best option. but classes online often in isolation have created their own health concerns. this has resulted in frustrated students, struggling parents, millions of whom cannot afford or access high speed internet or childcare, and teachers, working to save a generation of young minds while too often fearing for their own lives. and their health and that of their loved ones. tonight we will try to explore every part of the educational crisis this pandemic created. but let's start with an obvious admission. there are no simple answers here. there is no one size fits all, inexpensive solution that would end the struggle like that. if this were easy, it would have been solved long ago. so let us listen and learn and try to figure out what to do. so here's a snap shot of where things stand. the families of more than 50 million kids rely on public schools in some 14,000 school districts. so let's bring in our chief medical corn, dr. sanjay gupta. let's start with the most basic question. what do classrooms need to be safe for children and teachers? what does the science say? >> well, we can say pretty definitively that kids are far less likely to get sick. there is a rare condition known it's a multiinflammatory syndrome but it is rare. we didn't know that in the beginning. kids are far less likely to be infected, far less likely to be hospitalized and far less likely to die. we know as we look at the data that counties where schools were in-person versus counties where they were virtual did not see an uptick in hospitalizations overall for kids or adults. if you did see outbreaks in schools and investigated those, they were almost always due to some sort of lapse in the basic mitigation efforts we spent all year talking about. so i went to david t. howard middle school to get an idea of what mitigation efforts are in place and how well they're working. school in the age of covid-19. temperature scans. plastic dividers. eating outside. all of it to lower risk. >> decisions tied to health risks feel very much out of our wheel house. it felt scary. >> it was the weight of the world that landed the public school superintendent carried when the city schools reopened on january 25th. >> there was a huge surge post holiday that we were still in the midst of. how did you arrive at these decisions? >> we became more and more aware of the high level of focus around mitigation for safety and health risks. >> she shows me what that mean at david t. howard middle school. the guidance for schools to reopen safely considers community spread and relies on five familiar strategies. masking, physical distancing, washing hands, cleaning facilities, and improving ventilation, as well as contact tracing, isolation and quarantine. >> all the doors are open. so we're very intentional. >> all the doors stay open. >> the few studies that have been done looking at in-school transmission have found few coronavirus cases when those mitigation efforts are in place. one study of atlanta school districts found just 32 cases of in-school transmission among nearly 100,000 students and staff. not one of them involved a child infecting an adult. another study looking at more than 200,000 people in the new york city public schools between october and december found just .4% of the tests were positive. still, sixth grade social study teacher patrick doherty had his doubts. >> i was leaning toward we should stay virtual. not a lot of crowding, sanitize, keep the masks on. i feel safe. i'm being vaccinated tomorrow, first dose. >> should teachers get the vaccine before coming back to school? >> in a perfect scenario, absolutely, dr. gupta. absolutely. this was just not the perfect scenario. >> weekly testing of staff and students that began in february spotted 32 cases so far. >> can school districts open if they don't have that level of surveillance testing? >> there are school districts open who don't have that so the answer is yes. does it give another layer of protection? it absolutely does. >> more than a third of the 52,000 students have now returned. >> a show of hands, does everyone feel safe being back in school? >> i haven't been in-person for like a year, i haven't socialized but it was better than i thought it would be. >> what so many people have told us, jake, is that it is clear if they can reopen safely if, if you have all these other things that we talked about. as basic as they may sound, it is not always that easy. sometimes having the resources for the masking, to be able to have the square footage for the physical distancing and ventilation costs money. a lot of people paying close attention to the $125 billion that will go to k-12 schools to try to be able to improve those resources. even without vaccines, even without testing, it is certainly possible. >> sandjay, i saw a study out o massachusetts that shows students three feet apart are really, there is really no difference in terms of the spread of the virus from schools where kids need to be six feet apart. it is tough to do the six feet. it is one of the reasons some schools are staying closed. does it need to be six? >> this is very interesting. a couple things. i saw that study. it was 251 schools in massachusetts. and you're right. schools where they were doing three feet versus six feet, they did not see a big difference in transmission. again, some of these schools were able to test. a couple caveats. it does depend how many people are actually in the room. the more people in the room, the more virus is likely circulating the air and the more distance you want to try to keep. the other thing was, are you doing a good job with the other mitigation measures? obviously masks are always important but particularly if you're going to be close together. the world health organization, if you look at their health organization, they say one meter. so just over three feet. we've been saying six feet in this country. >> all right, thank you as always. we have more from some of the most powerful voices ahead. but the voices that matter the most are yours. we asked teachers and kids and parents to make video diaries, to give us all a sense of the covid and education challenges in their daily lives. let's listen to the stories of three of america's students now. bobby and reese from california, and chris hall from maryland. >> hi, i'm bobby. and online school actually has been really difficult for me. >> i'm a new student to the school. i'm a ninth grader. and it is really hard to socialize and make fregds. >> it is mentally draining. >> if we make time to socialize, we don't have time to learn. if