Tens of thousands of students across the nation were set to resume in-person school Monday for the first time since March, some in states where the virus is spreading fast.
DALLAS, Ga. — Putting your child on the bus for the first day of school is always a leap of faith for a parent. Now, on top of the usual worries about youngsters adjusting to new teachers and classmates, there’s COVID-19.
Rachel Adamus was feeling those emotions at sunrise Monday as she got 7-year-old Paul ready for his first day of second grade and prepared 5-year-old Neva for the start of kindergarten.
With a new school year beginning this week in some states, Adamus struggled to balance her fears with her belief that her children need the socialization and instruction that school provides, even as the U. S. death toll from the coronavirus has hit about 155,000 and cases are rising in numerous places.
As the bus pulled away from the curb in Adamus’ Dallas, Georgia, neighborhood, the tears finally began to fall.
“We have kept them protected for so long,” said Adamus, who said her aunt died from COVID-19 in Alabama and her husband’s great uncle succumbed to the virus in a New Jersey nursing home. “They haven’t been to restaurants. We only go to parks if no one else is there. We don’t take them to the grocery store. And now they’re going to be in the classroom with however many kids for an entire day with a teacher.”
The Adamus children are among tens of thousands of students across the nation who were set to resume in-person school Monday for the first time since March. Parents in Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee will also be among those navigating the new academic year this week.
Many schools that are resuming in-person instruction are also giving parents a stay-at-home virtual option; Adamus, like many other parents, decided against that. Other schools are planning a hybrid approach, with youngsters alternating between in-person classes and online instruction.
But an uptick in COVID-19 cases in many states has prompted districts to scrap in-person classes at least for the start of the school year, including Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Washington.
Both of Adamus’ children wore masks, though that is not mandatory for the 30,000 students in Paulding County, about 25 miles northwest of Atlanta. Adamus said her son and daughter understand what’s happening at a basic level — that there are germs and they need to stay home.
“My daughter’s been saying a lot lately, ‘I can’t wait for the germs to go away,’” she said.
Adamus lives near North Paulding High School, where the principal sent a letter over the weekend announcing a football player tested positive for the virus after attending practice.
