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Syag > They started meeting in person with masks and social distancing right from the start in September.
This is fine. I know people who approached this very responsibly. Many encouraged people to get tested when symptoms came up and ended up with small number of cases when there were outbreaks. It was not easy to do this the right way. for example, some people or schools did not disseminate information quickly, or people disregarded quarantine and went to shuls on yomim tovim. On the other hand, I know people who would visit various Jewish towns and then get tested every time when coming back. To do it right was not easy and those who passed this test should be proud of it.
Was there a negative impact on health is hard to estimate. Propagation happens a lot within younger asymptomatic groups, so you may not notice that something was passed through and then attacked an older person in a family. I saw a pretty convincing research showing that deaths in nursing homes in towns with colleges were 50% higher than those without. Apparently, asymptomatic young medical workers who would go to school and then to work would pass it on, despite testing and protection.
There is a timing disparity that has been given limited attention in deciding policy direction for schools. A few isolated positive cases tend to trigger an immediate outcry and response. The longer term consequences of keeping kids out of school or a hybrid virtual/in person schedule with masking etc. are really only now beginning to show up and it could be years before any definitive assessment is available. In the interim, the political/cultural debates are heating up again with the rapid spread of the Delta variant and conflicting guidance from CDC, state and local governments, medical associations etc. and demands from teachers’ unions for 100 percent protection along with “incentive$$” for the risks they are incurring.
Syag,
again, I was/am calling on people to look at online options – full or partial, I do not doubt that it might not work for many people. I am just saying that it could work for more people than previously. My pre-covid research showed a couple of mainstream right-wing yeshivos and BYs in CA and Rockies that specifically incorporated state resources for general studies into their curriculum in a similar way as we did. I see MO less interested in such approaches as they are trying to go for best secular studies throwing more resources into general education – and having more parental funds to do that.
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