Franklin Schargel’s Blog

There are many good reasons to open schools with face-to-face classes. There are just as many reasons not to. There still remains too many unresolved questions. As I  have previous pointed out; see previous articles on www.schargel.com. None are good choices. Each present their own unique problems.

Schools, parents, children and educators have become the unwilling pawns in the battle against the virus. Make no mistake about it, I am in favor of opening schools in face-to-face classes or in a hybrid model. But  It must be done safely. I understand that parents, politicians and  businesspeople are exerting enormous “pushback” to open K-12 schools ASAP. Schools and districts had from April through the Summer to prepare for the re-opening of schools. Most didn’t. They didn’t stay in touch with staff or reach out to parents or students and inform them about what was happening. Teachers, substitutes and school administrators were laid off as school districts reel from state budget cuts without a substantial federal bailout. Without a new federal bailout experts believe that these layoffs will continue throughout the year. In most school districts, layoffs are based on “last in, first out”  lowering the already low diversity of the staff.  According to Education Week, teachers of Color turn over at higher rates than white teachers. Research indicate that students of color perform better when taught by teachers of Color. Schools need to have the time to develop contingency and remote learning plans. A “gap year” is needed to develop these plans.

Colleges and professional sports remain closed. The argument is that young children are less susceptible to the virus -it is not so. According to American Academy of  Pediatrics, 10.5 % of all known Covid-19 cases are among children. however, they are spreaders of the virus to educators, and family members.

This is the first of several articles. The next one will be posted on Tuesday, October 13th.

There have been predictions that the number of school dropout will dramatically increase.

Significant numbers of students have been unable to access the internet because where they live, internet service is too unstable or not available or unaffordable. Some children live in homes where there are 5 family members and one computer.

Children are being bored by on line instruction, huge numbers of parents have become unemployed and many children feel the need to go to work to help support and feed the family. Others feel obligated to take care of siblings in lieu of stable childcare. Children are going through a transitional period. Many kindergarten children who used to look forward to far-to-face instruction do not know what to expect. High school students are missing important credits making it impossible for them two graduate on time.

Having written 13 books on preventing school dropouts, I will be posting suggestions for teachers of all grades, principals and superintendents to follow to deal with national tragedy.

According to the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools, “Sixty-fight percent of parents – including eighty-two percent of Black parents and 77 percent of teachers say that protecting the health of students and staff should be the primary factor in weighing whether, how and when schools should open their doors, according to a survey conducted by Hart Research Associates.”

Just 21 percent of parents and 14 percent of teachers say schools should reopen on a normal in-person basis, as demanded by President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy Devos.  The public, by a substantial majority reject the administration’s plan to strip federal aid from schools that don’t comply.

 

I wish I didn’t have to write this but a mother unwittingly sent her child to school in Attleboro Massachusetts knowing that the child had tested positive for the Covid-19 virus according to the Attleboro Public Schools and the mayor.

The child attended school on a Monday,  but the school wasn’t notified until the next day. Twenty-eight students who had close contact with the infected student have been notified and have been quarantined for 14 days.

Parents will make a mistake about what they have been told about sending the Covid-19 virus child to school. I understand that.

What needs to be part of every school’s list of procedures in dealing with this plague is to make sure parents CLEARLY needs to be done to protect other children and educators.!

Youth Suicides Increased Nearly 60%

The rate of suicides among those ages 10-24 increased 57.4% between 2007 and 2018 (last year figures available) according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The rise took place in 42 states which experienced significant increases. The suicide rate was highest in Alaska. The states with the highest suicide rates include South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and New Mexico. The states with the lowest suicide rates are in the Northeast. New Jersey, Rhode Island, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. However each of the states in the Northeast had significant increases.

There is little researched evidence about what caused the increases in youth suicides in 2008 although there was a recession which began in late 2007 where families lost homes, jobs and had to move. Children lost friends and moved into new neighborhoods and schools.

What will be the impact on youth suicides as a result of the closing of schools and the economic devastation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic? A CDC survey released in August on how the COVID-19 pandemic affected Americas mental health found that 25% of respondents aged 18-24 reported that they had seriously considered suicide in the 30 days before completing the survey.

Many children are struggling to imagine their futures. Adding in the possibility of school shootings, the cost of colleges, not seeing and socializing with friends they have had has increased their anxiety, stress and trauma.

For teachers, counselors, psychologists and social workers who are now seeing students after a prolonged school closure, just a reminder that the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) is open 24/7.

https://schargel.com/2020/09/15/5157/

Preventing Suicide Among Black Youth

In youth ages 10 to  19 years of age, suicide is the second leading cause of death

The Congressional Black Caucus reported that “the suicide death rate among Black Youth is  increasing faster than any other racial/ethnic group. In 2017, over 3,000 youth died by suicide. Over the past decade, the increase in the suicide death rate for Black youth has seen the rate rising from 2.55 per 100,00 in 2017. Black youth under 13 years are twice as likely to die by suicide when compared by sex. Females make more attempts than males, but males are more successful at suicide because they use guns while females, predominantly use poison.

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) has stated that suicide attempts rose by 73% between 1991-2017 for Black adolescence. “Black males, aged 5 to 11 years are more likely to die by suicide, compared to their White peers.”

Today, in the United States, is Labor Day, a holiday created to honor the dedicated and hard-working people. The United States has had 6,000,000 people catch the Covid-19 virus. Speaking to friends in Spain, Israel and Brazil, we are not alone in losing educators.  On August 26th, 2020, Education Week published the names and pictures of 402 educators who had lost their lives due to the virus.

As schools around the world reopen, educators, students, parents, family members and ancillary school workers like bus drivers, cafeteria workers, custodians are at increased risk.

Pray for those of our colleagues we have lost and those who are at-risk.

Stay safe. Stay well.

Franklin

The virus has caused increased anxiety, stress, and trauma in our young people. Suicide has become the second leading cause of youth death – knocking homicide to third. Even more frightening, the fastest growing age of youth suicide is ages 10-14. On my website, www.schargel.com, you will find a number of articles that address how parents and educators can prevent this horrible plague. Take what you can use.