Many SC parents are hesitant about in-person classes, citing coronavirus spread

Jordy McKeever knows that in normal times, his 7-year-old son is much better off going to class, in person, with his friends five days per week.

But there’s nothing normal about 2020. And the coronavirus pandemic means his in-laws, both of whom have underlying health conditions and are over the age of 70, are at heightened risk from COVID-19, McKeever said.

As a result, McKeever plans to have his son learn remotely.

“At this point, we’re planning to keep him at home,” McKeever said. “There’s a very low chance we’ll stray from that.”

“Initially it was a challenge,” for McKeever’s son to adapt to being home from school, but he has adjusted, he said. However, there is still only so much his son can do because of COVID-19.

“Even when he sees kids in the neighborhood he wants to play with them and we’re like ‘no, you have to be safe,’” McKeever said.

McKeever is not alone in there concerns. All of the six parents who spoke to The State expressed serious reservations with sending their children to in-person classes because of the coronavirus pandemic. Nearly all of them said they were aware that students learn and develop socially better in the classroom, but that right now the risks outweighed the benefits.

Parents raised these concerns amid a public recommendation from S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster that schools should reopen to in-person classes five days per week just after Labor Day. While the governor has encouraged schools to follow his recommendation, the state Department of Education will not necessarily reject school reopening plans that contradict McMaster’s guidance, according to previous articles from The State.

For example, Iman Dorty wants to keep her 9-year old home from Watkins-Nance Elementary because when she was pregnant with Liam, she suffered from a heart virus that caused two strokes and heart failure, she said.

“The possibility of catching COVID is very scary,” Dorty said. “I’m just figuring out this new life with COVID.”

Pediatricians have called on South Carolina schools to reopen to avoid the social, emotional and academic damage that could be done to students.

Pediatrician Deborah Greenhouse told lawmakers during a committee meeting earlier this month that she had never seen the amount and severity of mental health issues in children as she has during the coronavirus pandemic. Much like everything about the coronavirus — whether it’s hospitalization rates, economic damage or death rates — it tends to affect disadvantaged groups of people.

“The socioeconomic disparity will only widen if your children aren’t able to return to school,” Greenhouse testified.

Children tend to be less effected by coronavirus than the elderly or those with compromised immune systems, Greenhouse testified. However, a rare inflammatory immune response called MIS-C can be serious, or even deadly, in children. Two cases of MIS-C have been detected in South Carolina.

While nearly everyone agrees students learn better in the classroom, many teachers and parents are not comfortable with children returning now.

A statewide survey by Columbia-based marketing company Chernoff Newman found, given the current coronavirus spread, only 21% of South Carolinians were comfortable sending kids back to school, daycare or camp.

Richland 2 in northeast Richland County conducted a survey earlier this month of 4,607 elementary school parents and found 69% of them said they were either “uncomfortable” or “very uncomfortable” returning to face-to-face instruction. Roughly 70% of the 7,997 middle or high school parents who responded said the were uncomfortable or very uncomfortable with students returning to traditional classes. Of the 3,247 high and middle school students who responded to the survey, 45% were either uncomfortable or very uncomfortable with returning to in-person classes.

At Richland 1, 59% of teachers (1,342 responded) and 60% of parents (6,550 responded) are either “somewhat uncomfortable” or “not comfortable at all” returning to traditional in-person classes, according to a June survey from Richland 1.

Dorty said she has tried to minimize damage to her son’s social and physical health by buying him a basketball hoop, a soccer net and letting him talk to the neighbor kids from across the street.

As far as Liam’s academic life, Dorty is less worried because her mother, who works in adult education at Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, has been helping teach Liam.

“I don’t want my child to not live a normal life, but we have to figure out what the new normal is,” Dorty said.

Stephanie Kurzeja, who has a 3-year-old, had originally planned to start her son in pre-kindergarten in the fall, but is now rethinking that.

“We’ll just start him in 4K instead of 3K,” Kurzeja said.

Macie Smith said she plans to keep her 11-year-old daughter home from E.L. Wright Middle School, not for health reasons, but for altruistic ones. As a social worker, Smith sees how the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated inequality in public education and how those who most need schools, free lunches, reliable internet connection, mental health services, etc., often have the hardest time receiving those services. To free up space for students who need to physically be in a classroom, Smith said she will have her daughter learn remotely.

“I feel it’s necessary for parents who can keep their kids home — and let kids that don’t have access — do so,” Smith said.

Though the classes will be held remotely, Smith and her daughter will still be talking with and meeting with teachers, she said.

“Even though she will be learning remotely, we’re still engaging teachers,” Smith said.

Socially, Smith has helped her daughter connect by giving her an iPhone and access to FaceTime and TikTok. To stay busy, Smith’s daughter has been doing tie-dyes of shirts, pants or “anything she can find in the closet,” Smith said.

Other parents, such as Jeff Rogers, whose daughter is a rising 10th grader at A.C. Flora., don’t have underlying conditions, but just think the coronavirus is spreading too rapidly to send their children back to school.

“My gut tells me until it’s safe for the staff and teachers as well, we shouldn’t have teachers and staff together at school,” Rogers said.

“It’s just not safe to send them back,” Rogers said.

“She is very disappointed at the prospect of staying home, but she understands the rationale,” Rogers said.

“She misses her friends,” Rogers said. “She misses the face-to-face interaction.”

“My kid is dying to get back there herself,” Rogers said. But he won’t feel comfortable returning her to in-person class, “Until science and evidence says we should do that.”

This story was originally published July 22, 2020 at 1:40 PM.