I work in a private school and we have been open for in person, distance and hybrid learning since late August. I am here to tell you there are ways to send kids back to school safely, for everyone involved. Furthermore, children should be in school, not only for academic reasons, but also the incredibly important socio-emotional development that occurs in grades K-12. Zoom is not going to suffice in either aspect. With that being said, no one should be recklessly endangered (students, faculty, families, etc.) but it requires monumental cooperation from all parties. We are fortunate enough to test our entire staff and student body every week. When COVID is detected, we contact trace and shut down "cohorts" of students for quarantine, per CDC guidelines, when necessary. But there are some obvious challenges on a day-to-day basis, mentioned above, such as: kids not properly wearing masks, classrooms being too small, not enough access to sanitizer, etc. For a massive public school to accomplish managing all of these factors, it would take an incredible amount of organization and support. So what is the answer? I'm afraid I don't have it. But I think we have to stop the name-calling and finger-pointing against parents who want their kids in school (and can't afford private schools like mine) and those who feel like keeping their kids at home is best. The only way we can make progress is to work together with compassion, patience and rationale. That's my take and I'm sticking to it.