Talk Out of School

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on schools throughout the world

Episode Summary

Leonie Haimson began with a news update from NYC public schools, including how this week the Mayor and Chancellor reversed their previous policies, saying that families would only have one more chance to sign up for in-person learning for their children this school year, instead of multiple times as previously promised. Then she spoke with Dr. Randa Grob-Zakhary, the CEO and co-Founder of Insights for Education, which recently published a report analyzing school closures and reopenings in 191 countries amid the COVID pandemic. Dr. Grob-Zakhary discussed what practices and policies various nations are implementing to keep students and staff safe, and what patterns, if any, can be discerned about the effect of school reopenings on COVID transmission rates. Unfortunately, the taping of the podcast was cut short by technical difficulties.

Episode Notes

Notes and Resources:

• Sign-up form for NYC parents for their children to attend school for in-person learning (deadline Nov. 15)
• More information on the reaction to DOE’s reversal, now allowing opt-in only once this year
• Insights in Education report, “COVID-19 and Schools: What We Can Learn from Six Months of Closures and Reopening”
• Insights in Education country tracker
• The UNESCO Map showing COVID-19 Impact on Education