Parents, will you send your kids back to school in the fall?

[YadaYadaYada]

I know this is a long way out and we have no idea how things will shake out but assuming the schools open, will you send your kids back?

This is giving me probably the most anxiety of anything from this pandemic. I can't wrap my head around sending out six year old son back to school, wearing a mask, not being able to hug or even get near his friends, possibly not playing on the playground and only being in school for two full days of the week due to a staggered schedule. What is the point of going back then? Things would look a lot more normal and possibly less scary for him by being homeschooled.

Our older son who is 13 will get a choice but I just don't think our six year old is going to understand any of this. A news outlet here came out with a report for what it may look like in September:

“We are thinking of staggered schedules, grade levels one at a time, one at another. Half classes on one day, half on another and also continuation of distance learning for days when kids are not in school,

Moore is looking at how to rearrange kids in his 16 school buildings in West Hartford. It may mean some continue to stay home.

We keep 6 through 12 [grade] on distance learning, bring in younger kids, and use high schools for them as well,” Rabinowitz said.

The idea of year-round school or Saturday classes is also being considered"

Of course safety of the teachers, staff and all the students is paramount, I'm just sad and worried for the futures of these children. Also if "the new normal" phrase could go away never to be heard again, that would be great. There isn't nothing "normal" about any of this and many of us aren't having a very hard time embracing all the "new".

 

[OreoRosies86]

Absolutely not. I’ve already reached out to the district to find out if there will be remote learning options.

 

[Dandi]

Here in Australia, we are remote learning, and were always planning to do remote learning until the start of term 3 (mid July). The government has caved to pressure from families wanting school to go back, so school will resume next week. I'm so disappointed and anxious over the decision. I'm in the minority who will not be sending mine. The school told me that this is fine, but remote learning will stop. I understand that there is a balance between protecting the economy and people's livelihoods, and keeping infection rates low, but I really feel that it's pointless to risk mass exposure to the virus, for the sake of 2.5 weeks of school (two weeks of term 2 holidays start in 3 weeks).

 

[lambskin]

What about college? As tuition explodes are parents/ students going to enroll/ return for online courses only? Or are they going to defer for a year?

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Oh you should totally keeps yours at home if it's 2.5 weeks only @Dandi

Will you be sending them in term 3?

Mine is miles ahead and doesn't actually need school but we have 5 weeks of term 2 left. I have to send him because he's trying for OC next year and we'll need the school mark so I don't want to antagonize the school.

I'm not worried about Covid19 just annoyed because school is an inefficient way of learning for him.

 

[Dandi]

Oh you should totally keeps yours at home if it's 2.5 weeks only @Dandi

Will you be sending them in term 3?

Mine is miles ahead and doesn't actually need school but we have 5 weeks of term 2 left. I have to send him because he's trying for OC next year and we'll need the school mark so I don't want to antagonize the school.

I'm not worried about Covid19 just annoyed because school is an inefficient way of learning for him.

I'm keen to just wait and see what the effect of all of the re-openings is. I'd like to think I will send them in term 3 (they're only 4 year old kinder and grade 1, so no huge consequence if I don't) but I'll wait and see what the infection rate does. What year is your son?

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

I'm keen to just wait and see what the effect of all of the re-openings is. I'd like to think I will send them in term 3 (they're only 4 year old kinder and grade 1, so no huge consequence if I don't) but I'll wait and see what the infection rate does. What year is your son?

Mine is in Year 3.

Year 1 is really repetitive!!! You're not going to miss out on anything! They repeat everything five billion times so you could stay home another year and you'll be fine!

 

[Roselina]

Schools here reopened a week ago (no masks) and I‘m fine with it. I‘m back to work and that‘s good. It depends very much on the situation and infection rate. We had a handful of cases in 24h nationwide. So we are heading back to normal. Would have not thought so a couple weeks ago. September is a bit away. Time will show. Try not to worry too much. Lots of strength!

 

[Dandi]

Mine is in Year 3.

Year 1 is really repetitive!!! You're not going to miss out on anything! They repeat everything five billion times so you could stay home another year and you'll be fine!

 

[Polabowla]

Yes I must. Sone of my kids have not gotten their special education & other services and are falling very behind. These are children who cannot thrive learning via zoom or distance learning in addition to other factors & must be in school.

Then socially, some of my kids are hugely impacted in a negative way .

