Arizona mother and her children eager for schools to reopen during the pandemic

Gov. Doug Ducey will soon make a decision to reopen in-person classes or keep students learning online in the fall.

PHOENIX - Many don't want in-person classes to begin in August due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and others are eager to begin again. Some are in the middle.

As a mother of four children, Vanessa James says she's split on sending her kids back to school in August, but she's hoping the governor will make the decision to reopen schools.

"Yes, I want them to go to school and no, I don't want them to go to school with everything going on, but they need to go school. They've been out since March," James said.

One of her kids is in college, two are in high school and the youngest, Jessica, is about to head into middle school.

"They need to get back to school. They all do and they're tired of sitting at home and I think the biggest thing is that the doctors are saying they shouldn't be in front of screens. Well, now you're going to put them in front of screens for 8 hours a day? She's ready to go back to school and I'm ready for them to go back to school," James explained.

Jessica says she misses her friends and her teachers but on top of that, she is a visual learner. She's been learning online like many others across the country.

"When I do dance, I had to do dance online and it was hard to communicate with them and it wasn't the same," Jessica explained.

James says she's not too worried about her children getting sick but that it's a possibility, saying, "None of them get sick so like I know they have a great immune system but doesn't that mean they're not going to get sick. None of them have ever gotten the flu."

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