Getty Images iStock
By Lily Altavena | Arizona Republic
Parents painted a bleak picture of their children in virtual school at a recent Madison School Board meeting in Phoenix.
A middle school student told the board he learns better with his friends nearby. A father said his daughters fell behind academically in isolation. A mother lamented that her daughter became withdrawn while learning in front of a computer screen.
“It’s just really heartbreaking to see a 5-year-old exhibit symptoms of depression,” she said.
The pleas to keep schools open at the meeting bore striking similarities to those made in August over reopening schools for the first time since March.
With cases rising throughout the state, school leaders across Arizona once again find themselves wedged between the parents who want schools to stay open and teachers who, concerned for their own health, want them closed.
