Here's an edited version of the response I posted to IHE on whether schools/ colleges should open in Fall 2020 in person. Final paragraph tells all. Post: I'm wondering whether, if we put on a different lens, we'd see another option here. This is to suggest, assuming testing of high quality, that schools/ colleges reopen in Jan. 2021. And, there could be a soft launch in Fall 2020 for some students in small pods who want/need to be in school/college and for whom in person learning is key. The "Covid-Pod" approach would have different kinds of educational offerings -- everything from mini classes to pop ups. Here's the acid test: I was asked recently by a colleague: Were I still a college president, would I open in Fall 2020, having engaged in a myriad of discussions? Honest answer: NO. I would feel opening in a small town w/o sufficient medical facilities to handle 200 Covid cases quickly in a new peak and poor rural transport (no train or plane w/in an hour) and faculty/staff traveling from big distances presents too big a risk. I wouldn't want to increase the extant possibility of death. I need sleep at night; I would feel so responsible that every sneeze would send me into a frenzy of possible outcomes, many of which would make my current COVID nightmares pale.
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