For months, politicians, doctors, parents and teachers have debated whether schools across the country should reopen amidst the rising rate of COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths.
Earlier this Wednesday, Superintendent Carvalho announced that schools will commence on August 31 via My School Online (MSO). The long awaited decision comes as a result of increased cases within the community.
“We believe it is in the best interest of our students and employees to delay the return to the schoolhouse and commence the 2020-2021 school year from a distance,” said Superintendent Alberto Carvalho at Wednesday’s press conference.
In Miami-Dade County, which has been described as the “epicenter of the pandemic,” each day is filled with more news about the coronavirus and the debate intensifies further — it’s hard to come to a decision when the stakes are so high.
“We’re one of the hot spots. It puts us in a position of quite frankly trying to monitor the conditions; we are about a month away from the regular opening of schools—we could push back the opening a little bit,” said Superintendent Carvalho in an event at the Gardens of Kendall on Saturday.
Florida has become the state with the second highest number of coronavirus cases, according to The Florida Department of Health which keeps track of confirmed infections across the state.
But opening schools, like seemingly every occurrence of 2020, has also become a political issue.
Governor Ron DeSantis is pushing for schools to physically reopen as scheduled; the state’s Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran issued an emergency order mandating schools to open “at least five days per week for all students”; and President Donald Trump has threatened to cut federal funding for school districts that don’t reopen in the fall.
As the public at large discusses what is best, there is a crucial voice missing. What do students think?
The Harbinger conducted a poll to gauge exactly what students, who will be directly impacted by this decision, think.
The poll garnered a total of 169 responses, where students from Miami Lakes Educational Center, North Miami Senior High, Hialeah Senior High, Terra Environmental Institute, and other high schools across the Miami-Dade school district gave their input on their preferred back-to-school model.
A return to schools, for many students, is a major health risk and many of them are concerned.
“You have a bunch of people grouped in, clustered, especially young people because they don’t take things that serious, maybe because it doesn’t affect them as much as older people with chronic illnesses and such,” said Jose Llanes, a student at MLEC’s Technical College.
A shift to distance learning means the elimination of one of the most significant components of high school: social activity. Students couldn’t share inside jokes in class or eat lunch with friends. No quick hugs in the hallway or playing basketball in P.E.
“The thing I miss most about school is being able to communicate face to face with other students. Once we go back to school I won’t be able to say hi to friends as they pass in the hallways or even getting that same amount of time with teachers during classes,” said Ajmaanie Andre, a junior in the Cambridge Academy at MLEC.
The poll, which was similar to the one issued by MDCPS for parents, was exclusive to students from grades 9-12.
“Although I would want schools to open and I would want everything to go back to normal, that’s really not a possibility, so I voted for having online school even though it’s not something I look forward to,” said Daniel Gonzalez III, a senior in the Cambridge Academy at MLEC.
Many students who chose My School Online actually preferred the Schoolhouse Model, but due to the worsening situation with the coronavirus, they ended up choosing My School Online.
As much as students would like to return to school, which is everything they’ve known for the majority of their life, they know they can’t. Students are prioritizing their health.
One thing is certain, the next school year will be difficult regardless of what decision is made.