we make time to learn you can't really socialize at all. >> and i feel like the teachers are really putting on a lot of pressure for us to get perfect grades and get everything in on time. and i just feel like i lose all my motivation to do anything except for school. >> staying involved is an issue. a lot of times, you don't really get to speak. it is more or less, you can only speak if you have a question. so involvement is hard to do for me. >> online school is way more draining than regular school. and i just have no motivation to do the things that i do to make me happy. >> you sort of get lost with who you are. i know i did. >> the biggest issue is the social interaction. and this is coming from a usually socially awkward person who is a little, you know, i don't have a lot of friends but i never had no friends. >> it's tough. let's talk about all that and more with the brand new secretary of education, miguel cardonna. before joining the biden administration, he was commissioner of education in connecticut. thank you for joining us. you just heard the new reporting from sanjay gupta. suggesting with proper mitigation measures, schools can be safe. given what the science tells us, what is holding back every school in america from woepg those proper safety measures? >> thank you for having me, jake. and happy birthday to you. i know it is your birthday today. i hope your day is going well. without question, my biggest priority right now is safely reopening our schools and doing it quickly. we know our students, those comments from those students right before this clip were really touching and we need to do it for reese and bobby. we need to make sure our schools are open quickly and safely. as dr. gupta pointed out, there are exams where it is being done. i have experience doing that. i know we can do it. and now with the american rescue plan, i'm confident it will get done. >> let's look at a few of the biggest school systems. los angeles schools are not opening for another month. chicago in person two days a week but not five. even in your home state of connecticut, more than 40% of school districts are still not fully in-person classrooms. we know that obviously, there is the pandemic. then there are other effects of this. students are falling behind. given the science, do you think that there are some school districts that are moving too slowly? >> i do think that throughout our country, we have districts where they don't have the resources to implement some of the mitigation strategies that other districts have. in some places, there might be fear or some concerns about whether or not the schools are safe enough. but i can tell you, in connecticut, over 90% of the students have an opportunity for in-person learning to build the sense of community. so it is a balance, making sure we're moving the needle in the right direction to get students in school every day. we have to do so, making sure that we're adhering to those mitigation strategies that have worked to keep our school safe. >> you touched on kind of what i'm driving at. you talked about the fear. and we're all empathetic. and there needs to be more empathy in this debate. but the science is also very important. you've said, quote, there is not widespread transmission in schools. cdc researchers in the medical journal jama agree with you. they wrote, quote, there has been little evidence that schools have contributed meaningfully on increased community transmission. i guess the question is, are enough school officials following the science when they don't offer in-person classes, at least three or four days a week? >> yes. i do believe, having worked as commissioner of education in connecticut, i've seen the tremendous work that our educated and our school leaders and district leaders have done to get the doors open and to make sure they're learning and following the science to make sure the schools are open. implementing mitigation strategies, communicating with parents and creating a sense of confidence while bringing the stake holders to the table to make sure that they feel comfortable with this process. it is a process. this is unprecedented. we are in the middle of a pandemic. do i feel that they're following the science and i do think, this is hard work. there is no play book for this in any leadership course. i do think they're following the science. i think that they're moving it. there are districts that have been open since day one, giving students an opportunity to engage in that social, emotional experience that we heard from reese in the segment earlier. >> is there a clearing house at the department of education, and look, i know you're just a few days on the job. is there a clearing house? will there be a clearing house for best practices? so for instance, my relatives who are in school tin texas and my relatives who are in school in florida are able to have their schools that are doing this and it is working with mitigation efforts. let me underline that. with mitigation efforts. so that my relatives who are in california can benefit from what is going on in these other states. if the department of education is not already doing that, and i don't know if they were doing it under secretary devos. will you continue doing that so schools can learn from each other? >> that's a great point. the answer is yes, definitely. in a few weeks, before the end of march, we'll have a national summit on school reopening. we'll have experts and as you mentioned, districts that have found success doing this. talking to other districts and sharing their best practices but also sharing the challenges that they had so we can learn from those districts. we also have a clearing house around reopening but how to provide social, emotional support for our students and educators who have also experienced a lot of trauma in the last year. so that's coming out, too. we have a handbook that came out about three weeks ago and we have another hand book coming out in i am a that goes deeper into the long term strategies for reopening, such as providing more support for students and helping with the recovery of whatever skills were lost. >> yeah. i think for teachers who are understandably afraid of getting sick, even if the kids, the risk to them is low, i think learning from experiences where it has not resulted opening schools in-person classes, with mitigation, masks, distancing, ventilation, i think it can be reassuring. michael bloomberg wrote in the "washington post" this week that schools nationwide should cancel summer vacation and continue classes through