U.S. schools open their doors for new year amid hopes, fears and politics

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Tue, 2021-08-10 10:49 — mike kraft

Hopes and fears as schools open their doors for new year Rise in number of covid cases casts shadow over plans for full return to classrooms. Laura Meckler, Annette Nevins, Ryan Slattery, Brandon Gee Washington Post

With a mix of optimism and trepidation, teachers and students began returning to classrooms in large numbers Monday, as the nation opens a third straight school year upended by the pandemic.

Educators are anxious to begin academic and emotional recovery for students knocked about by more than a year of online and hybrid learning. But as a resurgent virus inflicts fresh damage, many were forced to confront a new round of pandemic politics, with debates over vaccines and masks consuming districts and communities.

The big fear lingering: a repeat of last year, when many students were forced to learn from home all or part of the time and students were regularly shuttled into quarantine after exposures to the virus.

The current surge, driven by the delta variant, has elevated case counts and hospitalizations across the country. There are about twice as many cases today as there were when schools began a year ago, when the country was coming off a case surge.

“Things are increasingly chaotic,” said Sasha Pudelski, advocacy director for AASA, the School Superintendents Association. “A month ago there was a lot more calm and assurity.”

She said district leaders are reevaluating policies on buses, masks, quarantining and more. “The concerns about delta have escalated quite quickly in some parts of the country.”

Already, some districts have pushed back the start date for school as local caseloads surge, and some were recording double-digit case counts of infected students and staff. ...

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