Parents weigh fall schooling options

Lorraine Nunez is torn. Her son will be a sophomore in 10th grade and needs to be physically in school, but the pandemic has put a hiccup in their plans for the fall. Nunez said her son has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and needs a structured environment to do well. But when he was home after Keystone closed its doors in the spring, Nunez had the virus. She said she would check on her son to see if he was working, but it wasn't until she began to recover and check email that she started to see he wasn't getting his work done. Now she has to make a decision about sending her son back to school in fall, and she doesn't know what to do. "When they started talking about a hybrid of two days at school, two days at home, my son even said he can't do it," Nunez said. "He can't do it. But I'm afraid; I don't want to expose my family and myself to that again. But I know he's not going to get the education he needs at home. Nunez isn't the only one who's torn. When The Chronicle-Telegram reached out on its Facebook page, many parents in the 130 comments were unsure of what fall would look like for their family. Some expressed concern about wanting to school from home but being unable to do so because of their jobs. Others, like Nunez, said they couldn't provide a structured enough environment from home, while others said they would be homeschooling. Some, like Tally Clark, want to send their kids to school but are wary of a mask requirement. Lorain County school districts are looking to find happy mediums. Many have said they will offer online programs for students and parents who are not comfortable being physically in school in the fall. Most district administrations are still finalizing plans for the fall and haven't fully released them yet. When Gov. Mike DeWine announced reopening guidelines July 2, he required masks for all staff members but only strongly suggested them for students in third grade and up. Clark is grateful for that. She has two children in Lorain City Schools — one going into ninth grade and one into eighth grade — and Clark said she's planning to send them both to school in the fall. But if Lorain City Schools were to require students to wear face masks, Clark said she would transition to online schooling. Clark's son is autistic and her daughter has severe asthma. She's afraid her son wouldn't keep the mask on and would end up touching his face too much. Beyond that, masks could become another platform for bullying for kids who either wear or don't wear them. Clark's concerned it could even become a status issue — who wears the name-brand mask and who doesn't. But she said both her children are very social, and sending them to online school will socially isolate them further than they already have been through the pandemic. "It's like a double-edged sword," Clark said. "Damned if I do, damned if I don't. … At the end of the day, they are my children and I make decisions for them." Nunez said she knows her son would be willing to wear a mask simply because he saw what she went through with the virus. She said if students and staff take precautions, the schools should be OK, but "you never know." "You let that one kid in that has the fever and doesn't realize it," Nunez said. "It's hard to keep a mask on. I can't imagine these kids, telling them to keep it on." Many superintendents across Lorain County have said that it's unlikely they'll put a mask requirement on students at the school. Midview Superintendent Bruce Willingham has said it's a "nightmare to police." If Lorain County remains on a county alert Level 3, which requires masks in public, it's unclear if that will affect schools in the fall. Willingham put out a letter to parents Friday, saying that it seems likely Lorain County will go back down to a Level 2 soon, as Ohio's data is monthly instead of weekly. Masks aren't the only thing that will be different about the upcoming school year. Parents will also have to look at how the inside of the school will be different. Lunches may be staggered or students will have to eat at their desks, classrooms will be physically distanced, and walking in hallways may not be the same as it was. Clark said her youngest child is extremely social. She's used to hugging teachers and being close to her friends. "And then you have to think about six feet," she said. "Children, let alone adults, don't know what that means. How are they planning on doing all this? How are you going to maintain that for almost 140 days?" Other parents had already made up their minds to put their children in online school, whether it be a new program or through their school district's online offering. Rachael Dykes is one of those parents. She's hoping her daughter, who will be a sophomore at Elyria High School this fall, will be able to stick with the district for an online option. Elyria Schools hasn't officially announced its plans for fall yet, although Superintendent Ann Schloss has said it's likely it will offer an online program. Dykes has breast cancer and is undergoing treatment and chemotherapy. Because she's immunocompromised, Dykes said she wants her and her family to remain safe. And her daughter has said she wants to go online for the year. She wants to keep her daughter in Elyria Schools, but just online, instead of pulling her out and then putting her back in for junior year. Plus, Dykes said she likes the programs and schooling at Elyria. "We sat down the two of us and had a talk about it," Dykes said. "Honestly, I'm worried about her bringing the sickness to me, and now some kids are getting it. With everything that's been going on since January, I would feel so much more comfortable to have her home." Dykes said she's one of the lucky ones as she has internet access, her daughter has a computer and Dykes is able to stay home with her. Others aren't as fortunate. On Facebook, other parents said they had to work and no one else was available to watch their child. Some found the stress of online schooling to be too much, while others were worried their child would miss out on the social element. Dykes' daughter has been in the Elyria school system for more than 10 years, so Dykes said she's not too worried about pulling her out for a year. "One year, because of COVID, I don't think it is going to hurt her with people," Dykes said. "If she takes one year off, make sure everyone's healthy, and then go back to school and have her junior and senior year." And she predicted that online schooling through the districts will go a lot smoother in the fall because teachers have had time to plan it out. After schools closed in March, it was an immediate adjustment. Nunez said that while some students probably enjoyed the online structure, her son struggled with it. "If you don't see (COVID-19) firsthand, you think it's the flu," she said. "It's terrifying; you can't breathe. If you don't see it happen, you don't have a great understanding of it." But she wants her son to be able to get a good education, and that's something she said she can't provide at home. "It's a no-win situation." Contact Laina Yost at (440) 329-7121 or lyost@chroniclet.com.