School confessional: ‘Best option would be to keep schools closed for at least a month into year'

The following is a response to our call for people to share thoughts and concerns about Michigan schools returning to in-person learning this fall.

“I am a janitor at a school here in the Metro area. My co-workers and I are hard at work deep cleaning and setting up rooms for in-person instruction this Fall. While I am confident in our work to ensure a clean and safe environment for students to learn in-person I also believe it may be too soon for schools to open. The surge in cases are mostly young adults and I fear with schools open, the surge will hit older teens and younger kids next. I am not an expert but I think the best option would be to keep schools closed for at least a month into the school year or until cases/hospitalizations go down. Virtual learning may not have the same social benefits as being in a school but it could make a difference in what the number of cases look like in the Fall.”

-- Anonymous

View more: School Confessionals

School confessionals: Share your thoughts, concerns about return to in-person learning

Michigan school districts, colleges and universities are working to prepare for a return to in-person classes this fall amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In-person classes were stopped in March when the virus swept through Michigan. On June 30, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer revealed her plan to help schools across the state return to in-person learning this fall. The “MI Safe Schools Return to School Roadmap” is a 63-page document that outlines coronavirus (COVID-19) safety protocols for each phase of Whitmer’s reopening plan.

The governor’s order requires each school district to adopt a COVID-19 plan that lays out how it will protect students and educators across the various phases of the Michigan Safe Start Plan. Whitmer’s roadmap is to be used as a guide.

This has everyone -- parents, teachers and students -- wondering whether this is a good idea, how well it can be accomplished, how safe everyone can be kept, and what exactly the best to do this will be.

Please share your thoughts and concerns about returning to in-person learning this fall -- we want to hear from you:

Related:

• Here’s what Michigan school districts have planned for the fall amid the pandemic
• A look at how Oakland University is preparing campus for fall return amid pandemic
• What the new school year will look like for Detroit public schools
• A look at how Eastern Michigan University is preparing campus for fall return amid pandemic
• Return to School section