Monday was the first day that parents in the Dallas Independent School District had the option to send their kids back to the classroom in person.
According to Dallas ISD statistics, over half of families have opted to send their kids back – with the younger the child is positively correlating to a return to the classroom.
“They were super excited about getting back to school, seeing their teachers and friends,” said father Allen Jones.
Jones’ said he decided to send his son and daughter back for a combination of reasons including the declining number of COVID-19 cases in Dallas and his comfort with the way the district has handled it. But more than anything else he said it came down to the quality of the education provided by teachers in-person.
“The biggest thing that factored me sending my kids back to in-person was definitely the learning experience,” said Jones.
But some parents have said they will continue to have their kids learn online, citing safety concerns and the effectiveness of online course material. According to district statistics, the smaller the campus a student attends is, the more likely it is they will return to in-person learning.
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“For me, it’s really worked out for my kid,” said Dezeree Stewart, in reference to keeping her daughter home.
Stewart, a former teacher, said the pandemic has forced her to totally reconsider her daughter’s education and rather than send her back or continue with online learning she had decided to opt for home school.
“I’ve been able to structure school how I see fit and coming from a teacher background I’ve just been able to do things how I would want to,” said Stewart.
*Map locations are approximate, central locations for the city and are not meant to indicate where actual infected people live.
