⁍ Parents are weighing the benefits of in-person instruction against the risks that schools could shut their doors again or that their children could contract the virus and pass it on.

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⁍ The decision over how kids will be schooled is particularly fraught in low-income areas and communities of color that bear the double burden of being places both most affected by the pandemic and ones where students could benefit most from being in school.

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– With school starting up again, parents across the country are grappling with the question of whether to send their kids to school or opt for an online education, the New York Times reports. “To say we are stressed might be an understatement,” says one Indiana mom. “We’re being forced to make impossible decisions.” In many cases, parents have no idea if their child’s school will be open or closed, or if their child will be able to participate in in-person activities. “I will never be as good of a teacher as the trained professionals,” says one father. “But for me the larger concern is the prospect of not being in school for an extended period.” In many cases, public and private schools are taking different approaches. Some will only close for a few weeks, while others will offer an online option. And in some cases, kids who opt for online instruction won’t be able to participate in in-person extracurricular activities. “I think there’s clearly a lot of value in in-person instruction,” says a Chicago health official. “I think, though, that that has to be balanced with the need to control the pandemic.”