Widespread school closings, like we've seen through the COVID-19 pandemic, create long-term individual and societal costs. It is in the best interest of children and families for schools to remain open. To do that, every effort must be made to keep children healthy.

In the last year, we have learned a great deal about preventing COVID-19 transmission with in-person instruction. The delta variant now challenges us to make use of every layer of prevention. The good news is that children are at a lower risk than adults and there is a new body of evidence that shows that kids can be kept safe at school with a holistic, multi-layered plan to reduce exposure, limit transmission and respond to outbreaks.

This fall, how can schools prioritize risk reduction measures for COVID-19?

We will speak with Harvard researcher and exposure science expert Joseph Allen and East Syracuse Minoa School Superintendent Donna DeSiato to describe the most valuable strategies and how they can be effectively implemented in schools, even with limited budgets and staff.

Read Dr. Allen's guest essay in Monday's New York Times, The Hard Covid-19 Questions We’re Not Asking.

Speakers:

Dr. Joseph G. Allen, Associate Professor of Exposure Assessment Science, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and co-author of Healthy Buildings

Dr. Donna J. DeSiato, Superintendent, East Syracuse Minoa Central School District

Moderator:

Dr. Eric A. Schiff, Interim Executive Director, SyracuseCoE and Professor of Physics, Syracuse University