James Lucas, parent of Ariel Lucas, ’23

The Catalyst(TC): What do you think about the announcement to continue online distance learning until December?

James Lucas(JL): I thought that the announcement was probably expected. I think most schools in San Mateo County still closed. I was kind of expecting that schools to be closed for maybe a few more months until there’s more visibility on the virus and how it’s going to affect schools and the students.

TC: How do you feel about paying tuition for online school?

JL: I think it’s appropriate. I mean most of the tuition goes to pay to the teachers and the faculty. Without the tuition money flowing in, the teachers aren’t getting paid. You know this is a bad economy with everybody struggling, so the teachers are doing their job and they deserve to get paid. And so, paying tuition for online school temporarily is appropriate, I think.

TC: Would you prefer that your daughter is going to school on-campus right now?

JL: I’m not really okay with on-campus until we kind of have a, maybe a vaccine in place where people are more comfortable dealing with the virus. So right now I guess I’m okay with online learning. We’ll wait to go back on campus, when there is a better plan in place, not only for schooling but for how to control the virus throughout the county and the United States.

TC: How do you feel about your daughter going to school on-campus with others who might not be that careful with handwashing, mask-wearing, or social distancing? 

JL: That’s concerning, in order to go back to campus you’d want all students to follow whatever the normal protocols are the school and the county and the state have laid out. So I would be uncomfortable if there were certain students that weren’t wearing masks or practicing social distancing or washing their hands, and they were allowed to interact with everybody else. So I think there needs to be some safeguards in place and have everyone do the right thing until we’re out of the woods, and in a more safe situation with this virus.

TC: How has having your daughter stay home for school affected your home/work life?

JL: I’m working from home too, so it’s kind of impacted both of us to be home all day working from home, doing schooling from home. The first two months were kind of hard cause it was not anything we had ever done before. So we felt trapped inside our house and it was a completely new thing. But over the past four months, you kind of get used to it, and you kind of get into your daily routine, and try to break it up by going for walks outside or going for a car ride or something. It’s worked out okay. I’m glad that it’s going to be temporary. Hopefully, at some point, we can get back to school on campus, and I can go back to work where we have more social interaction with others.