Central Chester Today

Many parents, students and education administrators have been fretting over whether schools will reopen during the coronavirus pandemic. 

But for West Chester parents Denise Michel Bentley, who has two kids who attend high school, it is time to get the students back to in-person learning.

Bentley, who also has two college-aged children, has been following the news about the safety of allowing students to return to in-person learning.

In July, she was happy when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a statement containing data that indicated it was appropriate to allow kids back into the classroom.

”Parents are understandably concerned about the safety of their children at school in the wake of COVID-19.  The best available evidence indicates if children become infected, they are far less likely to suffer severe symptoms. Death rates among school-aged children are much lower than among adults,” the CDC said in the statement. “At the same time, the harms attributed to closed schools on the social, emotional, and behavioral health, economic well-being, and academic achievement of children, in both the short- and long-term, are well-known and significant.“

Bentley agrees with the organization’s assessment and believes the issue has also become too politicized. 

“I think anything tied to COVID and politics is the wrong way to look at this virus. They don’t correlate to one another so saying schools closed till after Election Day is just politics,” she said. “I do believe in the science to figure out what/how to really combat COVID[-19] but also feel it is a virus, so like other viruses or diseases (flu, chicken pocs, etc). We all may need to get it and will each react to it differently. I think it would be ridiculous and the wrong way to go to close schools for seasonal flu.“

She added that the importance of being in the classroom instead of virtual learning could have a disparate impact on many students and create disadvantages for kids who are not suited for e-learning. 

“ELearning and how things are going is a tricky question. For us, it is not preferred but we can make do. Yes, we have the internet, space, devices to be able to navigate. With two kids one is better suited to it then the other,” Bentley said, “But many friends with younger kids, parents that have to work, people multiple kids and navigating all of that is difficult. The families that are most disadvantaged even prior to COVID, they are struggling on so many levels. They are afraid to send their kids to the sites offering support to students, they are afraid to stay home because they have to work. Many have lost jobs and are still trying to navigate kids, learning and living. The parents with special needs kids are facing another whole load of issues due to services not being available for what is needed.“

The  CDC stated that the lack of in-person educational options disproportionately harms low-income and minority children and those living with disabilities.  

“These students are far less likely to have access to private instruction and care and far more likely to rely on key school-supported resources like food programs, special education services, counseling, and after-school programs to meet basic developmental needs,” the CDC said in its statement.

Bentley said she’s aware of how the issue is weighing heavily not only on parents and students but also teachers as they weigh whether or not they feel it is safe to return to the classroom.

” I have many friends that are teachers and they have different opinions. Some want to just go back. Some think it’s to dangerous. Some are in the same struggle to keep a job and support their own kids,” she said.