Lorain Times

Despite mounting evidence that young children are not at risk for spreading COVID-19, and that even older children rarely transmit the novel coronavirus, only 38% of Ohio school districts are planning to return to school with in-person instruction, with others opting to either use a hybrid or virtual instructional plan.

With a variety of plans being applied across the state for returning to school, parents are expressing mixed reactions as well.

The Lorain Times recently spoke with Rachelle Brown, a mother of four from Sheffield, about her feelings on plans for restarting school in the state. Brown's children span the age groups with a 14-year-old, a 13-year-old, an 11-year-old and a 10-year-old.

"I would love to see my kids get back in the classroom," she told the Lorain Reporter. 

Yet, her district is still having all students receive virtual instruction at this time, she said. As an entrepreneur running an in-home daycare to make a living, the situation is more than just an inconvenience for Brown.

Brown said that this past spring, when schools across the state were closed, had already created significant problems for her, and that she anticipates online schooling this fall will present the same challenges.

Additionally, evidence suggests that the lack of socializing created by not only keeping children out of school but trapping them at home with COVID-19 restrictions on alternative forms of socialization is adding to a growing mental health crisis in the country.

Brown has at least one child already struggling to keep up who would normally receive therapy in school, and feels ill-equipped to take on the specialties at home that are handled by multiple professionals in the school, she said.

While teacher's unions are protesting against in-person instruction by citing safety concerns, Brown said that she sees even on social media evidence that many teachers are engaging in statistically more risky behaviors, such as going out socially.

"I feel like teachers should be in the classroom," she said. "I mean, I have teachers on my Facebook, you know, I see them out in bars. I see them going on vacations. I see them out and about with no mask, not having any issues being at gatherings.

"So, why is it so hard if you go to school and you have a clean facility and you do social distancing and you wear a mask?" she said. "I don't understand what the problem is to be in school."

Brown said she thinks it's time for those in leadership positions to stop using COVID-19 and its relatively low risks for the majority of the population as a political tool, and to get the state back to a real normal rather than a "new normal."