Whether your kids are distance learning or learning in a traditional classroom, this is a school year unlike any other. So, to find out how parents are dealing with this stressful time, we asked the BuzzFeed Community to share their candid thoughts. Here's what they had to say:
1. "I'm frustrated. As a mom who works 12-hour days three days a week, keeping my three school-aged kids online from 8:30 to 3:45 is daunting and I’m really stressed."
2. "My son is starting back in first grade this week. He attends a charter school and they're doing a hybrid program. Students attend either M/T or Th/F and are online the rest of the week. No students attend in person on Wednesday, when the school gets deep cleaned. There's also an option for full-time online if you want."
"I have been beyond impressed with the staff and faculty at his school throughout all of this. I am fully okay with him going back. He's excited. The teachers are excited. I am glad he gets to go back."
Serious fun teaching Drama outside today. Because of these strange times, I'm not allowed to use the usual Drama space, so it's a classroom (with desks etc) or THIS. Can I order sunshine for the rest of Covid-season please?
3. "My son has his first day of distance learning tomorrow. So far, the organization of this whole online transition has been a nightmare. They’ve released a schedule of what distance learning will look like and the majority of it is ‘independent learning.’ My son is the kind of kid who needs extra attention, and I am so scared that he’s going to get behind."
"Oh I also already live in literally the lowest-ranked school district in the COUNTRY."
4. "My son's school gave a virtual option that 58% of families chose, but due to his IEP (Individualized Education Program) I sent him to school. It's nerve-racking but I am not cut out for homeschooling."
5. "My daughter is starting kindergarten this year. The hardest part is trying to prepare her for school when we barely know what's going to happen ourselves. The rates are pretty good where we live (in Canada), and I really do trust the local school board and health unit, so I tell myself she will be perfectly safe."
"But I worry about the impact this could have on her relationship with school. I want her to love learning and to make new friends, but everything is so weird this year — I think about her feeling scared or anxious at school and not really being able to form bonds and attachments because of masks and social distancing, and it breaks my heart a bit. Trying to hope for the best."
6. "Both of my kids started online school last week. It’s a struggle but much better than worrying constantly."
7. "I opted for online for my kiddo who has multiple disabilities and an IEP. Therapies will be delivered via telehealth, using resources we have at home along with some things provided by the school district. Will this be as good as in-person education and therapy? Of course not! But right now, conditions do not make in-person education a reasonable choice for my family. I have to prioritize the safety of my child, as well as the teachers, administrators, therapists, and paraprofessionals that we rely on. All of them — all of you — deserve to be safe."
"Also, everyone needs some stability here, including the kids. By choosing online, we are making sure that we don’t bounce from school to online, outside of our ability to choose or plan. Kids with special needs are especially likely to need things to be predictable. Doing this online will be more work, but it is something I can do. The chief difficulty is that for my child’s level of instruction, the district did not plan ahead."
8. "The lives of our kids, teachers, and family members are worth more than education. Kids should be staying home. Thank you to all the teachers out there for risking more than you signed up for. You shouldn’t be put in this position."
Welcome Back! I love the "students" in this virtual classroom at GWHS! #DPSSTRONG
9. "Teacher and mother here. When we reopen next week, I will have to send my two toddlers to daycare. I'm terrified on so many levels. I am so afraid of being responsible for spreading this and causing harm/death. I'm so afraid."
10. "The schools have been open in Scotland since last week. I was nervous about my kids going back, but they’ve had a great time and the school is doing their best to be as safe as possible. Getting kids back to school should be the priority, even if that means things like pubs and shops need to reintroduce restrictions."
11. "My kids are being homeschooled this year and they fully respect and understand the decision their father and I have made. It was difficult to decide, but the health of our family (and the community) comes first. "
"I realize I’m privileged, being able to stay home and monitor my kids’ learning. I realize not every parent has this opportunity, so I completely understand why some have chosen to let their kids return to the classroom. That fact, in turn, is partly why I’m keeping my kids home. Fewer students on campus means it will be that much easier to control the spread."
12. "My daughter goes to school in a wealthy district that was able to put together an extensive online school (in addition to an in-person option that requires masks). Thankfully, my daughter thrived when courses went online due to the COVID pandemic, so I opted for her to learn virtually."
"I know these districts are doing everything they can, but our district is going to operate in person in a family model, which means that children do not have the option to leave the class, at all, including for meals. I do not want my daughter to think that school is only one room.
While I chose for my child to learn virtually, I know that many families do not have that option, due to lack of child care or their need to work in order to provide for their children. I'm concerned for my daughter, however, because she is one of four, and I have already seen how difficult it is to help her while keeping the younger three occupied and away from her. This is challenging for every family in a multitude of ways."
13. "They shouldn't reopen at all. The second a kid or teacher gets COVID, that school gets shut down for weeks. Then they go back and inevitably another person gets sick and the school shuts down again for weeks. There's no point."
14. "My kid has an IEP and distance learning at the end of the last school year was a nightmare for her — it caused so much stress and anxiety that it became counterproductive and she ended up being excused from most of her assignments. For that reason, she was offered the option to go to school this year all four days and we jumped at it."
"Now, I'm willing to do this because the case count is so low in our area and because most families are doing distance learning so there won't actually be many kids at school. If we were in an area that was more heavily impacted, I'm not sure what choice we would make. No judgment to anyone's choice — everyone has to weigh the risks and benefits and make the choices that are best for their family and their community. Good luck this year!"
Morning Meeting looks a little different this year! We began our morning by saying hello 👋 to our fellow students by name. Classroom community is still possible over Zoom! @responsiveclass
15. "My school district is letting parents decide if they want to do virtual or in-person school. We chose to do virtual for my kindergartner. They will have live video lessons scheduled every day, and have to check in every day about how they are feeling."
"I'm soooo glad we chose virtual because we have to pass a middle and elementary school on the way to my husband's work and I have yet to see any kids actually wearing masks or social distancing. I have a feeling that we will have a leg up on parents who chose in-person here in a month or so."
16. "I live in NYC, where we have a low infection rate (for now). I have a 3-year-old with autism who goes to a public special needs school with only 40 students spread out in three classrooms. My son needs to go back to school full-time. He has made the most amazing progress since starting school and has been regressing since March. It's absolutely heartbreaking."
"My husband and I do what we can, but we are not therapists and remote therapy is just not working. He needs this time to give him the skills and tools to do well in regular school. I understand the risks, but feel that the small school size might be helpful. I will donate anything to get the school open to protect my child and his teachers. Unfortunately, when schools opening is discussed, small special education programs are lumped together with large mainstream public schools with hundreds of students. I feel hopeless. I don't want anyone to get sick, but my son needs help."
17. "My kid starts kindergarten this year! So that’s exciting. We are doing virtual because I’m also enrolled in school and I’m all virtual, plus I bartend a couple nights a week. I’m lucky because I have a super flexible job, a husband who is really supportive and helpful, plus extended family who help pick up the slack."
"I feel for the parents who don’t have a choice. I couldn’t imagine having to wrestle with a decision that I had no real options about. It’s hard to have two people in school at the same time at the same table, but we’ll manage because it is what it is."
Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.