Safer at home, or need to be in school? Akron parents, students wrestle with plans to reopen

If it hadn't been for one Firestone Community Learning Center staff member calling, texting and emailing her about doing her work every day, Juliann Reese is sure she would have failed the second half of her junior year this spring.

"It was very hard for me," said Juliann, who is on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum. "I struggle with having motivation to get my school work done anyway."

She passed -- but a virtual semester, away from the structural supports of her individualized education plan, or IEP, is not something she's interested in repeating.

When Akron Public Schools released a tentative plan last week to only partially reopen schools this fall, largely leaving all high school students at home, Juliann was disappointed and worried.

She lives with her mom, who works full time at a health clinic. So during the day, she doesn't have anyone around to help her stay on track. Juliann, 17, can do the work, she said, but needs extra support.

"So how do you do that as a single parent who has to work all day?" her mother, Meredith Reese, asked.

Akron's plan to reopen school -- which is just a draft for now, but will receive a school board vote in the next two weeks -- calls for the youngest children and those with significant disabilities to come to school five days a week. But starting in third grade, students would spend two days in school and three at home.

High school students would come to school only for projects, labs or other small-group work within their College and Career Academies.

The plan received an initial mixed reaction from parents and students, many of whom are still leery of COVID-19 exposure but also concerned about their children's mental health, and their ability to go back to work.

But districts are also hamstrung by health guidelines, including those released by Gov. Mike DeWine on Thursday. The guidelines match Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for social distancing of at least 6 feet between all students and staff.

That cuts classroom sizes in half. Without extra school buildings and double the staff, districts will have to get creative with scheduling and repurposing spaces.

Akron Chief of Academics Ellen McWilliams-Woods said the district received a full spectrum of feedback from parents since the release of the preliminary plan last week.

"We all want the kids back full time," she said. "But if we do have to maintain that 6 feet of social distancing, it really is impossible, unless we were to double the number of classrooms and hire 2,000 more staff by August, which we're unable to do."

Students like Juliann, who have IEPs but are in general education classrooms when they are in school, would do the crux of their learning online. But McWilliams-Woods said there is potential to bring them to school once a week to give them as much face-to-face time as possible.

Juliann said she would happily wear a mask to come to school.

"I know that doing an entire school year online isn't going to be good for me," she said.

Wanting answers

While many facets of the back-to-school plan remain vague, the district's guidance is one of the first detailed plans in the region.

With less than two months before most schools are scheduled to open, parents have been wondering what to plan for their families.

Not knowing has been the hardest part, King CLC parent David Rubens said.

His 6-year-old son, Ryan, is slated to start the second grade. Online learning went well for him this spring, Rubens said.

"The school did a phenomenal job, as far as my wife and I were concerned, under difficult circumstances," he said.

He and his wife were both able to work from home, but they also have a 1-year-old, and they may have to go back to work in person this fall. Rubens said safety is his top priority, but he was encouraged to see the first draft of Akron's plan would allow the youngest children, like his son, to return to school.

"I think at his age, it's very important for him to be able to socialize with his classmates, with his teachers," he said.

An early decision to stay away

Long before the district ever released its plan, Holley Clark said she made the decision in April that her daughter, Faith, would not return to Firestone CLC for her sophomore year this fall.

Clark is a single mother and works full time on a night shift at the Cleveland Clinic's neonatal ICU in Cleveland. She said her employer has made clear the severity of the disease, but she also knows firsthand. She lost one relative to COVID-19, and another was hospitalized in Akron last week.

"I'm already exposed at work," Clark said. "We have a grandparent who's here pretty often. Let's just try to minimize risk as much as possible."

Faith isn't quite as certain. She is hoping her mother will let her go to school from time to time for the hands-on work.

"She sees how bad it is and she doesn't want us to get sick," Faith said of the virus. "And I understand that."

But being at school, around her friends and doing activities like choir and cheerleading, keep her engaged, she said.

Faith also noticed, however, her grades improved when she was at home.

"When I was at home, I had nothing else to do but check my grades and keep up with everything," she said.

Mental health concerns in isolation

Jennifer Klein said her family did not have a positive experience with online learning this spring, and she is frustrated that her two children, who are in middle and high school, can't go back full-time this fall.

She said they will wait until most schools release their plans for the fall, and if there is one that offers more in-person days, they might transfer.

Klein said she watched both her children struggle through the isolation of being home and doing online learning.

"We've seen a drastic change in our children in terms of their mental health," she said.

Her son, Noah, a rising junior at STEM High, finished his work some days in just 10 minutes, she said.

Noah said he didn't feel like he gained much in the three months of online learning, in either his APS classes or the ones he took through University of Akron through the College Credit Plus program. He said he and his friends often lacked motivation to do the work online.

"I don't think I can really name a person who's enjoyed it," Noah said.

'I'd rather keep her here'

Daytona Bean, a rising freshman at Ellet CLC, probably wouldn't say she loved online learning, but she did see a benefit to it.

"Less stressful," she said. She also had more time for artwork, and completed several drawing projects for her art class at Hyre CLC.

Daytona said she was able to ask her mom and older brother questions whenever she needed help.

She thinks it may not be a good idea to send everyone back to school right away, but she's hoping to still have a chance to spend some of her freshman year at school.

"I'm definitely of course wanting to go to Ellet with all my friends," she said.

Her mother, Ronda Bean, said she will leave it up to her daughter if she wants to go back for the limited in-person work.

"Preferably, I'd rather keep her here," Bean said. "I just feel safer right now."

Contact education reporter Jennifer Pignolet at jpignolet@thebeaconjournal.com, at 330-996-3216 or on Twitter @JenPignolet.

___

(c)2020 the Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio)

Visit the Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio) at www.ohio.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.