In a move following the shocking news from Washington Township about their plan to open virtually to begin the school year, Wayne Township schools decided to delay its reopening to Aug. 12 for the new school year instead of the original start date of July 29.
Wayne Township serves roughly 17,000 students on the westside of Indianapolis. Last week, they announced their plans for reopening including new safety measures they would put in place.
Since Wayne is still planning to eventually reopen in-person, parents must make a decision about sending their children back in-person or opting into e-learning. Chanel Redd, a parent of a Ben Davis University student, said her daughter’s school only has one choice when the school district opens, and it is choice she is having difficulty accepting.
Ben Davis University students are not being given an option to learn from home. They have to return to school or lose their spot in the program. As hard as my daughter has worked, I can’t, in good conscience, send my daughter to that school with her already having so many health issues. I hate to take this opportunity away from her, but I will not allow my baby to become one of Trump’s statistics in this COVID survival experiment. I would love for my daughter to have this opportunity to graduate high school with an associate degree, but what I want even more is for my baby to survive this situation.
Chanel Redd and her daughter’s story is just one example of parents, all over the state, making the tough decision on whether to send their child to school or keep them at home. This is always the pressure many superintendents face trying to ensure they make the best decisions academically for their school district while also protecting the health of the school community.
Earlier in the summer all 11 Marion County school districts previously had a unified plan for reopening.
With two of the school districts in Indianapolis deciding to take an alternative route, what will other districts decide to do?
This is a developing story. Please continue to follow Indy K12 for more updates.