See what Evansville area parents had to say about school reopening plans

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – After months of uncertainty and delayed announcements, families are doubtful school districts will be able to follow their reopening plans. 

The Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. and some other area corporations have announced schools will welcome back students in the fall, as early as Aug. 5.

Here's how four area families are feeling about the return to school:

Families ask for more learning options

After EVSC Superintendent David Smith announced schools will return to traditional instruction Aug. 5 late last month, Angie Jenkins was skeptical of the decision.

Jenkins, who works as a receptionist, said she and her husband Don are concerned their son Tanner will have a difficult time transitioning to Thompkins Middle School as he enters the sixth grade. 

While Smith said the district is committed to face-to-face instruction and will provide online learning options and safety guidelines to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, she said more alternatives are needed for families.

"They should have other options laid out in case another outbreak does break out, and they decide they can't go to school," Angie Jenkins said.

"They should have a better plan on how they're going to do school work, instead of just leaving the kids to learn themselves on the Internet," she said.

As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to spike locally, Jenkins said she doubts EVSC schools will be able to resume traditional learning environments in the fall. 

"I hope they have a better plan when this thing breaks out again, because it will in the winter," Jenkins said. "It needs to be handled better."

With the district requiring students and faculty to practice social distancing and wear masks in high-capacity areas, Jenkins said she worries that will make effective learning and teaching difficult.  

She also questioned the two virtual options Smith and other administrators proposed.

The corporation announced it will offer families the opportunity to take part in temporarily virtual instruction if there's a specific need or enroll in the EVSC Virtual Academy – both short and long-term remote options.

EVSC will give students who are forced to self-quarantine or get sick the option to learn virtually for a short-period of time. This instruction is school-specific.

But considering how difficult virtual learning was for Tanner,  Jenkins doesn't think online instruction will be a viable option next year. Their work schedules and his need for in-person interaction with his teachers and peers will also make it challenging. 

After the schools moved to virtual instruction in March when in-person instruction was halted due to COVID-19, Jenkins said Tanner wasn't able to learn as effectively with her and Don working throughout the week.

This year, Tanner hopes it will be different if he is forced to learn from home virtually.

"I feel watching YouTube videos to learn is not always the best for every student," Tanner said. "A lot of students depend on (in-person instruction)."

Many worry COVID-19 will spread through their homes, other families

With South Gibson School Corporation schools also going forward with reopening plans, parent Amanda Toth said things seemed very uncertain. While she wants her children to return to traditional instruction, she fears they may contract the coronavirus. 

"I want them to go back to school because they'll definitely learn more and get a better experience, but at the same time, I don't want them to go back to school for them to get coronavirus and bring it back to us," she said.

Toth, a corporate travel coordinator, said her children Cale and Aubrey McNeely are set to attend Owensville Community School and Gibson Southern High School next year.

Toth worries families will send their sick children to school causing the disease to spread other families. With hundreds of students returning to facilities and potentially traveling on school buses, the novel coronavirus will likely spread throughout the area, she said. 

"I think when we get big groups, there's going to be bigger outbreaks," Toth said. "When any school session starts back up, half the school gets the flu and stuff like that. I don't think it's going to be any different with COVID-19."

Toth said South Gibson officials have not informed her or other families about how they're going to keep students safe and provide other alternatives. 

"I don't think everyone's on the same page, and I don't know if they'll ever be,” she said.

Despite her concerns, Toth said she doesn't want her children to go back to online learning.

"It's kind of a mixed emotion," Toth said. 

Instead of purchasing notebooks, markers and glue sticks, parents will buy hand sanitizer bottles, disinfectant wipes and face masks to prepare for next school year, she said.

Toth said Cale, 13, and Aubrey, 16, are ready to get back to a sense of normalcy. Instead of fearing the risks of COVID-19, they are concerned their schools' safety restrictions will impact their student experience.

“I’m not nervous at all,” Aubrey said. “I’m ready to go back and have a sense of normalcy again. I really don’t want to have to wear a mask all day. Personally, I feel like no one's going to follow it, and they should try and do more social distancing practices and forget the masks.”

Cale said he wants to join his classmates and learn directly from his Owensville teachers rather than participate in remote learning.  

