Vincent Iannelli, MD

Going Back to School During the COVID-19 Pandemic

For most parents, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has complicated their plans to send their kids back to school.

Going Back to School During the COVID-19 Pandemic

We can likely all agree that if it could be made safe for kids, teachers, and other support staff in schools, then kids should go back to school.

So what’s the problem?

For one thing, there are still a lot of cases in our community and it doesn’t seem like the plans from the schools have even been finished yet. for example, what happens if someone at school gets sick?

Sending Your Kids Back to School

Still, many kids want to go back to school.

Others need to go back to school…

Not sure what to do?

Online or virtual schooling will be a safer option for higher risk kids. Fill out and review the CDC's Back to School Decision Making Tool with your pediatrician if you aren't sure what to do about school.
Online or virtual schooling will be a safer option for higher risk kids. Fill out and review the CDC’s Back to School Decision Making Tool with your pediatrician if you aren’t sure what to do about school.

Does your child, or anyone else at home, have any risk factors for a severe case of COVID-19?

If so, then they might be a good candidate for virtual or online schooling this year.

On the other hand, going back to school might be a good option for:

  • kids who are healthy, without any high risk medical conditions, like diabetes or poorly controlled asthma
  • kids who have no high risk contacts at home, keeping in mind that in addition to having a chronic medical problem, the risk increases with age, especially once you reach age 65 years.
  • kids who have an IEP or get any kind of services or therapy at school that you can’t get at home
  • kids who did poorly with online school last spring
  • kids who are eager to go back to school

Most importantly, going back to school might be a good option for your kids if you are confident that your school has a good plan to keep your child and everyone else in the school safe.

Do they have a plan to cohort kids together, so that every kid in the school isn’t mixing with each other? What is their plan if someone gets sick? What is their plan if a lot of kids get sick?

It is also important to remember that virtual school isn’t an option for everyone. Having a safe school to go to will be important for those kids who don’t have a parent or caregiver at home to help them with school or because they don’t have a reliable internet connection, etc.

Still not sure what to do? Call for an appointment with your provider and we can discuss your child’s Back to School Decision Making Tool results.

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