New Kent Charles City Chronicle

News for New Kent County and Charles City County, Virginia | March 29, 2024

Editorial: Too much being asked of schools in reopening buildings

By Andre Jones | June 16, 2020 4:28 pm

While there are steps being taken to make sure students can return to learning in a physical environment inside of buildings, the reality is that the guidelines being presented by the state and the Center of Disease and Control (CDC) are unrealistic for it to happen.

In more than 100 pages of document, schools are instructed to have a phased reopening of schools. While both Charles City and New Kent are in phase two at the current moment, the expectations and realism of adhering to each one of these guidelines is impossible.

Let me preference by saying that I understand the nature of having these guidelines are in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. However, no amount of prevention will ever replace the possibility of the spread of the virus when being in a public environment.

I’m going to hit on just a few of the recommendations that are being tasked by the CDC. In classrooms, desks are recommended to be at least six feet apart. That immediately reduces the class size from roughly 20 students to around 11 or 12. Next, if the social distance can’t be met with the desk separation, then plastic shields are to be placed up between each student. That means a shield for each student in each classroom at each table or desk. That means another expenditure for schools with funds that they don’t have.

Next comes one of the most absurd things that has been requested. The guidelines also request that school buses have social distancing as well. That means a bus that usually carries 50-60 students will carry 10-15. Think about that for a moment. That means more gas, more routes, and more work for bus drivers.

Even before the standards, employing bus drivers is difficult in the first place. This past year, both Chesterfield and Henrico had more than 50 vacancies. Now, imagine trying to add drivers to run additional routes and they are considered hourly employees and not full-time employees. If you want to add a little more fuel to the fire, schools don’t have to transport students to schools unless they are identified as special needs students. Do you think any school district will scrap their transportation services for students? I highly doubt that.

Continuing on, there are other difficulties with the plans. Staggered starts and times for usages of common areas will only cause additional headaches. What use to be two to four lunches in schools suddenly becomes eight or nine. The toll on the hardworking cafeteria staff will continue as they may have to deliver food to the classroom. Extracurricular activities are in the same boat as despite any precaution taken to participate, there will be some sort of contact in sports and some sort of interaction with other students in clubs and activities (such as band, theater, etc.).

There is no way around what is going to happen to our schools. The question that we haven’t heard is when will parents and guardians get a say in how to reopen. Surveys are currently going out by some jurisdictions for feedback, but it’s ultimately up to the parent if they want their child to enter into the building once again.

There will never be a clear-cut answer if the risk will outweigh the factors of keeping the student at home. There are some parents who cannot hold down a full-time career and stay at home with their child and instruct them educational-wise. There are some areas (especially in Charles City and New Kent) where remote learning is impossible to conduct.

If you want to be more specific, many people know about the lack of Internet in Charles City that has stemmed back since 2014. In New Kent, the continuing growth of student population became more of a hindrance after county leaders elected to postpone construction of a new elementary school by a year.

It’s a painful world we are living in, and schools are coming up with “return-to-school” plans to submit to several entities for approval. But realistically, I believe there will be some sort of consensual plans in place that will allow parents to make a choice to have students in either a school environment or continuing their education at home. Either way, the school districts will still be responsible.

As these matters continue, remember leaders at the school level are doing what they can to continue education for students. The atmosphere has changed, but not the dedication to make sure that the next generation is prepared to be successful.