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Legislation would require public schools to reopen, worrying Black parents about sending their kids back during a pandemic. They also fear their kids will fall behind academically without in-person instruction.
Geraldine Alshamy is well-versed in the science that says schools aren’t big spreaders of the coronavirus, if districts follow state and federal health guidance.
Alshamy, an education advocate who leads Mary Magdalene Ministries Inc., in Wake County also believes research that says learning loss during the COVID-19 pandemic will harm students of color more so than their white peers.
Alshamy also knows, however, that one teacher or student death is one too many. “A dead child will never catch up [academically],” she said.