BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. -- Brevard County students are gearing up to head back to school Monday morning and parents are sharing how they are getting their kids ready.
Nine-year-old Carl Jacobs is ready to see his friends on Monday and his mother Rachel Jacobs says it was a hard decision to make but she had the entire Summer to think about it.
“I pretty much decided the two boys were going to school because of my work schedule. I can't facilitate at home learning,” Jacobs says.
Aram Hissam is also sending her kids to school but if things get bad, they can switch to distance learning. She says she will see how the first few weeks of school go and if distance learning happens, at least her kids got to meet their teachers.
“They are so excited to go back to school. We didn't know if that was going to be their initial reaction. It was hands down -- they wanted to go,” Hissam explains.
Nephrologist and parent Saatiah Jaffry says although she feels it's safe, before making the decision she talked with her son and daughter to make sure they were comfortable with the decision.
“My son is going into 10th grade, he feels like academically, he wants to be there because it wouldn't be the same online,” Dr. Jaffry adds.
But things will be a little bit different this year.
“They have hand sanitizer in their backpack, the school is requesting kids have their own water bottles and have lots of masks to wear that are cute,” Jacobs points out.
But at the same time, parents will be doing their usual back to school routine but added a new element to back to school.
“The typical, I'm going to buy backpacks, lunch boxes, and now we are just adding masks and hand sanitizer. As long as you make the masks fun they know it's the new normal,” Hissam explains.
Doctor Jaffry says parents, teachers, and students can all get through this together.
“If we follow the precautions, six feet, masks, washing hands, then we can be safe. I do trust my kids following those precautions and also the school,” Dr. Jaffry says
As a reminder, everyone must wear face coverings with some exceptions like kids younger than 2-years-old, a medical condition, and when social distancing is possible.