Grand Reopening?

Covid-19 has hammered communities across the country with the death toll crossing the 525,000 mark. With two vaccines now being pushed out to the public and a third from Johnson & Johnson starting to make its way, parents and educators have been raising the question about when public schools should return full time.

I’ve gotten an up close look of how school’s have handled the challenge. My wife’s school has been virtual since Covid first hit the U.S. en masse last year this time. My youngest son’s school has taken a different approach, with students attending in-person one week, virtual the next. His school has been shut down for a few days, but, for the most part, has been able to carry on.

As talk of schools reopening makes its way around, I hear lots of opinions. Some parents say the kids need school life to return, others say it’s still not safe and that we need time for more teachers to get the vaccine. I’m frankly exhausted from the political discourse in our society right now, so I’ll keep my thoughts to myself, but I will say this, teachers deserve our praise. 

I hear my wife talk with her students online each day and I see not a tired, frustrated administrator going through the ropes, but a trained educator who cares about her students and is going out of her way to make learning fun and enjoyable. I know I certainly want that for my own son.

In any event, here’s the blog I wrote last year about teachers surviving in the age of Covid that was spot on then and still applies today. 

Whenever schools in your community decide to reopen, my hope is that they come together, keep the politics out of the decision making, and, most important, come up with a resolution that takes everyone’s needs – students and teachers — into account. And yes, Covid, it’s time for you to go away now!