during summer, weekends and times when kids are home and under-supervised); Assault (including child abuse which is at epidemic levels due in part to the loss of mandatory reporting services by schools), and 3) Suicide (rates of which are increasing due in part to social isolation and loss of counseling services.) Keeping schools closed makes children less safe!

I hope that MNPS is working on viable plans to make schools open in September, having already punted on August. The fact that nearly half of families may remain at home has the effect of doubling the square-footage per child and teacher who return to school. This will help greatly with keeping children 6-feet-part; as will repurposing cafeterias, gyms and under/un-used MNPS buildings. High school students may be able to navigate more distance learning; and there are hybrid models that may well work for them. But remote learning for elementary students is a farce! All elementary students should have the choice of full-time, five-day learning at school.