Local students going back to school amid COVID-19, Delta variant concerns

With school set to begin in August, departments prepare to keep students safe

YUMA COUNTY, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Local parents have been relying on virtual learning for their kids. Though students are getting back to the classroom, COVID-19 is still an issue.

With school starting in August, there are issues surrounding the safety of students coming back to school.

For those who would like to remain extra cautious, the Yuma Union High School District (YUHSD) and Harvest Preparatory Academy are still offering students the chance to learn virtually. However, for students coming back to campus, administrators have laid out protocols to keep them safe.

"I'm very comfortable, and I think the kids need that social interaction; they really miss that the most," local parent Jonathan Lee Porter said.

While masks will be optional, parents are being asked to look out for any COVID-19 symptoms before letting their child leave the house. For some, those protocols work; especially considering how long it’s been since their kids were at school.

Porter continues, "You know, at the end of the year, my son last year, the youngest [in] second grade, not meeting his teacher ever, he cried at the last day like 'I'm never gonna see her dad.' So, I'm pretty excited to get him one on one with the teacher again."

But when students do go back, many things will not be as they were before.

YUHSD schools won’t be holding assemblies with students in-person. Things like desks and lunch lines will be socially distanced.

Students at Harvest Preparatory will start school Wednesday, August 4; while YUHSD will be starting Thursday, August 5.