VOA常速英语:特朗普向州长施压要求重开学校

In the state of New Hampshire, a school using ski lifts for a graduation ceremony,to help maintain social distancing, just one of the creative measures American schools have taken during the pandemic.But beyond pomp and circumstance American schools may soon reopen for a new school year.President Trump is demanding that it happen on time in August or September.We're very much going to put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools.Schools are part of the president's larger plan to resume normal economic function,as he eyes his re-election bid in November.Children back in school would allow parents to go back to their workplaces.The more than 50 million children who attend school in the US did so online,after the pandemic hit and before their summer vacations.The American academy of pediatrics has recommended they return to school in some form,to keep them from falling behind.A recommendation supported by infectious disease experts.Most of us agree that we have to open up our schools again this fall.But we'll see exactly how to do it.Doing it carefully is very important.

But according to a research by the American enterprise institute,only 20 percent of parents feel safe sending their children back to a school building.Republican parents are twice as likely as democrats to feel okay doing so.Mixed messaging from federal and state officials on precautions such as masks,have contributed to parents anxiety.Reopening of schools isn't just purely a decision,that's made by governors and superintendents of principals and teachers,it's a decision that parents have to participate in as well.They have to trust that the schools are putting in place,the protections that are going to keep their kids safe.And the problem is when you have conflicting guidance.It creates this untenable situation for parents to try to make a decision,with varying types of conflicting guidance on whether or not a school should do x y or z.While the coronavirus rarely causes illness in children,there is concern they may transmit the virus to family members like they do with the flu.We don't know that yet about the covid virus,does it really infect the children and they can transmit it,or is it very difficult for this virus to infect children.Those studies are still underway.Beyond the 13 billion dollars allocated in April to help schools and universities move to online learning,it's unclear whether the federal government plans to provide additional funding to safely reopen schools.Patsy Widakuswara VOA news