the summer in order to make up all the lost ground. do you agree? does the biden administration agree? >> let me tell you, i appreciate the urgency to make sure that we're giving our students the best opportunities but i can tell you from last march until now, our students have worked twice as hard as you saw, trying to stay engaged. if we do provide summer opportunities which i think are critically important, we need to make sure they're not more of the same. we need to make sure our afterschool programming, our summer experiences, are student getting out, visiting museums, doing things in the communities and learning in the process. i think we should have summer opportunities for our students to engage in learning but in ways that are engaging and building community. and i think that's a critical part of the recovery. the american rescue plan does provide funds to make those opportunities available to our students. >> when do you think in this country, there will be an opportunity for all schools to offer five-day-a-week in-person education? will that be in the fall? not until 2022? give us an idea what you're thinking. >> as soon as possible. and i would like to think in many places we can do it this spring. i know schools that are functioning all day every day, five days a week, for all students currently. and we need to continue to grow and make sure that we're getting students an opportunity to be in school as much as possible. there is no substitute for in-person learning. so my biggest priority is making sure that we're doing everything we can to move from remote learning to in-person learning five days a week as quickly as possible across the country. >> my guest that i'll have next is the head of the largest teacher's union in the country. do you think on the whole the role of teachers unions has been a good thing or a less positive force when it comes to the goal of reopening schools? >> you know, educators across our country have bent over backwards. they learned how to teach totally different from one day to the next. and yes, they need to make sure that they're advocating for a safe work environment as well. so i think they've been helpful. my experience in connecticut, we worked hard and moved quickly to close the digital divide. to get students in school because of that partnership. so i definitely feel having educators, school principals, board members at the table, is a critical component of safely reopening quickly. >> thank you for being here tonight with us. please stay in touch. we would like to stay in touch with this story. we've been covering it since last year. >> thank you. coming up, i'll be joined by the head of the biggest teachers union. what will it take for teachers to feel safe going back to class? and coming up next, parents fed up with waiting. how many are suing to try to force the reopenings. as our cnn special continues. psst! psst! allergies don't have to be scary. spraying flonase daily stops your body from overreacting to allergens all season long. psst! psst! you're good. start your day with crest 3d white and from mochaccinos to merlot, your smile will always be brilliant. crest 3d white brilliance. 100% stain removal, 24 hour stain resistance to lock in your whitest smile. crest. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. special, back to school. one of the hidden tragedies of this pandemic, kids dropping out of school. in new york city, enrollment has dropped by about 43,000. the youngest students from pre-k and kindergarten make up the steepest drop. chicago down nearly 15,000 students. dallas, 13,000. in sacramento, teams of social workers are searching for the missing kids in one particular district, where 90% live in poverty. the blow to our children's education from chronic absenteeism can be staggering. studies show it can leave third graders unable to master reading and high school freshmen dropping out permanently. data from stanford shows in more than 100 school districts, students' reading scores are 30% below expectations. let's take a look at another video diary from those sharing their personal diaries with us. this is courtney, a mom of two from indiana, telling us what it like to home school her kids while working from home during the pandemic. >> good morning! we have two kiddos, ages 3 and 6. time for school. today you will see a day in the life of us when it comes to home schooling our children. one is in a public school. we luckily have the option to have him do in-person with a few e-learning courses throughout the calendar year. >> it's been a major transition as far as us converting our basement to a home office, as well as we created a little niche to make it a classroom setting as much as possible. >> bye! >> e-learning days are very challenging. honestly. i'm trying to get things done for work and hurry up and get them done in a timely manner because that's when my husband that has to tap in. it is hard to hold meetings, to do conferences -- >> can you please help me with my homework? >> this is a prime example. he needs help with his homework assignment. >> thank you to the family for sharing that with us. for some parents, the outrage over schools not offering in-person classes is now at the point where they're going to court. cnn's reporter spoke with a group of new jersey moms who are schooling -- i'm sorry, who are suing their school districts. >> the garbage workers who pick up my freaking trash risk their lives every day! more than anyone in this school system. >> across the country, exasperated parents like this virginia dad are demanding more of their school boards. >> it is maddening. why is my kid suffering and other kids get to be in school? >> it's a game. the kids are being used as pawns. >> this attorney is recommending 17 equally frustrated families, pro bono against two new jersey school districts. mont claire and south orange maplewood. it has been almost a year since students filled the classrooms in these districts. >> this has been such a tremendous battle for all of us. >> the suit asserts that students have been denied their right to an in-person education. >> i myself was a teacher. >> children need to be in school with their peers, with their teachers, working collaboratively. >> for donahue, these cases hit close to home. >> the department not responding to my own child's specific needs and realizing, oh, you know, not that they won't open the schools, and it was like, i could do this. i'm going to speak up for her because no one is speaking for the kids. >> her 11-year-old daughter mary has not set foot inside of a