Then there are certain other issues which mean it is better for my kids to be in school.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

this reminds me i must text my sister and ask how the kids are
school went back yesterday here after a couple of weeks of internet learning and on tv, they also moved the school holidays so it was durring the lockdown, so not a lot of time left considering we have the whole rest of the year to go
i don't think you have to send them back if you dont want to yet

personally if they were my kids id keep them home
who cares if they have to start the year over, especially little kids, but its a bit harder for the high school kids

i think they are going to run the school year two weeks longer into December

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

I'm very scarred by my kid's time in year one. I'm like a one woman band telling people to stay away from year one

 

[YadaYadaYada]

I really feel for the kids who graduated high school this year, no prom, no graduation and uncertainty about college. People say kids are resilient but they are also people with feelings, so I always feel like saying that is being very dismissive of their feelings.

 

[Slickk]

I sure do hope parents send their children back because I miss their faces!! I have heard rumors of staggered schedules, half days etc. to safely bring us back into the building. I truly hope we can go back because almost half of my students are not doing well with the remote learning. Kids (heck, all of us) need the socialization, peer interaction, learning how to problem solve in the real world.

That said, I hope parents do what they are comfortable with. Typically, a student will have similar anxieties and concerns mirroring their parents or guardians. If the parents don't want to send the kids, the students will also be too afraid to come back. This is such a difficult position for all

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

I am a teacher, if I have to go back, so does my son. His school also makes us pay full tuition before the year even starts so it's paid up (no public option for Pre-K).

 

[House Cat]

We will homeschool. We have an at-risk family member at home. I can’t see sending my son to school with 2000 students and having the ability to keep that family member safe.

I keep telling myself that any measures we take to keep our family member virus free are temporary. The worst possible scenario would be to have my son bring the virus home and have it be deadly to his dad. I’m trying to save our family from the worst case scenario.

This virus is supposed to get worse in the fall. I doubt schools will stay open for long anyway.

 

[AprilBaby]

What about college? As tuition explodes are parents/ students going to enroll/ return for online courses only? Or are they going to defer for a year?

If you defer for a year the next incoming freshman class has no spots so many schools are not going to be offering a deferment. You will have to compete with the next class for a spot. The better idea is go to community college for a year or two and then go where you want because there will be plenty of spots because so many people didn’t go.

 

[Queenie60]

I am glad that I don't have to face this dilemma - I admire all of the parents that have school aged children. So many decisions and the home schooling must be a huge chore. My hat's off to you ladies!

 

[yennyfire]

Oy. This is causing me a lot of anxiety (I literally gnawed a hole in my nighttime mouth guard ). I have two teenagers. We’ve been doing online learning since March 16th and school gets out tomorrow (kids taking exams as we speak). In some subjects, they’ve been fine, others, not so much.

On the other hand, even if they split the kids into groups, our high school is 1300 kids...that’s still several hundred kids switching classes several times while they’re at school. There’s no way to safely distance in that situation.

I’m not sure what we will do. My Dad is immunocompromised and if the kids go back to school on Aug. 1st as currently scheduled, I feel like we will never see my parents again (not that we see them now unless we are outside, wearing masks, 6 ft. apart). This just sucks....I hate feeling so unsure of what the “right” thing is...no such thing!!

 

[KaeKae]

My kids are in their 20's and doing distance learning (one by design, it's an online program)
But I work in an elementary school, mainly with special ed students.
While I've seen pictures of classrooms in China, I just can't see it really working.
Masks, staying 6 feet apart, creating enough room in a classroom of 20 students plus staff. How about PE? Running laps with a mask on?
I don't have ANY idea how we would handle lunch in the cafeteria or snack in the classroom.

 

[Slickk]

On the other hand, even if they split the kids into groups, our high school is 1300 kids...that’s still several hundred kids switching classes several times while they’re at school. There’s no way to safely distance in that situation.

I have heard that the teachers may be doing the switching of classes. I am sorry you are having so much anxiety. I have clenched through a guard too.We will get through this...

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@yennyfire, as Slick mentioned one of the ideas is that a group of kids would stay in one class together exclusively. They would eat breakfast and lunch in the same room and only the teacher would change.

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

Schools are in the process of slowly reopening here in France.

I'm pleased how things are being handled at my school. Remote learning and in person courses are absolutely equal.
No pressure either way. The children in school are in small groups (according to their age brackets - 8 kids max for 6y/o , 15 max from age 9. masks for commute/drop off/when walking. Guided take off at their individual assigned single table. Hand gel at every table. Supervised Hand washing 8 X (every hour).

I personally can keep my child at home and will probably not send them until September. Kids want to go, though and the feedback from the ones we know has been positive in spite of masks, social distancing and small isolated groups.

I feel that's long as we can keep the remote learning, it's my duty to give the space to people who need it. How is one supposed to work outside one's without childcare (essential workers' kids have been in their own group since the lockdown started)?

Grandparents are obviously not an option, if one loves them ...even our president addressed this over and over again for the ones who might be tempted.
"If you love the grandparents, don't go see them yet" .
(If you don't , go ahead , I guess...)

