Michiganders should be extremely disturbed by the data revealing keeping students out of the classroom is disproportionally impacting economically disadvantaged and minority students.
February 9, 2021
Medical Professionals Call For In-Person Learning Amid Analysis That Michigan School Shutdowns Hurt Economically Disadvantaged Students
A report in The Detroit News states that “Michigan’s longest school closures have happened more often in economically disadvantaged districts than wealthy districts and reflect local political leanings more closely than COVID-19 infection rates.”
“On average, 79% of the remote-learning districts’ students are economically disadvantaged, meaning they qualify for free and reduced lunch. Statewide, 51% of students are economically disadvantaged.”
“About 85% of the 136 districts that have been primarily online in Michigan this school year are located in counties that Democrat Joe Biden won in November.”
According to a CNN White House correspondent, the CDC Director says data suggests “there is very little transmission that is happening within the schools.”
Locally, WDIV reports that “More than 350 local physicians and psychologists have signed an open letter and petition to the Ann Arbor Board of Education and Ann Arbor Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Jeanice Kerr Swift, urging them to reopen schools for students who choose to learn in-person by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s recommended deadline of March 1.”
Michiganders should be extremely disturbed by the data revealing keeping students out of the classroom is disproportionally impacting economically disadvantaged and minority students. The CDC confirmed the transmission rate in schools is extremely low, and Governor Whitmer should follow the science and safely resume in-person learning immediately. – Tori Sachs, executive director of Michigan Rising Action