More students returning to class despite virus worry

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Thousands of Alabama students who’ve spent the coronavirus pandemic in virtual classrooms are returning to traditional instruction despite safety concerns and continuing school shutdowns linked to COVID-19.

Schools in Jefferson County began allowing elementary students to return to class full- time on Monday, and additional systems that have offered only online classes or a mix of online and traditional learning will reopen buildings on a full-time basis through next week.

Walter Gonsoulin, the Jefferson County superintendent, said the system planned to stay open unless there is a state or national mandate requiring a shutdown.

“We have mixed emotions,” Gonsoulin told WBRC-TV. “Of course, everyone is still aware that we are living in the middle of a pandemic, so people just want to make sure that we stay on top of the health guidelines.”

As public schools reopened Tuesday in Montgomery, a group of teachers and school workers who contend the system lacks an adequate safety plan held a small protest outside the central office.

“I’ve literally been in tears. If I have to choose my life or my job, I choose my life,” Tynisa Williams, a teacher at Brewbaker Middle School, told WSFA-TV beforehand.

The Alabama Department of Education hasn’t released a breakdown to show how the state’s roughly 725,000 public school students are being taught this year, but systems have used a mix of in-person classes and virtual instruction since the pandemic hit in March and classes resumed for the fall term.

Safety recommendations by the state are being used to establish rules everywhere from classrooms to lunchrooms to buses, and a mix of virtual and in-person learning will continue. But education officials also are facing the limitations of just how much can be done to prevent the spread of the virus.