“I wish we can go to school to do the work because when we are at home the teachers just give us the work and don’t teach us,” he said.

Kal Toth said he expects many students to have the same thoughts as his two kids going into the fall, resulting in an uptick in coronavirus cases. 

He anticipates cases will rise due to students ignoring the district's guidelines for wearing masks and social distancing.

“They’re going to have a lot of cases because they’re kids, and they’re not going to know how to take precautions like adults do,” Kal Toth said.

Families need to determine how their child will learn

EVSC and Henderson County Schools parent Jerome Lander doesn’t believe social distancing or protective masks will be effective.

Lander, a program analyst, and his wife Amanda have sons AJ and Quincy Lander in the two local school systems. AJ, 6, will attend Hebron Elementary School while his older brother Quincy, 10, will be entering fifth grade at Spottsville Elementary School in Henderson next year. 

Jerome Lander said AJ hates wearing his mask and complains about it all the time.

Still, he believes the corporation will do what’s best for students and families.

"They want to make sure all the kids are safe,” Lander said. “I don't think they're going to open back up the schools if the numbers are sky high and there's a greater chance one of the kids can get infected."

Amanda Lander says students should return to schools if conditions permit it.

“I feel like the students really need to go back into the classroom as long as the numbers are down and it’s safe for everyone,” she said. "Students are missing their friends and teachers and everyone wants things to get back to normal." 

Unaware of the factors in play, AJ said he looks forward to seeing his friends and teachers at Hebron Elementary School in August.

“I really miss playing with my friends on recess and all the nice teachers,” he said.

Jerome Lander said he likes the options EVSC has provided for families who are still determining where to place their children. He feels these decisions could be easier if parents knew how many students are expected to go back to school compared to those participating in virtual instruction.

“If they can gather some type of information to provide to parents, I think that might help in a sense as well,” Lander said.

Lander said he feels for families unable to allow their young children to learn remotely due to their work schedules. Fortunately for Lander, who works as a software analyst, he was able to make the shift to remote work at his home back in March.

EVSC’s plan will continue to change, he said, so it's up to parents to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

"Don't just sit there and wait,” Lander said. "Start trying to take care of that stuff now."

Some think masks, other measures will cause fear

Elizabeth Kemp is committed to sending her children to school, a decision she says will ease her family’s mental health.

Kemp and her husband James have children Amaria, Averianna, Zechariah and Zailey Kemp. All four of them will be attending the Evans School in the fall.

Since the country called for the closing of schools and businesses earlier this year, Elizabeth Kemp said she and her four children have faced moments of anxiety and depression.

“The reality of struggles with anxiety and depression that I’ve experienced amongst my children and myself are far worse than our fear of COVID-19,” she said.

While her children will “gladly comply” with safety regulations set by the EVSC, Kemp said she thinks the use of masks and social distancing will paralyze the basic needs of students.

“I do not want my children to have to wear masks to school or keep six feet from their friends because, once again, the mental health risks of that outweigh the pandemic’s risks,” Kemp said. “Masks hide facial expressions, which are a part of body language exchange. We are designed to have human contact.”

This perspective may be selfish, she said, but knowing how important school is to Amaria, 12, she leans more toward this outlook.

Amaria said she thinks students should return back to normal despite the overwhelming health risks.

“Everything should just stay the same, and we shouldn’t wear masks cause lots of people have breathing problems, and it’s not good for your lungs,” Amaria said.

Despite her views, Elizabeth Kemp said she’s thankful for the district’s virtual options, which gives parents who are concerned with the health risks in schools an alternative course of action.

“I have friends who most definitely do not agree with me, and I am glad they have an option that they consider safe for their family,” she said. “We want to go to the actual school and ride school buses and have life as normal as possible, but that’s our choice. I’m glad I can rest assured that the families attending school with my children understand the germ risks involved and had another option available." 

James Kemp shares his wife's thoughts on the matter.

“I’m glad that schools are moving forward with a reopening plan, and I’m glad they are offering different options for in-person versus satellite learning," he said. "We will be sending our kids to school, and when they get home, we will hug them and ask about their day.”

– Courier & Press