The Martins say they speak honestly with McKenzie about the science.

She wants to assert her independence, her parents say, but she is honoring their wishes to remain masked and limit social gatherings. She’s a sixth-grade student at Thurgood Marshall Fundamental Middle School who loves math, plays tennis and bakes cookies and cakes for the family. “My principal says we have to respect each other,” said 11-year-old McKenzie Martin, the oldest of the Martin children. Cooper, in ruling against DeSantis’ mask mandate ban, said parental choice cannot outweigh the public health imperative to mitigate the spread of an aggressive virus.īut in Pasco and Pinellas, choice remains the default setting. That means they can lose their place in magnet and choice programs, which is another way they are punished. This year, distance learners must sign up for standalone online programs not connected to their schools. Last year, the state allowed students to attend their regular classes online. In hindsight, some say, this would have been the better year to keep their kids home, because it feels less safe.įor those like Sophia who seek out virtual arrangements instead, the options are limited. Many parents are incredulous at what seems like a retreat from a year ago, when schools offered multiple learning platforms and touted their COVID-19 safety measures. Should all students wear masks? Should everyone be vaccinated? Differences over these and other issues have adults screaming at their school boards, lashing out at each other and filing lawsuits. But COVID-19 is spreading fast on campuses, far ahead of last year’s pace, with 19,160 cases reported across the four-county region as of Friday.Īnd Tampa Bay residents, like families across the nation, remain deeply divided over how urgently schools should respond. There is near-universal agreement that school is vital and best experienced in-person.

One month into a third straight school year altered by COVID-19, thousands of Tampa Bay area students and parents are experiencing a similar existence. “But I also do find times when I just feel unmotivated, just staring there, staring into space, just thinking, how is this happening?” “I schedule for myself to wake up and I try to segment my day as I would at school,” said Sophia, 14 and an aspiring medical research scientist.

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