On Monday, thousands of elementary students will head back to classrooms full-time, many for the first time in months.
For parents and students, it's a mixed bag of emotions — especially as coronavirus cases tick back up.
Dr. Fatima Watt is the director of behavioral health services at Franciscan Children's in Boston. She said talking to kids about what may be different in school and role playing, especially with younger kids, will help put their minds at ease.
"If a child is getting too close to them and they feel uncomfortable, if someone doesn't have a mask on and they're feeling uncomfortable, sort of problem solving and helping them navigate how to manage those difficult situations," Watt said. "For younger kids, role playing can be really helpful. The more we practice and feel confident, the less stress we're under and the more we'll be able to enjoy and be relaxed for learning."
Sharon Wolder is executive director of student support services in the Brockton Public School district. Brockton was granted a waiver from the state to delay all elementary school students coming back full-time until later this month. But Wolder said students are back in the classrooms one day a week, which she thinks will help make the transition back to full-time classroom learning easier.
"We approached it with the reality that in order to be prepared to learn, you have to feel safe and comfortable," Wolder said.
Brockton is a hot spot for coronavirus cases and home to many frontline workers. Wolder said the school system is working to ensure that children particularly impacted by the pandemic are taken care of.
"During the shutdown, the amount of support that the district worked with the community to provide many families, a lot of frontline workers, some students who have lost family members as a result of COVID, to provide grief counseling, and support in other ways — it's been truly a community effort and a lot of ongoing work," she said.
Meanwhile, more and more teachers have slowly been getting vaccinated, which makes the return to classrooms less worrisome, said Merrie Najimy, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association. But, with cases ticking up and ventilation systems in many schools still falling short, Najimy said the return is still bittersweet.
Click on the audio player above to listen to the full episode.
Segments:
Dr. Fatima Watt and Sharon Wolder - 2:03
Merrie Najimy - 17:44
