Here's a thread pulling out the statements in the article that contradict or undermine the headline's claim. There's a lot of if's & but's in this piece that need to be considered & I thought it would be helpful to have them for easy reference: 1/ https://twitter.com/elizashapiro/status/1291900133420994563

"DeBlasio has said schools in the city would not open if the metric rises above 3 percent...Harvard’s Global Health Institute also recommended opening schools only when the daily infection rate is less than 3 percent."

For July, 41 zip codes had an infection rate > 3%.
2/

"However another safety metric — number of cases per capita — gives some reason for pause. The Harvard report characterized regions w/ 25 cases per 100,000 people as “red zones” requiring stay-at-home orders for 'all learners.'..."
3/

"New York, w/ 23 cases per 100,000 people statewide was classified as an “orange zone” by this report". Based on new infections per 100k, we can assume some NYC zip codes are already in the red zone. (see map of new infections per 100k)
4/

…https://covidinteractivesny.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/new_cases_map.html

"Many NYC school buildings are too old & underfunded to overhaul their ventilation systems & rely mostly on natural ventilation. School bldngs are legally required to have enough air flowing through to fully replace the air every 20 min or three full air exchanges per hour."
5/

"Open windows help as long as enough air is coming through, but the typical school can support only about 1 full air exchange per hour, Dr. Allen said."
6/

Note, I've only included caveats that the article itself includes. There are many more that other public health experts, doctors & teachers (not quoted) have also pointed to. Many of those quoted don't support opening high schools at all.
7/

Like many such articles, there are several quotes about the necessity of trying to open schools for the benefits it provides - indicating that the key driver of decisions is less confidence in the safety & data measures and rather the pressing need to open.
8/

And, most public health experts who are honest (including Fauci) admit that opening schools is an experiment:
"Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University, said reopening the schools in New York was a bit of a “social experiment” or “trial run"
9/

Frustratingly absent from all these pieces is any discussion of alternative ways to meet pressing needs that don't pose the risks of opening schools, eg:
-expanded food stamps to cover lost meals
-1 on 1 counseling & outreach programs
-tech for all kids
-paying parents kept home