As both an educator and a parent of a child attending public school in the State of South Carolina I am deeply concerned about our  children’s return to school currently scheduled for April 30. South Carolina DHEC predicts the peak of coronavirus infections in South Carolina to occur on May 2. That means our children will quite possibly be returning to school during the worst part of the pandemic here in South Carolina. The current number of infections, as well as deaths and severe illness still is on the rise—many are still at risk. I am not an expert on disease transmission, and while projected numbers are often not exact,  I strongly feel given the situation  it is best to err on the side of caution. Thirty two states in the US have cancelled secondary and elementary schools for the remainder of the year. This includes neighboring states such as Georgia.  While children typically don’t suffer grave illness from  coronavirus, they are the perfect vector for continued or increased silent spread of this dangerous virus. We have all made big sacrifices in the last month to six weeks to protect our communities. It is not time to stop two weeks from now. Many schools in the state are large with over 4,000 students in some cases. School is mandatory. Spread us likely. Those who work in schools,  whose children go to school or who come into contact with school age children are especially vulnerable, but having children return to school too soon could potentially impact us all. We’ve come this far, after April 30 there are only 5 weeks of school, so let’s not give up now. Please urge Governor McMaster to make the right decision in keeping our schools closed and classes online through the rest of the year.