What are you gonna do? If you’re raising children, you have a really tough decision to make. Should you send your kids back to school next month?
Hi everyone, I’m Scoop the Cub Reporter here in The Shady Pines Gazette news office. That’s the big question we’re hearing all over Shady Pines Story Town. But, it’s not the only one.
The numbers of Coronavirus cases are going up fast in so many places in this country. It’s even happening here in our small Southern town. We’ve seen more people than ever before get Covid 19 and have to go to nearby River City Hospital to get better. COVID -19 And, some of the folks are REALLY bad off. One of my friends got that darn virus. His family is worried sick.
How do you know your child will be safe in a classroom? Oh, yea, and what if your child brings this scary disease home to you? Another question we get is from teachers and other adults who work at Shady Pines Elementary. Are they safe to go back to their jobs?
Here is a list of some of some of the top questions we find parents are asking themselves right now.
How will the health of students and teachers be checked? Does Shady Pines Elementary have good airflow and will it be capable of proper sanitizing? Is there a school nurse or nurses on site and prepared? school nurses
Will masks be provided for students and teachers?
What about some sort three-days-off, three-days-on combination of remote and in-person learning?
Are buses and drivers ready for social distancing? Will Shady Pines Elelmentary help students who don’t have access to strong internet meet the requirements for remote learning?
How will the classrooms be set up for proper distancing? Will desks be six feet apart? 
I’ve been making calls to to other school systems around our area. And you know what? Everyone is in the same boat. They’re heading for choppy water. Here’s why:
Do parents risk exposing their kids to the coronavirus at school, or risk losing critical educational and social ground by keeping them home?
Experts I check with say there’s no risk-free answer. The right one for your family should be a combination of your kid’s age and health status, and the way they learn best. You should consider the impact any choice could have on your family’s mental and physical health. You also have to ask if your job allows you to keep the kids home.
It’s our responsibility as reporters to keep you up to date on this important topic. GO HERE for more information from the Today Show on whether medical experts are sending their kids to school. This story will continue to change and we’ll be back with more updates soon.
Let us know what you’re thinking about back to school for you kids in the comments below.
– Scoop, out!
Thank you for this entry. The links had some very good additional information. I think at this point we’re going to have our daughter stay home for a while. It’s not what we want, but we are worried that if the professional athletes who are tested every day can’t be safe, what chance to the kids and the teachers have?
I have no idea what to do. Hey Scoop, stay on this story will ya?
I’ve got to get back to work. I also found out this spring that I’m not such a great teacher. New respect for all teachers. But, it doesn’t seem possible for our schools to be able to keep our kids safe. Shady Pines, you’re right. We are wrestling with this decision.
This is a scary decision. At first, we were sure we were going to send the kids back to school. Now, with even MLB players being infected we are rethinking our decision. Those players get tested every day and they still couldn’t protect themselves, what are the kids supposed to do?
Shady Pines I’d love to send my kids to your school. Something tells me you’d do right by them. Unfortunate;y, I have to decide what to do in my world. Not so easy.
After I read this, I saw another report on our local news. The plan to reopen my daughter’s school keeps changing by the minute. What a mess.
Thank goodness Scoop is staying on the story. It’s hard to know what to do. The facts keep changing and every school district is handling this differently. The plan in my area is still being formed.
This whole school thing is so depressing. We want our kids to go to school and have a normal experience. But nothing is normal anymore.
I just want to live in Shady Pines. You just know the elementary school there will keep kids and teachers safe.
Thank you for this and for the links. They were really helpful. Still trying to decide what’s best for our family.
Our school system is leaning towards some in class and some remote learning. My kids do better in class, but I’m really not convinced the school is serious about taking safety precautions. Hard choice.
I’m really scared that my granddaughter may be going back to school. Everything should be safe, but I’m not comfortable that her school is doing enough.
I like the way this fictitious town covers what’s going on without using politics. I think I’ll send my daughter back to school, but I’m not comfortable.
This is such a complicated issue. Not sure what we’re going to do. Keep the info coming.
We’re still not sure what we’ll do. The numbers in our state keep going up. But I need to get back to work. Thank you for this article. There was a lot of good information here.