What Will It Take to Get Kids Back to Class?

NASBE President and CEO Robert Hull talks with the Christian Science Monitor for the story “What will it take to get kids back to class? Three questions.” Read an excerpt below.

How will K-12 schools look different when they reopen?

Promoting social distancing, hygiene, and heightened cleanings are top priorities for schools. A report on reopening from the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank, recommends face masks worn by staff and students, frequent temperature checks and hand-washing, and desks placed 6 feet apart. Other ideas include lunch in classrooms, closed playgrounds, and no all-school assemblies.

“I think the real question is what will [students and staff] not find changed,” says Robert Hull, president and CEO of the National Association of State Boards of Education. …

How will schools accommodate varying comfort levels?

Mr. Hull, of the school board association, recommends school leaders ask parents and community members what their biggest concerns are and work together toward finding solutions. “There’s a lot of fear and a lot of concern,” he says, “and the way you handle that is by being methodical, by being strategic, and being open and transparent and including everyone in the conversation.”