AHWG Chats: Opening Schools and Distance Learning

There is a lot of discussion about the best way for schools to open this fall. In this video, Adam Chang and Justin Clark from Adolescent Health Working Group (AHWG) discuss recent recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) that schools reopen for in-person classes and what this means for teachers, parents, children, and adolescent youth.

This is part of an ongoing series of conversations about adolescent health. These conversations are an opportunity to highlight some of the important adolescent health issues affecting our country and in our communities.

In this video we reference the following links:

1. View the “COVID-19 Planning Considerations: Guidance for School Re-entry” from the AAP
2. This article from the New York Times discusses the guidelines and questions that have arisen from them.
3. This Newsweek article shares data on the recent increase in COVID-19 diagnosis in children under the age of 10.
4. The Hawaii State Teacher Association shared information about why allowing 3-foot distancing in classrooms is dangerous.
5. We published a blog post discussing why it is important for individuals to talk with loved ones about social distancing and how to stay safe and healthy.

This link wasn’t discussed in our video but may be helpful. After we recorded the video, the San Francisco Department of Public Health in published, “Reopening TK-12 Schools for In-Person, On-Site Instruction Preliminary Guidance for School Year 2020-2021.”

Next Steps

Join us on Thursday, July 23, 2020, from 2pm to 3:30pm PST if you are interested in collaborating on creating resources to support schools and families around distance learning and promoting mental health wellness and being. We invite educators, parents/caregivers, CBOs, middle school to college-aged youth, and other youth-serving providers to participate in our upcoming roundtable discussion. You can contact Adam at [email protected] for more information.

We are going to share a collection of resources related to distance learning on AHWG’s website in late July. If you’ve read something that may be helpful for other teachers, educators, young people, parents, or caregivers, please share it with us! Send us an email at [email protected].

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