MADISON, Wis.— Madison students will be sticking with virtual learning for their third quarter of the school year, leading to relief for some parents, and frustration in others.
The Madison metropolitan school district made the announcement Friday. They’ll return to classes online on Jan. 25.
A quick glance at the comment section shows most parents seem happy with that decision. Teachers and teachers’ families are relieved. One high schooler even commented that he’ll miss having a real senior year, but he understands why it’s necessary.
There are a few parents who were frustrated their kids will remain in class online.
Michelle Dunphy has a sixth-grader and a second-grader at home. Nine months in, they have a good routine down.
“Both of my kids are really engaged and enjoying school,” Dunphy says. “[They] have actually made new friends via virtual learning.”
Shannon Ballhorn-Wagner’s family is succeeding too. She has a first-grader and a four-year-old at home.
Virtual learning has made huge strides since last March.
“We’ve gotten so much better at it,” says Ballhorn-Wagner. “And the teachers have gotten so much better at it.”
“My first-grader is just absolutely thriving. His teacher is amazing,” she says. “He’s learning things that I wouldn't even think they would be doing in first-grade, like multiplication and fractions.”
Both Ballhorn-Wagner and Dunphy were relieved when they learned the district would continue online school for the third quarter.
“I have a friend who is in an outlying community whose child has been attending in person… He caught COVID at school, and had to come home and quarantine from his family so that they didn't also catch it,” Ballhorn-Wagner says. “I can't imagine having to quarantine my first-grader from the rest of the family for 10 days or two weeks.”
“It's better that we just focus on making this the best experience we can,” says Dunphy. “And then we can go back to normal in the fall.”
In a survey of Madison teachers, 94% support all-virtual learning for the third quarter.
Meanwhile, virtual learning has been really tough on Nick Schreck’s family.
“Extreme frustration… The other part is a feeling of helplessness,” he says.
He just wants the option of sending his kids back to class in person.
“We would like our children to be back in school,” he says. “But we don't feel that it's our place to tell other families that don't believe the same that they should be handcuffed to having their children go back in the school.”
Dunphy and Ballhorn-Wagner feel it’s just too dangerous for their families, and the community as a whole.
“I do have friends and family that have been sick and have passed. And it's too big of a risk for me and my family,” says Ballhorn-Wagner.
"I don't want to play roulette with other people's lives, and with my kids' lives,” says Dunphy. “It's not worth it.”
There’s one thing all those parents agree on: Kids might be handling it better than most adults.
“You learn that you’re amazed at the resiliency and the ability to adapt that your children have,” says Schreck, who's in awe of his kids.
“Children are resilient, and I don’t think we give them enough credit,” says Dunphy. “They're still gaining these valuable experiences that are going to shape them into being better humans.”
District officials say if COVID conditions improve enough, they’d consider having students return in-person in a phased approach.