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As schools open up for a new year, students are all making their way to the classroom in different ways because of COVID-19. Could this cause virus cases in vulnerable communities to rise again?
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Each district that is open for in-person learning is tackling the problem of bussing in their own way. Casey County Schools in Kentucky, for example, has an involved plan that involves temperature checks, a lot of hand sanitizer, and boarding the bus from the back door, according to ABC News. Masks are usually included in all plans, as well as limiting multiple students in seat rows. Parents who don’t feel comfortable going through these processes can bring their students to class on their own.
And therein lies the divide, usually determined by economics. To take a child to school, a parent has to be available during the drop-off window and have a car (or live close enough to walk from home in any weather). If both parents work, the household only has one parent, or there’s no available vehicle, there might not be a choice to bypass the yellow bus.
School districts are doing everything they can to protect students, but any time you bring together groups of people who don’t live together there is a chance of COVID-19 transmission. Children from families with more resources — both in terms of time and money — stand a better chance of staying healthy as they head to the classroom in a private vehicle.
This is just another example of the inequality that has caused America’s poor and minority communities to carry a disproportionally heavy load when it comes to COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.
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Things aren’t all doom and gloom, though. According to a new Cars.com survey, the number of students taking the bus to school has dropped due to carpooling. Perhaps the fall in ridership will help the students who remain stay safer.
I hope that we’ve come far enough since the pandemic began, and have a better understanding of how the virus moves, to protect all children as the school year moves forward.
A Dayton native, Rebecca got her start blogging at the curiously named Harlac’s Tongue while studying abroad in the UK. She loves tooling around town with her Ford Focus named Jerome to the song they’re playing on the radio. On any given weekend, you can find her with her camera at area festivals, concerts, and car shows, shopping at flea markets, or taking an adventure on the open road. See more articles by Rebecca.
