Parents, students in El Paso still preparing themselves for return to classrooms
EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14) — Schools across El Paso will start bringing students back in the building Tuesday for the first time in months.
Parents and students say they’re still trying to prepare themselves for in-person learning during the pandemic.
“I think the unknown is the biggest thing because it’s so unpredictable,” El Paso Country Day School principal Melissa Eckert said.
On Tuesday, many students in El Paso will head back to school in-person for the first time since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Socorro Independent School District is set to begin its phased reopening plan, alongside private schools like El Paso Country Day.
My daughter is seven, and our concerns are across the board,” Eckert said. “We’ve been practicing wearing her face mask everywhere so she’s comfortable with it.
Tuesday’s events will put Melissa Eckert in a unique position: concerned for her daughter’s return to the classroom, while also serving as principal of the school to which she’s returning.
Eckert said the Pre-K through Grade 8 school would have no more than eight students to a class for social distancing, and teachers would be looking to educate students who may not follow the new rules.
“I think we have to give them the opportunity to be successful,” Eckert said. “I think that kids are resilient, and in a couple of weeks it will become in a rhythm for them and they’ll understand the requirements.”
Some older students heading back to class were less optimistic.
“I’m just kind of concerned looking at videos on social media with people not wearing masks and not following the guidance,” Sydney Co said.
Pebble Hills High School senior Sydney Co is part of the first group of students returning to SISD schools who either don’t have a computer or WiFi, or are having trouble with remote learning.
I’m not really big with technology, I don’t like it,” Co said. “I’m more of a hands learner. It’s easy to get distracted with the computer and stuff.
Co said she was nervous about students bringing the coronavirus in the building with them, as she didn’t think most of her classmates had been following social distancing rules outside of school.
But Co also said she would be heading back to class anyway because her education depended on it.
“COVID is still going to be there until we find a cure, and the best thing we can do is just try to prevent it. And if we can’t, then we’ll just try to survive it,” Co said.
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