COVID & Classrooms: Lessons for Students, Staff, & Society on Reopening Schools

Join host Joe Selvaggi and co-host Rebekah Paxton of Pioneer Institute as they talk with Harvard Medical School Professor Benjamin Sommers on the most current scientific observations regarding the health and safety of reopening schools. The episode looks at the risks to students, teachers, administrators, and the public at large from the novel coronavirus, and offers ideas for optimizing outcomes in the fall.

Related: New Pioneer Study Looks to International Examples to Inform Massachusetts K-12 Schools Reopening

The Boston Globe op-ed:  “Listen to the science. Reopen schools.”

Dr. Benjamin Sommers is a practicing primary care internist, and he is also Professor of Medicine at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. From 2011-2012, he served as a Senior Advisor in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and he served part-time in an advisory role from 2013-2015. His current research projects focus on barriers to health care access among low-income adults, insurance markets, and the health and economic effects of state Medicaid policies. He received a PhD in Health Policy from Harvard and an MD from Harvard Medical School.

Hubwonk Host: Joe Selvaggi is the host of Hubwonk. Joe is a U.S. Navy veteran, entrepreneur, investment professional, former candidate for US Congress, and political commentator. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School. He lives in Boston.

Co-host: Rebekah Paxton is a Research Analyst at Pioneer Institute. She first joined Pioneer in 2017 as a Roger Perry intern, writing about various transparency issues within the Commonwealth, including fiscal policy and higher education. Since then, she has worked on various research projects under PioneerPublic and PioneerOpportunity, in areas of state finance, public policy, and labor relations. She earned an M.A. in Political Science and a B.A. in Political Science and Economics, from Boston University, where she graduated summa cum laude.

Related Posts:

Curing Medicaid’s Cold: Unwinding Pandemic Expansion Before Federal Funds End

June 20, 2023

Joe Selvaggi talks with healthcare policy expert Dr. Brian Blase about Medicaid expansion during the COVID-19 healthcare emergency and how states can efficiently reexamine eligibility criteria so as to protect the vulnerable before federal support expires.

https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/Hubwonk-158-Blase-Medicaid.png 512 1024 Editorial Staff https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png Editorial Staff2023-06-20 11:13:382023-06-20 11:13:38Curing Medicaid’s Cold: Unwinding Pandemic Expansion Before Federal Funds End

Climate Change Reset: Catastrophic Consensus Cools As New Models Emerge

June 13, 2023

Joe Selvaggi talks with climate expert Dr. Judith Curry about the insights contained in her newly released book, Climate Uncertainty and Risk: Rethinking our Response, in which she tracks the evolution of climate science from model development, to political weapon, to an emerging view that the best response to a changing climate is to build resiliency.

https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/Hubwonk-157-Curry-climate.png 512 1024 Editorial Staff https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png Editorial Staff2023-06-13 10:52:592023-06-13 11:47:33Climate Change Reset: Catastrophic Consensus Cools As New Models Emerge

Dodging Debt Default: Who Won Congressional Cage Match Compromise

June 6, 2023

Joe Selvaggi talks with CATO Institute budget expert Chris Edwards about the details of the newly passed Fiscal Responsibility Act, which avoids crossing the debt ceiling in exchange for slowing spending growth.

https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/Hubwonk-156-Cato-debt-ceiling.png 512 1024 Editorial Staff https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png Editorial Staff2023-06-06 10:59:252023-06-06 10:59:25Dodging Debt Default: Who Won Congressional Cage Match Compromise

Tilting Offshore Windmills: Speaking Truth to Ratepayers

May 30, 2023

Joe Selvaggi talks with energy economist Dr. Jonathan Lesser about the chasm between the promises and realities of offshore wind projects, including the likely increased costs passed to electricity consumers and taxpayers.

https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/Copy-of-Hubwonk-Template-18.png 512 1024 Editorial Staff https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png Editorial Staff2023-05-30 10:17:222023-07-07 10:21:08Tilting Offshore Windmills: Speaking Truth to Ratepayers

Picking Patients’ Pockets: Exposing Insurance Schemes Targeting Orphan Diseases

May 23, 2023

Joe Selvaggi talks with Pioneer Institute’s senior Health Care Fellows Dr. Bill Smith and Dr. Robert Popovian about their white paper "Out-of-Pocket Pirates: Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) and the Confiscation of Out-of-Pocket Assistance Programs." This episode explores what consumers and regulators can do to ensure those with rare diseases are not left without assistance.

https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/Copy-of-Hubwonk-Template-17.png 512 1024 Editorial Staff https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png Editorial Staff2023-05-23 10:39:302023-07-07 10:22:29Picking Patients’ Pockets: Exposing Insurance Schemes Targeting Orphan Diseases

Erec Smith on the Rhetoric of Anti-racist Activism

May 16, 2023

Joe Selvaggi talks with York College of Pennsylvania Associate Professor Eric Smith about the disempowering effects of modern anti-racism movement and the challenges for thought leaders who espouse more constructive narratives.

https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/Hunbwonk-AntiRacist.png 512 1024 Editorial Staff https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png Editorial Staff2023-05-16 10:35:082023-05-19 15:00:13Erec Smith on the Rhetoric of Anti-racist Activism