classroom since last march. >> what grade are you in? >> i'm in sixth grade. >> do you worry about when you can possibly return back to school? >> yeah. i always ask mom, when am i going back to school? she said she doesn't know. >> diagnosed with adhd, she had been on an individualized education plan, iep, and had been thriving. >> she did so well. they said when she goes into middle school she no longer needs the intense social services. >> today donahue said her daughter is a completely different person and refuses to participate in online classes. >> she's progressively declined to the point where she is diagnosed with high levels of anxiety and depression and it was recommended that we put her on anti-depressants to help her get back to a somewhat normal state. it's heart breakingly sad. >> the family she represents in the lawsuit describes similar setbacks. >> he was a star pupil a year ago. thriving, happy, all of his in school supports were helping him. my son is an emotional mess now. he is depressed. not interested in anything. he doesn't talk. >> he was not even participating. he was not turning his camera on. and this is a kid who tested as gifted in the 99 percentile. now getting d-level grades. >> similar lawsuits have been filed in over a dozen states from maryland to kentucky, wisconsin, and california. >> getting our schools back open safely -- >> while the push to reopen schools has garnered national sympathy from the white house, there is little the federal government can actually do. the majority of the country hinges on decisions made by local school districts. for these moms, the battle is halfway over. on thursday, the mont claire school district, one of the two named in donahue's lawsuit, reached a deal to return to the classroom i am a 12th. >> i'm so, so grateful to her. >> you know, your mom is out there fighting for you. >> thank you. >> cnn, new jersey. >> both school districts declined cnn's request for an interview. they cited the penaltying litigation. in a statement, the south orange maple wood district said we st. mary goal the public policy to open schools safely to the greatest extent possible as soon as possible. coming up, the head of the largest teacher's union joins me. how does she respond to the parents we just heard from? that's next. a lot today? probably like 40 times. hands feel dry? like sandpaper. introducing new dove handwash, with 5 x moisturizer blend. parents we just heard from? that's next. me. how does she respond to the parents we just heard from? that's next. onds soft, smooth. new dove handwash. priceline works with top hotels, to save you up to 60%. these are all great. and when you get a big deal... you feel like a big deal. ♪ priceline. every trip is a big deal. nicorette® knows, quitting smoking is freaking hard. you get advice like: ♪ try hypnosis... or... quit cold turkey are you kidding me?! instead, start small. with nicorette®. which can lead to something big. start stopping with nicorette® . welcome back to this cnn special, back to school. kids, covid, and the fight to reopen. as we look for answers from the top, we're also listening to your stories one year into this unprecedented battle for health. and a return to normalcy. in this video diary, linda ross of montana opens up about her struggles, not just as a even thor but also as a mother trying to keep her own children safe as she sends them off to school. >> i'm linda rost. i teach high school science in montana. i'm the teacher of the year. probably around a third of my students have had covid. i have not. i've had quite a few students and some of my students got really sick. so that was really hard. i've been teaching 14 years and it is definitely been the hardest year i've ever taught. i was even looking for other jobs. like when things were really, when cases were really high here. but i'm okay now. i think it's okay. when everybody is doing the thing that you know is not right, it's really hard. it was really hard. it's morning at our house. and she's putting on her mask. do you think you'll be the only one on the bus with a mask? along with your brother? so very few kids are wearing masks now because they're not required but they still are. my second grader and my fourth grader were riding the bus home. as they were getting off at their stop, another kid said that they weren't allowed to get off unless they took their mask off. that was really hard and i don't know really what to do with it. >> that's tough. let's turn now, from the nation's largest teachers' union, becky is the president of the national education association. she's a middle school science teach we are more than 30 years in the classroom. thank you for being here. it's good to have you. >> it's good to be here with you for this important discussion. >> so right now, infection rates, hospitalization rates, and death rates are down significantly. they're still high but down significantly. teachers are being given priority vaccinations. there are multiple safety measures from masks to extra cleaning in place in many schools, though probably not enough. what are you hearing from your teachers on the ground? are they ready to return? what do they need to feel safe back in class? >> well, jake, as you just said, i am a middle school science teacher and as i think about the year that we've just spend with the impact of the coronavirus and all the crises that it spawned, i think about my middle school science teachers, and i think about how hard it would be to teach virtually the experiential learning, the experiments that did i in my classroom. those are the stories i'm hearing from teachers all over the country. not just our teachers but our food service workers and our custodians, our counsellors, our nurses, they want nothing more than to be in school with their students. that's how they were trained to teach and work with them and they miss them. they want to be back in personal. what we've been saying for now a year, now we can say it's a year, we have been asking for the resources we need to do just that. the smile you see on my face right now, jake, is the light at the end of this very dark tunnel. as i watch president biden sign into law the american rescue plan that almost $2 trillion, that dedicated $170 billion, not just to k-12 schools but to higher education so we can get all of our students back to in-person learning safely and equitably. >> we understand that mitigation measures need to be in place for schools to reopen in person, learning safely, not just for the students but the teacher, the faculty, the custodial