Many of us find ourselves wondering what schooling will look like come fall. Come Fall, we may not be in a position to open schools and continue with remote, distance learning. However, while this is doable, and Catholic schools have successfully moved to a digital platform to finish out the school year, a difficult road lies ahead. As it stands now, the school year will likely look and operate differently than what we were previously accustomed to.

We cannot foresee what the future holds. There is also talk of a second, stronger wave of COVID-19 that may hit at the end of this year that would inevitably cause another stay at home order. In this case, the need for physically opening schools at the normal start of the school year becomes stronger. 

“If we don’t have that face to face (contact) and just go immediately into remote learning, it is more difficult and it is not what I want for our teachers or students — I want them to have some time together,” said Kathy Mears, interim director of the National Catholic Educational Association.

If a second lockdown occurred over the winter, having in-person contact puts schools in a better position before moving back into remote learning. In the event of continuing distance education through the beginning of the school year, students and teachers never create that initial bond upon meeting one another and seeing each other every day. 

For now, Catholic schools consider planning for both realities of either going physically back to school or starting the school year remotely. Planning for both will allow for an easier start come Fall. According to Mears, a concept is circulating that some schools might even consider opening in July to get that face-to-face contact going before a potential second wave. However, July might be too soon to have a large amount of people in one space. Even if it is, some regions are just too hot and humid in the summer months and not all schools are adequately equipped with air conditioning. 

Some other ideas considered include splitting the school day into shifts, in order to have fewer students in the building and less people coming into contact with one another, and holding classes outdoors as weather permits. Different regions of the United States will likely come up with their own solutions.

“Like everyone, I have no specifics, but it will look different in Montana than in New York,” said Mary Pat Donoghue, executive director of the Secretariat of Catholic Education for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “My sense is that the leadership of our schools are informed and working closely with their local government officials and that is the most important thing.”

At Notre Dame de Lourdes and across the entire Archdiocese of Philadelphia, we are hopeful we can operate normally very soon. We miss our students, and we know our students miss coming to school to learn and to see their teachers and friends. While we cannot give definite answers about what the 2020-2021 school year will look like, we continue to pray and hope. As we continue to learn about COVID-19, we will adjust and update our community. 

We cannot say for certain what will happen, but our community bond will continue to grow and focus on the students.