New guidelines are out from the Pennsylvania Department of Health surrounding what school will look like this fall, so we spoke with both parents and a doctor about how they feel about students returning to the classroom.
PBS39 News Reports
BACK TO SCHOOL
An infectious disease expert's take on what to do about going back to school in the fall.
LEHIGH VELLEY, PA (WLVT-TV) - New guidelines are out from the Pennsylvania Department of Health surrounding what school will look like this fall, so we spoke with both parents and a doctor about how they feel about students returning to the classroom.
Robin Pugh hopes her children will go back to in-person learning this fall. The Stroudsburg mom of 4 says while online learning has been successful for some of her kids, others have struggled. Pugh says "it was definitely just an incredible change to everything that we knew, you know, prior."
The decision is not so cut and dry for Macungie mom Tamara Williams when it comes to sending her 2nd and 5th graders back to their Parkland School District classrooms. “It's a very mixed kind of feeling because my kids have underlying conditions like allergies and asthma,” explains WIlliams.
Dr. Tibisay Villalobos, of Lehigh Valley Health Network, is a Pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist. She says with a plan in place, children should return to school, saying things like smaller class sizes and one-way hallways should be implemented. Dr. Villalobos adds despite the Lehigh Valley’s proximity to New York City and Philadelphia, local cases of coronavirus in children have been low, saying "the number of children that have been affected by coronavirus in our region is really, really small.”
As for wearing a mask, the doctor says to start practicing with your child at home now. Many school districts have not yet announced if their students will do in-person or virtual learning this fall.