Every single teacher, social worker, pediatrician friend says that there are so many kids who are much much more in danger at home than from Covid 19, sadly , as well.

Even if it's just for the children in need of school meals.
So I think it's crucial to give this option to anyone who needs it, while keeping everyone safe.

 

[elizat]

I'm the stepparent, but dad is on board with going back to school. Mom, not so much, I don't believe. She would like to home school until there is a vaccine and the entire US at large has received a vaccine.

Schools are planning on being in person this fall here. This is going to be a major friction point.

In our county (the third largest in the state), we have just under 1700 cases diagnosed total, 60 deaths, 340 hospitalizations. To me, that's an acceptable risk for school in September. But everyone varies.

 

[yennyfire]

I have heard that the teachers may be doing the switching of classes. I am sorry you are having so much anxiety. I have clenched through a guard too.We will get through this...

I don’t see that working in a high school. There are too many options (on level, honors, AP). It certainly seems safer, but the logistics would be a nightmare.

 

[yennyfire]

Schools are in the process of slowly reopening here in France.

I'm pleased how things are being handled at my school. Remote learning and in person courses are absolutely equal.
No pressure either way. The children in school are in small groups (according to their age brackets - 8 kids max for 6y/o , 15 max from age 9. masks for commute/drop off/when walking. Guided take off at their individual assigned single table. Hand gel at every table. Supervised Hand washing 8 X (every hour).

I personally can keep my child at home and will probably not send them until September. Kids want to go, though and the feedback from the ones we know has been positive in spite of masks, social distancing and small isolated groups.

I feel that's long as we can keep the remote learning, it's my duty to give the space to people who need it. How is one supposed to work outside one's without childcare (essential workers' kids have been in their own group since the lockdown started)?

Grandparents are obviously not an option, if one loves them ...even our president addressed this over and over again for the ones who might be tempted.
"If you love the grandparents, don't go see them yet" .
(If you don't , go ahead , I guess...)

Every single teacher, social worker, pediatrician friend says that there are so many kids who are much much more in danger at home than from Covid 19, sadly , as well.

Even if it's just for the children in need of school meals.
So I think it's crucial to give this option to anyone who needs it, while keeping everyone safe.

You make very valid points. We are not all in the same boat in this...my kids have plenty of food and we are not in danger physically or emotionally. We have to do what’s best for the majority and then each make our own informed decisions.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

I normally respond to every poster but guys honestly I'm just a wreck about school. My anxiety is clearly getting the best of me.

I did read all the responses, I feel for all of us as parents, step-parents, teachers during these unprecedented times. I just pray at the end of this we will all be okay and the kids won't suffer any long term adverse effects from this pandemic.

 

[Gussie]

I haven't chimed in on this because my anxiety is high when I think about it. My son's HS has over 3000 kids in it. I don't see how distancing is even possible. You cannot see the floor from the aerial view during class changes. My girls will both be in middle school next year and it's a bit less crowded than the HS but still over 1500 kids. It really stresses me to think about it. I have thought about private but they do not want to go there at all. Homeschool is not an option. I am very fortunate that they all three are bright kids. My homeschool duty is just asking them if they have completed their work. It has been easy but I absolutely couldn't teach them. I have zero patience.

I really have no idea what we will do. Pray for the best.

 

[nala]

I normally respond to every poster but guys honestly I'm just a wreck about school. My anxiety is clearly getting the best of me.

I did read all the responses, I feel for all of us as parents, step-parents, teachers during these unprecedented times. I just pray at the end of this we will all be okay and the kids won't suffer any long term adverse effects from this pandemic.

I want to chime in to say that I totally get your
anxiety , but hopefully my teacher’s perspective can help assuage your fears. I don’t know about your school district, but our school district has a great teachers’ union and they will not jeopardize any lives for the sake of opening schools. I expect to most likely teach online because of the anticipated second wave. Best case, We have been informed that parents and teachers will have a choice—online or hybrid. Even now as we prepare for summer school, there is only an online option. I think that most districts will follow the lead of their local colleges and where I live, most are already committing to only online learning. I know a lot of parents who feel totally safe sending their kids back to school, in my neck of the woods. They even want sports to resume! It’s totally ok for you to Make the best choice for your family but hopefully you won’t have to.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Thanks @nala that is a comfort to hear. DH and I have talked about this and even if the schools open, I will stay home with our youngest until there is some resemblance of normal. That means I will probably be unemployed yet again (possibly until next year, the year after...who knows) but that's what we believe will be best for him.

You have a daughter starting college I believe? I can't imagine the uncertainty that college students are feeling.