--- title: How Parents Feel About Back to School As COVID-19 Soars description: Parents had been eagerly awaiting the day their kids go back to school in person. Instead the Delta variant of COVID-19 is spreading and some governors have banned mask mandates even though children under 12 are unvaccinated. canonical: https://time.com/6091509/back-to-school-parents-covid-19/ author: Aubrey Hirsch article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2021-08-24T10:00:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:38:27.990Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The Nightmare Parents Are Facing as Kids Head Back to School og:description: We dreamed of a smooth return to in-person education for a year and a half. Here's what happened instead og:url: https://time.com/6091509/back-to-school-parents-covid-19/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt82a5f3c93dcd278f/698a1c2de76ad20b5f639267/Hirsch_Header.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Hirsch_Header og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Nightmare Parents Are Facing as Kids Head Back to School twitter:description: We dreamed of a smooth return to in-person education for a year and a half. Here's what happened instead twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt82a5f3c93dcd278f/698a1c2de76ad20b5f639267/Hirsch_Header.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Parents Had Dreamed of a Smooth Return to School This Fall. This Is the Nightmare We're Facing Instead ## Video: She Helped New York Through the Worst of the Pandemic. Then the Nightmare Followed Her Home [Watch (HLS stream): She Helped New York Through the Worst of the Pandemic. Then the Nightmare Followed Her Home](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Bndn1sjf.m3u8) (3:09)  _Published 2021-08-04. Sixteen months ago, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, Dr. Rebecca Martin was one of thousands of out-of-state doctors and nurses who came to help the city battle what was then a new disease._ by [Aubrey Hirsch](https://time.com/author/aubrey-hirsch/) ## Aubrey Hirsch Aug 24, 2021 10:00 AM UTC  Illustration by Aubrey Hirsch for TIME by [Aubrey Hirsch](https://time.com/author/aubrey-hirsch/) ## Aubrey Hirsch Aug 24, 2021 10:00 AM UTC Across the U.S. children are heading [back to school](https://time.com/6085883/school-delta-covid/), despite spiking COVID-19 cases. The emergence of the more contagious [Delta variant](https://time.com/6090218/fourth-wave-surpassed-third-in-some-states/) as the most prominent virus strain in the country is causing concern for parents. Not only are they worried about the health and safety of their kids, they have been dealing with a [childcare crisis](https://time.com/5886491/covid-childcare-daycare/) for the past year and a half and now that seems unlikely to end anytime soon. This will be the third school year affected by the pandemic, but despite the fact that [children under 12 are not yet eligible for vaccination](https://time.com/6090900/covid-19-protecting-kids/), many schools are not putting mitigation efforts into effect and several governors have banned [mask mandates](https://time.com/6090484/austin-texas-schools-masks-mandate/). It’s our responsibility as adults to protect our kids, but record hospitalization numbers for children suggest we are already failing in this task.          **Read more:** [Why I’m Mandating That Austin Schools Must Be Masked When Classes Start](https://time.com/6090484/austin-texas-schools-masks-mandate/) [Schools Expected to Leave Virtual Learning Behind in the Fall, but the Delta Variant Is Forcing a Change in Plans](https://time.com/6087815/covid-delta-schools-reopening/) [How Will Delta and COVID-19 Change This Back-to-School Season? Here’s What to Know](https://time.com/6085883/school-delta-covid/) [Summer Camps Across the U.S. Are Dealing With COVID-19 Outbreaks. So What Happens When School Starts?](https://time.com/6083367/summer-camp-covid-schools/) [These Mothers Wanted to Care for Their Kids and Keep Their Jobs. Now They’re Suing After Being Fired](https://time.com/5942117/mothers-fired-lawsuit-covid-19/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6091509/back-to-school-parents-covid-19/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6091509/back-to-school-parents-covid-19/"},"headline":"Parents Had Dreamed of a Smooth Return to School This Fall. This Is the Nightmare We're Facing Instead","datePublished":"2021-08-24T10:00:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:38:27.990Z","description":"Parents had been eagerly awaiting the day their kids go back to school in person. 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