Parents face difficult choices as schools begin reopening

WOODSTOCK, Ga. — John Barrett plans to keep his daughter home from elementary school this year in suburban Atlanta, but he wishes she were going. Molly Ball is sending her teenage sons to school in the same district Monday, but not without feelings of regret.

As the academic year begins around the country this week, parents are faced with the difficult choice of whether to send their children to school or keep them home for remote learning due to the coronavirus pandemic. Many are unhappy with either option.

“I definitely think it’s healthy for a child to go back to school,” said Ms. Ball, who feels her sons suffered through enough instability in the spring. “At the same time, I wish they weren’t going back to school right now. It’s very scary.”

Offering parents choices eases some of the problems facing schools. If some students stay home, that creates more space in buildings and on buses. But the number of families with options has dwindled as the virus’s spread has prompted districts to scrap in-person classes in cities across the U.S.

Many districts are warily tracking the virus — and weighing concerns of educators and parents — as they consider plans including hybrid approaches, with in-person learning at least a few days a week.

Such hybrid approaches create new challenges for teachers as well, especially those in smaller districts who are being asked to educate students in person and online at the same time.

“The key is going to be the complexity, how they handle it,” said Allen Pratt, executive director of the National Rural Education Association. “Is it going to be standards-driven, what students need to move to the next grade level? Is it going to be equal to face-toface or better than face-toface?”