Parents Struggle as Schools Reopen During Rise in COVID-19 Cases

The first day of school is always a hard time for parents. But this year is different. Now, on top of the usual concerns about your child getting used to new teachers and classmates, there is COVID-19.

Rachel Adamus was feeling those emotions Monday morning as she got her 7-year-old son Paul ready for his first day of second grade. The same day she was preparing his 5-year-old sister Neva for the start of kindergarten.

Rachel Adamus struggled to balance her concerns about the coronavirus with her belief that her children need the socialization and in-person training that school provides.

COVID-19 has killed about 155,000 people in the United States. Adamus herself has lost two family members to the disease¹: an aunt in Alabama and her husband's great uncle in New Jersey².

In many parts of the country, new daily case numbers are rising.

Adamus said of her children, "We have kept them protected for so long...They haven't been to restaurants. We only go to parks if no one else is there...And now they're going to be in the classroom with however many kids for an entire day with a teacher."

The Adamus children are among tens of thousands of U.S. students who began in-person classes Monday for the first time since March. Parents in Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee are also among those dealing³ with the start of the new school year this week.

Many schools that offer in-person classes are also giving parents a stay-at-home online education choice. Adamus, like many other parents, decided⁴ against that. Other schools are planning a mix of the two methods, with children going between in-person classes and online learning⁵ programs.

But a rise in COVID-19 cases in many states has led some areas to cancel in-person classes at least for the start of the school year.

U.S. President Donald Trump⁶ and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos have urged schools to reopen.

However, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious-disease expert, warned Monday that, in some places, bringing children back to school would not be "prudent⁷." In other words, it would not be a wise move. That is because many cities and states are still dealing with rising case numbers.

Schools also reopened this week in the state of Indiana. One student at Greenfield-Central Junior High tested positive for COVID-19 on the first day back to class. The student was separated from others in the school's medical office.

"This really does not change our plans," said Harold Olin, who supervises⁸ the area's schools. "We knew that we would have a positive case at some point in the fall. We simply did not think it would happen on day one."

In Newton County⁹, Mississippi, fourth grader Avery Mangum returned to school for the first time in months to find many things changed. She had to wear a face mask, sit in an assigned¹¹ seat, and eat in her classroom instead of in the school's cafeteria. When students in her class moved around the school, they followed their teacher in a straight line with one arm held out in front of them. This is to make sure they stayed at least an arm's length away from other children.

The playground at Avery's school was divided in two parts. Some students could play on half of the equipment, and others on the other half.

It was really hard to socially distance while we were playing, Avery said. "Everyone wants to play with their friends and do all these things but we can't.

In Georgia's Paulding County, both of Adamus' children wore face masks. But school officials there have not made that a requirement.

Many teachers in Paulding are uneasy¹² about the return to school. Some are shocked that the school district has refused to require face coverings or delay the start date for in-person classes, as nearby districts have done. But the labor¹³ unions representing Georgia's teachers are weak, so there has been little organized opposition¹⁴.

"I desperately¹⁵ want to return to face-to-face teaching," Paulding teacher Steven Hanf told a school board meeting last month. "But not until it is safe," he said.

One student who did not start school in Paulding County this week was Aliyah Williams. Her mother, Erica Williams, decided to keep her 14-year-old daughter at home; two of her younger sons have a medical condition that puts them at risk.

Williams does not believe her daughter will fall behind in school if she continues her online studies. But she is worried about Aliyah's inability to see her friends.

"She's a social butterfly," Williams said. "That's a big part of her personality."

I'm Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

grade - n. a level of study that is completed by a student during one year

kindergarten - n. a school or class for very young children, usually age 5 or 6

park - n. a piece of public land in or near a city that is kept free of houses and other buildings and can be used for pleasure and exercise

kid - n. a young person

positive - adj. showing the presence¹⁶ of a particular germ¹⁷, condition, or substance

assign¹⁰ - v. to provide someone with something

cafeteria - n. a place (such as a restaurant or a room in a school) where people get food at a counter and carry it to a table for eating

(school) district - n. an area or region¹⁸ containing the schools that a school board is in charge of

desperately - adv. having a strong need or desire for something or to do something

(school) board - n. a group of people who are in charge of local schools

social butterfly - n. a person who loves to talk to and be with other people

1 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

2 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

3 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

6 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

7 prudent   

adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的

参考例句：

• A prudent traveller never disparages his own country.聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。
• You must school yourself to be modest and prudent.你要学会谦虚谨慎。

8 supervises   

v.监督，管理( supervise的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The group leader supervises a dozen workers. 组长管十二个工人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He makes the wines and supervises the vineyards. 他酿酒并管理葡萄园。 来自辞典例句

9 county   

n.县，郡

参考例句：

• When the good news reached there,the whole county rejoiced.喜讯传到那里时，全县的人都欢欣鼓舞起来。
• In that year county after county fell to the enemy.那一年一个又一个的县城沦入敌人手中。

10 assign   

vt.派，指派；分配，分派；指定或选定

参考例句：

• It is possible to assign an exact date to this building.这座建筑物的确切年代是可以确定的。
• It's difficult to assign any reason for the failure.失败的原因很难确定。

11 assigned   

adj.选定的；被布置的

参考例句：

• But read-only values are different,in that they are assigned at runtime.但是只读的值是不同的，因为它们是在运行时被赋值的。

12 uneasy   

adj.心神不安的，担心的，令人不安的

参考例句：

• He feels uneasy today.他今天心里感到不安。
• She had an uneasy feeling that they were still following her.她有一种他们仍在跟踪她的不安感觉。

13 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

14 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

15 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

16 presence   

n.出席；到场；存在

参考例句：

• Her presence lent an air of respectability to the occasion.她的到场使那种场合增添了崇高的气氛。
• His presence is indicative of his willingness to help.他的出席表示他愿意帮忙。

17 germ   

n.细菌，病菌，微生物；(想法等的)起源

参考例句：

• I have the germ of an idea.我有一个初步的想法。
• This was the germ of a book.这是一本书的源起。

18 region   

n.地区，地带，区域；范围，幅度

参考例句：

• The students went to study the geology of that region.学生们去研究那个地区的地质情况。
• It is unusual to see snow in this region.这个地区难得见到雪。