staff, everyone. masking, ventilation, distancing. but we have seen in reason months especially, school districts and teachers' unions, take positions that seem to be in contradiction to the positions being voiced by the cdc and health experts. we even hear some teachers now saying that vaccinations for teachers, that's not even enough to get them back into in-person teaching. even though the cdc says vaccinations aren't even a prerequisite to do it safely. would you agree that what the cdc says, following the science, that that is an important principle when it comes to this issue? >> absolutely. i'm a science teacher and i've been saying that for a year. follow the science. listen to the infectious disease experts on what we need to do. the mitigation strategies we need to have in place to keep our students safe, to keep our educators safe, our families and communities safe. we've been saying that for a year. with the vaccinations now being a very real possibility, not just for educator but for the entire community. we were so pleased to hear president biden say that we should prioritize educators, which by the way, jake, if you read all the way through guidelines for the cdc, they also said that educators should be prioritized and over half of our states had already done that. so we were very pleased to hear president biden say that. he didn't just stop there. he actually took, used his power, his authority as president to ramp up the production of the vaccines. so while we were having these discussions, more and more educators and community members were getting vaccinated. so that's just that extra layer of support so that educators can feel safe. i listened to the educator that you just featured. and my heart was breaking. most of our educators are not only teaching. they have children, too. and they are, we have to be able to look our parents and our children, our educators in the eye, and say to them that their schools are the safest place for them to be. >> i agree. look, that situation where that teacher's kids are the only ones on the bus wearing masks because it's not required, that's outrageous. it needs to be, the school districts need to be on board nerms having these mitigation efforts. absolutely. would you not agree that sometimes it seems that parents and students are getting the short end of the stick when they hear in some school districts teachers unions saying, even when we're all vaccinated, we don't think it is safe to go back to school. i don't understand that. why wouldn't it be safe? >> a couple of things, jake. first of all i want to make clear that most of our schools are already back to in-person learning. so that's important to say. >> not five days a week though. not five days a week. >> and each school district is making the decisions based on the guidance of the cdc and they are doing, they are being so creative to keep students safe and make sure they implement with fidelity the guidelines the cdc has laid out. so they're doing a variety of things. hybrid measures, methods, a variety of thing to keep students safe. i had a chance to visit with secretary cardona and dr. jill biden who is an educator. she's still teaching and she is an nea member. i got a chance to visit the ft. la buff school district where i visited. i had a chance to talk to kelly clark and with the superintendent. what they told me was a story that has been played out all over the country. and we haven't heard much of it. and it is why most of our schools are back to in-person learning already. and that is because they work collaboratively, they followed the cdc guidelines, they were able to get the resources to implenty them although they need the resources because they're running out. they worked collaboratively with the parent. they talked with the parents, they interviewed them, they found out how many kids wanted to keep their kids virtual so they allowed form as well. working together in a collaborative way, demonstrating that it is our shared responsibility to keep our students safe and to ensure they continue to learn is the way that most of our schools have been able to get back to in-person learning. >> thank you so much for your time today. we appreciate it. let's share one more video diary. this one from anthony gonzalez who teaches students with hearing impairments. he teaches them through sign language. >> i'm tired. it takes a different kind of energy using a screen and focusing a little hands signing in tiny boxes all day. this year has been a challenge. but i still love teaching and i still love learning. >> one cool thing about teaching online is that i can see my kids smile. they can fully communicate in asl with expression in school with masks on for safety. that's something that i really miss. the smiles. >> so suppose you set up a lemonade stand. you have your stand all ready to go to sell lemonade -- >> last year, teachers have been pouring themselves into teaching virtually. i know we've been focused on serving the needs of student and families. we've been trying to teach them academically. beyond that, i wondered, how far behind my kids would be in math and reading when they came back. yesterday they took the math and reading test and i was nervous to look at the results. and honestly, when i saw them, i almost teared up with how much growth some of my students made. >> coming up, the race to stop the next medical emergency. the mental health toll on our students. on our children. some of the nation's leading experts who see the risks and impact first hand will join me. and up next, our correspondents around the world will show us how other countries are taking on the questions of reopening, as our cnn special continues. tonight i'll be eating a calzone from doughballs in aurora. (doorbell) rock on. tonight i'll be eating lobster thermidor au gratin. really? sh-yeah, and monkeys might fly out of my butt. itchy? scratchy? family not getting clean? make it two calzones! get new charmin ultra strong. sh-yeah, and monkeys might fly out of my butt. it just cleans better, so your family can use less. hello clean bottom! enjoy the go with charmin. this is how you become the best! [music: “you're the best” by joe esposito] [music: “you're the best” by joe esposito] [triumphantly yells] [ding] don't get mad. get e*trade and take charge of your finances today. ♪ rakuten cash back on the things all in our home ♪ ♪ i shop on rakuten rakuten ♪ up at 2:00am again? tonight, try pure zzzs all night. ♪ rakuten cash back on the things all in our home ♪ unlike other sleep aids, our extended release melatonin helps