Torn Houston County families make hard choices as school begins. ‘You run the risk.’
The first day of school was looming.
Nicole Bickford, a mother of two, had a decision to make.
There were forms to fill out, unknowns to consider.
Like most children who attend Houston County schools, her daughter who is 10 and her son who is 12, had not been in a classroom since the middle of March. The coronavirus pandemic had forced educators to close schools and cobble together online courses to complete the school year.
But as an extended summer break drew to a close and with fall classes set to begin Thursday in Warner Robins, Bickford and other parents and students were given a choice: Return to in-person classes or continue online “virtual learning.”
Bickford, a stay-at-home mom, was torn.
“It was the logical side of me versus the nurturing side,” she said. “I didn’t want to make the decision to keep them here and have them completely irritated with me the whole time they were doing it. It had to be their decision.”
Most students returning for in-person instruction
A recent survey of Houston County parents and school staffers generated nearly 11,000 responses. About three-fourths of parents said they would send their children to in-person classes. Most of the rest, about 15%, said they would enroll their kids in online courses.
So as the Aug. 6 first day of classes drew near, Bickford sat down with her kids.
She told them one choice would be to stay home and attend online classes the way they had in spring. Houston County School District doesn’t offer extracurricular activities to students who learn from home, a policy that predated the coronavirus pandemic.
“There will be no extracurriculars,” Bickford said, “no anything school-involved outside of just your online school.”
She then informed them they would probably have to wear masks if they went to school in person — a measure the schools there have since mandated when social distancing isn’t possible.
Bickford also explained, “You run the risk of catching the virus.”
“I have assured my children over and over and over that it is not a death sentence like ... some of the media would like to portray it. It is 99% survivable,” Bickford continued, adding that when it came to her children’s choice to attend or not she told them she would “support them whichever way they went. ... I mean, they’re not babies. They need to have some input on what happens in their day-to-day (lives) as well.”
Bickford said her daughter, who attends Perdue Elementary, is no fan of wearing masks, and that requirement might have swayed the girl’s decision to stay home and resume online courses.
“Neither one of my kids wants to go to school and wear a mask,” Bickford said. “That was the kicker for my daughter. She chose to stay at home because she doesn’t like wearing a mask on her face, and I can’t blame her because I don’t either.”
Weighing choices
Her son, who attends Feagin Mill Middle School, originally wanted to return to school to be around friends.
“After he thought about it a couple of more days and I guess he and his sister talked about it,” Bickford said, her son chose online classes as well.
“I’m not 100% sure why the both went ahead and decided to stay home, honestly,” Bickford said. “It was down to the last day and I was like, ‘Look, we have to make the decision. I have to know what you want to do.’”
Is she glad they chose to stay home?
“Yes and no,” Bickford said. “The mama bear in me is relieved because I can keep them here in our bubble and not have to worry so much. But the logical adult in me says they need to get out, they need to socialize, they need to be around their peers. They don’t need to be around me all the time. I love my kids dearly, but I want them to be able to leave me whenever they need to.”
Houston students who choose the schooling-from-home option can change their minds and attend in-person classes, but they can’t do so until certain time frames have elapsed.
Students in lower grades can make the switch after nine weeks. Those in middle and high school can’t change for 18 weeks when their semesters end.
A last-minute decision
For Veterans High School band member Dante Knowles, the decision to return to in-person schooling for his junior year was also a difficult one.
Knowles, 16, a saxophonist who plans to study music in college, can only take the courses he needs by attending school.
His family meanwhile is concerned that were he to contract the coronavirus it could spread to elderly family members and others close to his relatives who are immunocompromised.
Knowles’ mother, Caly Hess, said her son, whom she described as high-functioning autistic, has found that music helps him cope. He has been in band since sixth grade.
“It’s part of what he uses for social benefits,” Hess said. “He literally uses band as an anchor to be part of society.”
She would have preferred her son take courses online, but said that isn’t something the school is offering.
“They essentially told all of us that if your child is in a band or club or anything else that is a social thing, they would not be allowed to even do it virtually. Period,” Hess said. “All extracurriculars are not allowed for distance learners.”
Her family has considered getting Knowles a hotel room.
“We can’t risk him getting the rest of the house sick,” she said.
Hess said Knowles’ decision to attend in-person classes came down to the last minute.
“On Monday he came in and begged me to let him still go (to school),” she said, “because he’s worried he’s gonna lose his place in the band.”
This story was originally published August 6, 2020 at 7:00 AM.