Changes...again

So, my boys are going back to in-person school next week. The news completely surprised me. Pretty much knocked me off-kilter for a couple days. What a flood of conflicting emotions, ripe for overthinking!! I'll quote my journal here:

"I was thrilled at the prospect of a break, scared at the risk I was taking, hopeful that my children would greatly benefit from the additional expectations and social interaction, annoyed about all the extra measures our family would have to take to meet the school's stringent health guidelines, grateful for the school's stringent health guidelines, worried about what Erin would say/think about it all, relieved that our district was finally seeing how other districts have done it safely over the last 4 months, and conflicted about whether the benefits outweigh the risks for everyone involved."

The boys took the news well. Robert was the most put out. He prefers the predictable, dependable routine he's built for himself with school-at-home. He knows exactly what to expect at any moment of the day. Surprisingly, James was thrilled with the news. He clapped and cheered. Matthew doesn't quite know what to think yet. He's never done school the traditional way, and this still won't be like traditional school:

Health screenings every morning.

Temperature checks before entering the building.

Masks required at all times by every. single. person.

Desks spaced 6+ feet apart.

Classes still broadcast over Zoom, including specials like P.E., fine arts, and library.

Scheduled bathroom breaks. One-way traffic in the halls. 

Abundant sanitizing measures before and after school.

4 mornings a week, 2.5 hours each.

They'll still have all their usual asynchronous school work to do at home in the afternoon.

My friends in Rhode Island, Ohio, and Utah have their kids in school-at-school in a plethora of ways. Some voluntary and some state-dictated. Every state and district has their own methods, of course. I take courage in the fact that none of these schools have had outbreaks linked to school attendance...so far. It appears (circumstantially) that kids can learn in-person in relatively safe ways. And I've been searching for studies looking at infection rates through school attendance. No luck. If anyone knows of any studies along this vein, please send them my way!!

A close friend questioned the logic of opening schools for in-person learning just weeks before teachers are eligible to get the vaccine in Illinois. That got me thinking. The governor's speech 2 days before gave me some real numbers: Illinois currently gets 300,000 doses of vaccine a week. As of January 25th, there will be 4 million people eligible to get the vaccine in Illinois (frontline healthcare workers, nursing home residents and staff, frontline essential workers, and all individuals 65+). Almost a million of those eligible folks have already received 1 or 2 doses. Teachers, thankfully, count as frontline essential workers, so they can get in line on January 25th, but what a long line!! It will take 10 weeks to give the remaining 3 million Illinoisans their FIRST dose. Then another 10 weeks for their second dose. That puts the rest of us in line at the beginning of June. If not everyone opts in, or if vaccine supplies go up for some reason (c'mon Johnson and Johnson!), that timeline could be reduced dramatically. So, yes, some teachers may start getting vaccinated in a couple weeks. Maybe it's worth waiting. The school board has decided that it's not worth waiting.

Robert's teacher, at least, is excited to get kids back into the classroom because "it will be good for them". Matthew's teacher strongly prefers being in the classroom, but recognizes that current conditions are not ideal for kindergartners to learn their best. I haven't asked James' teacher her thoughts yet.

And when the more virulent strains become all the rage here in the Midwest, school will most definitely close again. 

Change. Change. Change. It just keeps coming.