And just like that....the school year is over....

Well, not quite.  But the last months of school in 2020 will not be full of proms, field trips, baseball games and track meets, and graduations.

Today Goveror Holcomb declared that all school years would end after completing the requisite number of eLearning days.  Students and teachers are not returning to their classrooms until, hopefully, fall of 2020.

What does this mean?

This means that some students are ecstatic that they can stay home, even if they have to work on eLearning assignments, just so they don't have to sit in classes and listen to lectures.

This means that some students are crying because it is their senior year and there will be no 'end of the year' or 'end of their school years' or anything associated with being the oldest group in the school, something they have been working for since they were 5 year old kids in kindergarten.  They won't be marching into the gym or auditorium in their caps and gowns, receiving their diplomas, and enjoying that moment that they have worked so hard for.

No proms will happen this spring.  For some---no big deal.  For others it was the chance to be the 'grown up' and have a night of memories, one that they had been looking forward to for many months.

For others there  is sadness because school was the only stability that happened in their lives.  Their teachers cared about them.  They could have hugs and words of praise.  There was a hot breakfast, a good lunch, and sometimes snacks.  Organization and a routine made each day much easier for these kids.  Now they are hungry for love and attention, not to mention food.  Now they have no one to help them as they struggle with multiplication or reading words that they don't understand or how to read a map.  Instead of hearing kind supportive words, they hear how stupid they are or how much trouble they always cause.  The summer vacation they dread came too soon.

Others may need an extra boost and be afraid to ask for help, especially though a medium they don't really understand.  How can one ask a question when it involves how to access a chat with a teacher?

That senior season in baseball or track or golf?  Not gonna happen.  The opportunity to be the captain of the team, break a school record, or lead the team to its first sectional championship?  Gone.

But as one mother posted on FB this afternoon, she is in the minority when she says that she isn't that sad that the school year will be over.  Her senior daughter is ready to move on to the next chapter in her life.  And for her and her husband?  They are thankful that they can spend a couple of extra months with her before she goes off to school in the fall, which she admits will make the departure even more difficult.  

As much as I feel badly for the disruption of this school year, for the teachers, for the students, for their families, as Gary said, by closing school for the rest of the year, more lives may be saved.

And that is the primary concern.  More lives will be saved from this deadly virus.