WESTERVILLE, Ohio — COVID-19 cases are on the rise again, but some Ohio parents decided now was the time to send their children back to school after being out for the last year.
What You Need To Know
- Mask requirements within schools is one reason why some families with unvaccinated children are okay with it
- Districts with a better working knowledge of COVID-19 and a solid plan helped the Perry family make their decision
- The Perrys hope school staff will be patient and understanding with children who are returning for the first time in more than a year
Landon Perry, 11, is a student in Westerville City Schools. When the district had to make changes to learning because of COVID-19 in 2020, his parents decided to keep him learning virtually after trying it out the first part of the year. It worked because his mom, Cher Perry, knew she could work from home and help him keep up in school.
“It kind of took the burden off of what that would look like,” she said. “Honestly, we felt like remote would be the most consistent option.”
This year, she and her husband decided their son could go back to school in person. They said they feel good now that the district has been able to get a better handle on things with COVID-19 still around.
There was an added bonus though to their decision.
“It was a huge sigh of relief when the district made the decision to require masks because he isn’t vaccinated,” she said. “So even though he’s in middle school, and seventh and eighth graders have an opportunity to be vaccinated, he is not.”
The hope now is that as students go through this year, staff will be patient and understanding, especially with kids who were learning virtually for the last year. They also hope that in some way, the school will help kids work through what they saw on TV while remote when it comes to police and the murders of Black men.
While the Perrys have had conversations already at home, they hope the conversations could be helpful for all kids.