you sleep longer. and longer. zzzquil pure zzzs all night. fall asleep. stay asleep. welcome back to our cnn special. of course it is not just american schools struggling to stay open during the pandemic. we asked cnn correspondents around the world to taste inside their classrooms. >> i'm in london where prime minister boris johnson has made the opening of schools the first stage in his cautious four-step road map out of lockdown. but the reality looks very different for students returning. very strict coronavirus rules from one-way corridors to face coverings, that have to be worn in school and in classes by students as well as teachers. they will also have to have regular rapid coronavirus tests. the plan here say authorities, is to trap and isolate those pupils who are asymptomatic to make sure it doesn't have an impact on england's infection rates. >> i'm in the cliff spring school in north tel aviv. there are about 500 children here, all of whom are in the school. it is different for other children around the country. 2.4 million children. if the infection rates are high but here and in other areas of israel where the infection rates are relatively low, they're able to get at least some of the children back. others in distance learning and all the teachers have been vaccinated. >> i'm paula hancock in seoul. most schools here in south korea are back in person to a certain degree. that's just in the capital this month, an average of more than a dozen students a day testing positive for the virus. the younger students up to grade two are in the classroom as are the high school seniors. everyone in between are still a mixture of online and in person. everyone without fail wears a mask. everyone has a temperature check. and as soon as there is a case in school, the school is shut and that's when the contact tracing begins. >> the push to get kids back into classrooms is not just a convenience issue. it can be an issue of life and death. the suicide is always difficult to discuss but that's exactly why it is so important that we take some time in recent years, suicide was the second-leading cause of death in young people between the ages of 10 and 19. the data is still coming in during this pandemic but what we see is of concern. a study in "the journal of pediatrics" saw suicide rates higher whenever covid stressors and community responses were heightened. between last april and october, kids' mental health issues led to a sharp increase in emergency room visits compared to 2019. tonight let's discuss balancing the physical and mental well-being of children as reopening plans are debated around the country. joining us, laura ross, who was counselor of the year in 2020, name that by the american school counselor association. she works at a middle school in lawrenceville, georgia. dr. alice quo, chief of medical pediatrics at ucla. thanks to both of you. dr. quo, you wrote an op-ed in the "l.a. times" saying students are suffering because of remote learning, you called for them to be let back inn in-person class teaching. tell me what you saw on the front lines that alarmed you enough to write this. >> yeah, so pediatricians across the country are seeing in our clinics the effects of the pandemic on children's health. both physical and mental. and really the two are very intertwined. so from a physical perspective, many of us are seeing tremendous amounts of weight gain because of lack of physical activity. the american heart association recommends 60 minutes a day of vigorous physical activity for school-aged children. and during the pandemic, many are not receiving that. so i have seen children as young as 8, 9, 10 years old gain 30, 40, even 50 pounds during this pandemic. which will have detrimental effects on their cardiovascular outcomes further on down the line. in addition, i've seen higher rates of anxiety and depression leading to these emergency room visits in these studies. children live in the context of their families. and when there is high levels of stress in the home because, for example, mom can't work because she has to stay home to take care of the kids, now there's financial stress in the home, or just general concerns about covid because of what they're hearing in the news, the children absorb all of that. and so they themselves are also having actual symptoms of severe anxiety and depression, similar to the video diary earlier in the segment. >> and as a doctor, what do you tell parents in terms of -- there are a lot of parents out there who are worried about sending their kids into school because they're worried the kid's going to get covid. is it safer statistically for kids to be with hundreds of other kids inside school buildings than at home? >> as we've been discussing, and there is actually emerging evidence that that is the case, with the appropriate mitigation strategies, with the layers of safety protocols, schools can actually be safer than the communities surrounding them. so for example, many schools have implemented symptom screening in addition to universal masking and social distancing. and so children who are -- anybody in the school setting who might have a symptom, a fever, a cough, should not be coming into the school setting. that's not happening in other parts of the sector, for example, like in the grocery stores or whatever. so with that, with all of those layers of safety protection, schools are actually quite safe. in conversations that i'm having with parents, i am encouraging parents to allow their children to go back for the benefits in their overall health. and, you know, it's a one-on-one conversation. >> laura, tell us what you've seen at your school. you have about half your student body of about 1,200 students back for in-person classroom learning. how did they respond to months of learning at home on both the academic and emotional fronts? >> yes, so we have about half our students now second semester with us in the school building. just re-entering the school is not the only thing that is needed for them. so i've seen increased anxiety. i've, you know, definitely seen more sadness, maybe depression. and our students need so much emotional-social support. i'm in a middle school, so that social connection is so important for them at that age. it's really how they start to understand themselves in the world. and so getting them reconnected with peers and building that community again is something that we have to focus on so they can get to those academics. for some of our students, you know, learning digitally has not -- some have done well with that, but some have not. and so they've returned back to school and it's really being able to have a space where we can hold those students able to be the successful students that they've always been. >> all right, laura ross and dr. alice quo, thanks to both of you. coming up next, how you can help in this education crisis. even if you're not a parent or a teacher. