Anxiety running high as COVID-19 threatens to disrupt schools — again

Students across the U.S. are starting another school year under a cloud of uncertainty as the delta strain of the coronavirus rips through the country, threatening to disrupt plans for a second consecutive academic year.

The pandemic’s unpredictability has sparked high anxiety among children and teachers alike as they attempt to return to in-person school for the first time since March 2020, with lingering fears that COVID-19 could jeopardize educational routines again.