Now that bars, restaurants and stores will slowly begin to reopen in Rockford starting in June, I feel like there's finally some light at the end of this quarantine tunnel, BUT one big question still remains: will schools be able to reopen this Fall?

Personally, I think schools NEED to reopen. Yes, I want my kids to be safe. Yes, I am OVER homeschooling and not looking forward to doing it again in the Fall, but I firmly believe kids NEED to be in school. They need the social interaction. They need the schedule. They need their teachers. My husband and I are making sure our oldest daughter does her assignments every single day, and I am blessed to have the time to do it, but a teacher I am not. Quite honestly, I don't have the patience. It's a simple fact, kids behave differently at home than they do at school, and it has never been more evident than it is doing e-learning. I have tried every bribe in the book to keep her motivated to do her work, and I am now at the point where I have forgotten everything I have promised in exchange for her doing her school work.

Back to my point; the Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) has released some updated guidelines in regards to schools reopening, and honestly, I don't see how RPS 205 will be able to pull them off this Fall.

The new guidelines include things like:

  • All kids over the age of 2 wearing face masks
  • Making sure all desks are 6 feet apart
  • No communal meetings, assemblies or gatherings like eating in the cafeteria or playing on the playground
  • One kid per seat, and using every other row on buses
  • No switching of classrooms, all students must stay in the same room, with the same staff all day
  • No communal supplies
  • One-way hallways
  • Staggering arrival and departure times

Sounds kinda impossible for schools to follow guidelines like that doesn't it? Upon reading the full release on the CDC website, I think it's important to stress that they label most of them as "Considerations for Schools", and I have to believe all our local school districts will do their best to follow as many as possible. I also believe these guidelines will change many times in the upcoming weeks.

Only thing I know for sure is, schools days will look a whole lot different for our kids going forward. I just sincerely hope this new normal involves their cute little tushes physically being in their desk seats this Fall.

Catch Lil Zim on ‘Q98.5 Mornings with Lil Zim & JB’ on Q98.5 from 6:00 a.m. to 10 a.m. Follow her on TwitterInstagram, and Facebook

 

READ MORE: 50 resources to help you educate your kids at home

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