MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Manatee County goes back to school on Monday.
Students have three options: head back to the classroom, eLearning or a hybrid method.
“It's conflicting,” parent Milande David said. “We want our kids to be social, we want them to be back in an environment where they can learn in a classroom setting."
But with COVID-19, David doesn't feel comfortable sending her two kids back to the classroom.
“Between the masks, between washing hands, between not touching your friends,” David said. “It's just too difficult to enforce.”
“All of these things for me make it impossible to keep the kids safe,” David said.
She’s especially concerned when it comes to her 13-year-old son.
"My confidence level with my son being clean and sanitary and taking all the necessary precautions with COVID at school is zero. There is none,” David said.
A lot of parents don’t disagree when it comes to their teenage sons.
“I’m worried about my son because teenage boys are not the cleanest,” Kelly Weisbrod said.
That's why Milande David and her husband decided on the school's eLearning option.
"As long as COVID is around and as long as it is impactful as it is, my kids will be studying from home,” David said.
She doesn’t know how long this will go on, but David says she’s prepared to become that second teacher for her kids as long as needed.
“We’re all just playing it by ear,” David said. “We don’t know what the next couple months are going to look like. We’d love put them back in school, but our concern is safety first.”
But David says she understands some parents don’t have a choice. Parents like Kelly Weisbrod. She has a son going into the 8th grade.
"I'm scared to let him go back but it's something I have to do,” Weisbrod said. “Last year was a real struggle with him on the computer, and it was too much for me because I work two jobs, so I rely on him to go to school."
Weisbrod says her son also performs better in a classroom setting.
Doing it online last year, like half of his assignments he didn’t get done,” Weisbrod said. “He’s going to fail if he doesn’t go back to school.”
But Weisbrod says if there are positive COVID-19 cases at her son’s school, she will reconsider in-person learning.
“I think even if I found out there were even a couple cases, I'll rip him out of school and I’ll just have to make do with what I can,” Weisbrod said.
In the meantime, she believes in the measures the school district is taking.
"I think they are looking out for our kids' best interest so I think they have everything in place where it needs to be, so I'm not worried about that,” Weisbrod said.
On Friday, the Manatee County School Board had an emergency meeting to adjust their mask policy.
Students and teachers must wear a face covering while on the school bus and on campus, but there are opportunities to take a break.
If a student gets permission from their teacher to take a break from their mask, they may step outside and remove their mask and take a breather as long as social distancing is being followed.
Teachers can also remove their masks if they are alone in their classrooms or the office.
Plus, students do not need to wear a face-covering while participating in outdoor activities like P.E. or recess.
Superintendent Cynthia Saunders says there are some exceptions where a face shield is appropriate instead. That includes student’s Pre-K through 5th grade and students with disabilities in all grades.
The revisions passed by the School Board, along with Operating Protocols to Board Policy 8450, more closely align the policy with current guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Here’s a full list of allowances to students and employees when it comes to the face mask mandate, such as:
- Students who need a break from their face mask may do so with teacher permission provided social distancing can be maintained under specific outdoor circumstance (not indoor).
- No face covering is required during physical education classes, recess, or other outdoor activities as long as social distancing practices are in place. Students must wear cloth face masks to and from physical education class and to and from the recess location or activity.
- Face shields that completely cover the face, wrap around the face and extend below the chin, will be allowed to be worn by students in grades PreK - 5th, and students with disabilities only in the classroom during specific instructional periods as long as either social distancing practices are in place and/or physical barriers of separation are in place between students. A cloth face mask must be worn during all other times and locations. Face shields are not substitutes for cloth face masks nor are being used for normal everyday activities and only allowed in this narrow use.
- Employees who need a break from wearing their face mask while on school property may do so if alone in their own office or classroom or outdoors maintaining social distancing. An employee may not utilize common space: for example a conference room, break room, stairwell or any unoccupied location for a mask break. A cloth face mask must be worn during all other times and locations.
In addition, the protocols recognize the CDC guidance that “wearing face masks may not be possible in every situation or for some people. In some situations, wearing a face mask may exacerbate a physical or mental health condition, lead to a medical emergency, or introduce significant safety concerns. Adaptations and alternatives should be considered whenever possible to increase the feasibility of wearing a face mask or to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading if it is not possible to wear one.”
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