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪i've got the brains you've got the looks♪ ♪let's make lots of money♪ ♪you've got the brawn♪ ♪i've got the brains♪ ♪let's make lots of♪ ♪uh uh uh♪ ♪oohhh there's a lot of opportunities♪ with allstate, drivers who switched saved over $700. saving is easy when you're in good hands. allstate click or call to switch today. a♪ ♪ ♪te ♪ ♪ ♪ deposit, plan and pay with easy tools from chase. simplicity feels good. chase. make more of what's yours. what if you could have the perspective to see more? at morgan stanley, a global collective of thought leaders offers investors a broader view. ♪ we see companies protecting the bottom line by putting people first. we see a bright future, still hungry for the ingenuity of those ready for the next challenge. today, we are translating decades of experience into strategies for the road ahead. we are morgan stanley. start your day with crest 3d white and from mochaccinos to merlot, into strategies for the road ahead. your smile will always be brilliant. crest 3d white brilliance. 100% stain removal, 24 hour stain resistance to lock in your whitest smile. crest. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. we want to thank our guests and you for joining us this hour for this frank and difficult conversation. i think we can all agree that as we go forward on this issue, we need to be candid, we need to be empathetic, and we need to stick to facts and to science. no matter your role -- teacher, parent, student, or just someone who wants to help them get through this emergency -- here are some ways to do so. you can go to the cnn "impact your world" page where you'll find links to great charities to which you can donate. ones who provide meals to children who counted on in-school dining. help provide teachers supplies they need. put technology into the hands of students in underfunded communities. there's a long list of options. cnn.com/impact. i'm jake tapper in washington. thank you so much for watching. "cnn tonight with don lemon" starts right now. jake, thank you very much. this is "cnn tonight." i'm don lemon. boy, what a week. what a week, especially for president joe biden. the kind of thing he once called a big f'ing deal. remember he whispered that into president obama's ear when he got the health care bill through, obamacare? joe biden this week is celebrating his first buying victory, a squeaker of a win in a rose garden event today, acknowledging there's a lot of work to be done to deliver on his monumental covid relief bill. >> we have to get this right. details matter. because we have to continue to build confidence in the american people that their government can function for them and deliver. so there's a lot of work for all of us left to do. but i know we'll do it. to every american watching, help is here, and we will not stop working for you.

Related Keywords

Kids , Public School , Covid , Fight , Cnn , Back To School , Special , Jake Attetapper , Hello , Teachers , Country , Pandemic , Person , Vaccines , States , Reason , Shell , 50 , One , Parents , Classes , Home , Beginning , Millions , Progress , Students , Isolation , Option , Health Concerns , High Speed Internet , Children S Health , Childcare , Lives , Generation , Minds , Loved Ones , Wall , Part , Solution , Answers , Crisis , Admission , Struggle , Size , Things , Us , Families , Snap Shot , 50 Million , School Districts , Schools , Dr , Classrooms , Question , Sanjay Gupta , Corn , 14000 , Children , Science , Safe , Condition , Multiinflammatory Syndrome , Counties , Data , Adults , Hospitalizations , Uptick , Lapse , Sort , Outbreaks , School , Mitigation Efforts , Mitigation , Place , Efforts , Idea , David T Howard Middle School , Age , Temperature Scans , Covid 19 , 19 , World , Risk , Decisions , Felt Scary , Wheel House , Health Risks , Weight , Public School Superintendent , Plastic Dividers , Eating Outside , New York City Public Schools , Level , City , Surge , Focus , January 25th , 25 , Strategies , Safety , Risks , Guidance , Community Spread , Five , Studies , Distancing , Masking , Ventilation , Doors , Contact Tracing , Washing Hands , Cleaning Facilities , Quarantine , Saw Suicide , Cases , In School Transmission Have , School Transmission , Atlanta , 100000 , 32 , People , Child , Staff , Sixth Grade Social Study , Tests , Adult , 200000 , , Sanitize , Patrick Doherty , Doubts , Crowding , Son , First Dose , Testing , Scenario , Vaccine , Don T , Answer , Player , Surveillance Testing , Protection , Third , 52000 , Everyone , Safe Being Back , Haven T , Feel , Show Of Hands , Jake , Resources , Ventilation Costs Money , Attention , Footage , K 12 , 12 , 25 Billion , 125 Billion , Feet , Massachusetts , Sandjay , Three , Terms , Difference , Virus , Study , Spread , Six , Some , Transmission , Couple Caveats , 251 , Thing , Masks , Mitigation Measures , Job , Room , Distance , Hair , Right , World Health Organization , Health Organization , Meter , Education , Challenges , Most , Voices , Sense , Video Diaries , Stories , California , Maryland , Bobby , Chris Hall , Student , Ninth Grader , Make Fregds , Everything , Anything , Motivation , Grades , Pressure , Issue , Times , Involvement , Draining , Friends , Interaction , Little , Talk , Let , Brand , Commissioner , Administration , Miguel Cardonna , Connecticut , Secretary Of Education , Reporting , Safety Measures , Measures , Woepg , Priority , Birthday , Reese , Clip , Comments , Exams , Rescue Plan , Few , School Systems , Los Angeles , Effects , Estate , Chicago , Two , 40 , Districts , Concerns , Places , Fear , Enough , Learning , Opportunity , Balance , Needle , Sense Of Community , Direction , 90 , Mitigation Strategies , Kind , Quote , School Safe , Empathetic , Empathy , Debate , Evidence , Cdc , Researchers , Journal Jama , School Officials , Community Transmission , Offer , Four , Work , School Leaders , District Leaders , Yes , Confidence , Process , Table , Holders , Stake , Implementing Mitigation Strategies , Think , Leadership Course , Book , Middle , Play , Experience , It , Social , Segment , Department Of Education , Relatives , Best Practices , Clearing House , Instance , School Tin Texas , Florida , Point , Experts , Devos , Each Other , Summit , School Reopening , The End , March , Success , Educators , Support , Handbook , Coming Out , Trauma , Reopening , Recovery , Whatever , Term , Hand Book , Skills , Experiences , Sick , Summer , Order , Summer Vacation , Washington Post , Lost Ground , Michael Bloomberg , Opportunities , Urgency , Summer Opportunities , Saw , Same , Communities , Summer Experiences , Programming , Getting Out , Visiting Museums , Community , Ways , The American , Building , Funds , 2022 , Spring , Substitute , Head , Guest , Union , Unions , Reopening Schools , Role , Goal , Force , Work Environment , School Principals , Component , Partnership , Divide , Story , Class , Many , Teachers Union , Reopenings , Psst , Allergies , Body , Season , Spraying Flonase , Smile , Crest , Stain , Clock , Merlot , Crest 3d , Stain Removal , Mochaccinos , 3 , 100 , 24 , 1 , Tragedies , New York City , Enrollment , 43000 , District , Social Workers , Kindergarten , Drop , Teams , Dallas , Sacramento , 15000 , 13000 , Reading , Graders , Blow , Poverty , Absenteeism , High School Freshmen , Video Diary , Expectations , Diaries , Reading Scores , Take A Look , Stanford , 30 , Mom , Home School , Wages , Kiddos , Indiana , A Day In The Life , 6 , Courses , Transition , Basement , Home Office , Niche , Classroom Setting , Example , Homework , Conferences , Meetings , Manner , Husband , Family , Help , Homework Assignment , Outrage , Garbage Workers , Moms , Schooling , Court , Group , Reporter , Trash , New Jersey , School Boards , School System , Anyone , Dad , Virginia , Kid Suffering , Attorney , Game , Pawns , 17 , Battle , South Orange Maplewood , All Of Us , Suit , Mont Claire , Peers , Donahue , Close To Home , Working Collaboratively , Department , Needs , Classroom , Sixth Grade , Grade , Foot , Last , Daughter Mary , 11 , Adhd , Individualized Education Plan , Iep , Middle School , Daughter , Services , Depression , Anxiety , Levels , Anti Depressants , Heart Breakingly Sad , Lawsuit , School Supports , Mess , Setbacks , Star Pupil A , Thriving , Kid , Percentile , He Doesn T Talk , Camera On , 99 , Push , Lawsuits , Dozen , Kentucky , Wisconsin , Government , The Mont Claire School District , Sympathy , Majority , White House , On Thursday , Deal , Statement , South Orange Maple Wood District , Interview , Request , Litigation , Penaltying , Coming Up , Mary Goal The Public Policy , Extent , Teacher S Union , We St , Hands , Dove Handwash , Sandpaper , Moisturizer , Blend , Onds Soft , 5 , Priceline , Trip , Hotels , 60 , Something , Cold Turkey , Smoking , Nicorette , Top , Linda Ross Of Montana , Struggles , Mother , Thor , Return To Normalcy , High School Science , Teacher Of The Year , Montana , Linda Rost , 14 , Everybody , Jobs , Mask , Bus , House , Brother , Grader , Stop , Mask Off , President , Becky , Nation , National Education Association , Infection Rates , Discussion , Priority Vaccinations , Hospitalization Rates , Death Rates , Cleaning , Ground , Back , Impact , Crises , Coronavirus , Experiential Learning , Experiments , Counsellors , Workers , Food Service , Custodians , Nothing , Nurses , Face , Tunnel , Biden Sign , Law , 2 Trillion , Trillion , 70 Billion , 170 Billion , Teacher , Equitably , Positions , Contradiction , Teaching , Vaccinations , Health Experts , Prerequisite , Science Teacher , Principle , Infectious Disease Experts , Educator , Possibility , Way , Guidelines , Biden Say , Half , Jill Biden , Authority , Discussions , Power , Production , Community Members , Heart , Eye , Ones , Situation , Stick , Board Nerms , Couple , Wouldn T , Saying , School District , Variety , Methods , Doing , Chance , Secretary Cardona , La Buff School District , Member , Ft , Kelly Clark , Superintendent , Parent , Responsibility , Form , Anthony Gonzalez , Hearing Impairments , Challenge , Screen , Sign Language , Boxes , Energy , Smiles , Expression , Asl , Lemonade , Lemonade Stand , Math , Reading Test , Results , Growth , Emergency , Hand , Correspondents , Mental Health Toll , Countries , Questions , Rock On , Au Gratin , Calzone , Doughballs In Aurora , Butt , Monkeys , Sh Yeah , Calzones , Charmin , Scratchy , Ultra Strong , Music , Best , You Re The Best , Go , Joe Esposito , Triumphantly Yells , Cash , Charge , Finances , Rakuten , Don T Get Mad , Ding , E Trade , Release , Sleep Aids , Melatonin , Try Pure Zzzs , 2 , 00 , Zzzquil Pure Zzzs , Course , Boris Johnson , London , Opening , Stage , Cnn Correspondents Around The World , Coronavirus Rules , Corridors , Road Map , Coverings , Reality , Lockdown , Pupils , Plan , Authorities , Rapid Coronavirus Tests , Cliff Spring School , England , Tel Aviv , 500 , Areas , Israel , 2 4 Million , Distance Learning , Others , Paula Hancock In Seoul , South Korea , Grade Two , Day Testing Positive , Degree , Capital , Average , High School Seniors , Case , The School , Fail , Temperature Check , Mixture , Suicide , Death , Life , Concern , Cause , The Journal Of Pediatrics , 10 , Emergency Room , Led , Mental Health , Community Responses , October , Increase , Stressors , 2019 , 2019 Tonight , Laura Ross , Plans , Counselor , Well Being , The American School Counselor Association , 2020 , Both , Thanks , Suffering , L A Times , Chief Of Medical Pediatrics , Quo , Alice Quo , Lawrenceville , Georgia , Ucla , Op Ed , Lines , Class Teaching , Pediatricians , Inn , Clinics , Perspective , Activity , Mental , Weight Gain , Black , Amounts , American Heart Association , 9 , 8 , Addition , Line , Rates , Outcomes , Stress , Context , Care , Mom Can T , Symptoms , News , Similar , Doctor , School Buildings , Hundreds , Players , Safety Protocols , Symptom Screening , School Setting , Parts , Symptom , Anybody , Fever , Cough , Sector , Grocery Stores , Conversations , Safety Protection , Benefits , Conversation , Classroom Learning , Student Body , 1200 , School Building , Fronts , Semester , Sadness , Connection , Academics , Space , Education Crisis , Brains , Lots , Looks , Brawn , Money , Drivers , Saving , Uh Oohhh There , Allstate , 700 , Allstate Click , Te Deposit , Tools , Simplicity , Chase , More , Morgan Stanley , Leaders , Companies , Thought , View , Investors , Road , Ingenuity , Bright Future , Guests , Facts , Matter , Someone , Links , Charities , Page , List , Options , Technology , Meals , Washington , In School Dining , Joe Biden , Watching , Cnn Tonight With Don Lemon , Boy , Don Lemon , Buying Victory , Obama , Health Care Bill , Ear , Big F Ing Deal , Obamacare , Relief Bill , Win , Event , Details , Monumental Covid , Rose Garden ,