Statement from the GCA COVID-19 Task Force:

As the GCA COVID-19 Task Force met to plan for the 2020-21 school year, we had a singular focus of bringing the Grace family back together in a way that would minimize risk while maximizing the benefits of Christian education.  We sought to balance the need for academic experience while also providing as safe an environment for students and staff as feasibly possible. We would like to share some of the information that we reviewed and discussed as we were crafting the policies.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published guidelines¹ (link below) recommending that students should return to schools for the upcoming school year. They stated that even though the potential for Covid infections could not be completely eliminated, the benefits vs risks of returning to school favored the restart.

“Schools are fundamental to child and adolescent development and well-being and provide our children and adolescents with academic instruction, social and emotional skills, safety, reliable nutrition, physical/speech and mental health therapy, and opportunities for physical activity, among other benefits.” AAP

We reviewed the local and US childhood Covid infection statistics.  We know that there are lots of sources of information related to Covid, but most of them do not focus on pediatric populations or even reference age when it is discussed. The AAP provided an excellent summary², which we encourage you to review at the link below. To summarize, children between the ages of 5-17 account for about 4.7% of total Covid cases, but less than 0.1% of the fatalities.  Hospitalization rate for this age group is 4.4 per 100,000. The risk to children is much lower than any other age group.

When reviewing the local Knox county data, there have been approximately 2 cases per 1000 children. In a study³ of over 2000 children with Covid, over 94% of the children had no worse than moderate symptoms and less than 1% developed respiratory distress or multisystem dysfunction. So the risk of severe infection is fairly low for children.

 We reviewed the data for Sweden, which was the only major country that did not lock down when the outbreak occurred. They kept schools and businesses open throughout the spring and summer. A US News report⁴ detailed the findings in Sweden and Finland, which closed schools temporarily but then reopened. Sweden only had 2.1% of their confirmed cases of Covid occuring in children. Additionally, the report showed that severe cases of COVID-19 were very rare among both Swedish and Finnish children aged 1 to 19, with no deaths reported. A comparison of the incidence of COVID-19 in different professions suggested no increased risk for teachers. A recent article in the LA Times⁵ reviewed the potential risk of reopening schools, specifically data concerning the ability of children to easily spread Covid to other children and adults. The article referenced several studies that suggest children, especially elementary age, do not easily spread the infection to close contacts.

 After thoughtful and prayerful consideration, the GCA COVID-19 Task Force developed the guidelines for starting school on schedule. We know that there may be many different opinions about how best to proceed and how much caution needs to be observed in this unprecedented situation. We hope that this will help each of you better understand some of the information that shaped our decisions. We humbly ask that each family continue to pray for God’s protection and wisdom for the staff, students and families of GCA. We also ask for your patience and cooperation as we stay attentive to an ever-changing situation and prepare to adapt our response as needed in the coming months.

1.       https://services.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/clinical-guidance/covid-19-planning-considerations-return-to-in-person-education-in-schools/

2.       https://www.aappublications.org/sites/default/files/additional_assets/aap_files/AAPSummary-COVID-19-Pediatric-Research-Highlights-7.14.20.pdf

3.       https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/early/2020/03/16/peds.2020-0702.full.pdf

4.       https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2020-07-15/swedens-health-agency-says-open-schools-did-not-spur-pandemic-spread-among-children

5.       https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2020-07-16/will-children-spread-covid-19-if-they-return-to-school