A national discussion on schools opening has emerged. Here's where these essential workers stand.

All across the country this past week, the topic of whether or not school districts should hold in-person classes at the start of the coming school year dominated news coverage.

In Iowa, the Des Moines Register's editorial board acknowledged the importance of in-person classes, but cautioned against pushing for them out of a mere desire to get "back to normal." On Friday, the Dallas Morning News reported Texas public schools will be allowed to provide classes exclusively online until November, news that is among the paper's most read stories at the time of writing. The Arizona Republic, meanwhile, reported on low-income schools grappling with the challenge of providing students and teachers with masks, a story that shows the complexities involved in trying to host classes in-person during a pandemic.

And there's another question that further complicates the discussion: How will parents, especially those who work essential jobs, be affected by the decisions various school districts come to? After all, the less flexible a job, the bigger the implications of schools either sticking with remote learning or returning to in-person classes.

During the past week, I posed that question in a post on LinkedIn. Below, I'll highlight some of the most notable responses, and provide a closer examination of the concerns expressed.

Read: Workers weigh in on school debate

If schools don't open in the fall, I don't know if I will be able to keep working full time.

Since schools across the nation first began to close in March, news reports and public opinion polls have highlighted an increased burden on parents. Between April 24 and May 4, a Harris Poll surveyed over 3,000 adults, and found that parents of children under age 18 had significantly higher levels of stress related to the COVID-19 pandemic than adults with no children. (You can read more details about the poll, its methodology and how it measured stress levels here.)

Parents have also shared stories on LinkedIn about the challenges that come with the demand to homeschool their children in addition to performing work duties remotely.

For frontline workers, though, there is an arguably bigger challenge to meet: How exactly do you help a child learn remotely if your essential job doesn't allow you to work from home?

"If schools don't open in the fall, I don't know if I will be able to keep working full time," wrote Jennifer Sipley, a retail worker based in New Jersey, where the number of COVID-related hospitalizations fell below 800 for the first time in months, according to the state's department of health. "I do have parents that are retired but for them to have to watch her eight-plus hours and school her is going to be a lot to ask of either of them."

Sipley also shared a concern that is supported by research, that children will be "falling behind" as a result of COVID-induced school closures. An analysis from McKinsey & Company — the research and consulting giant — studied the impact of different lengths of delays on the return to in-person schooling.

The study estimates that American children will have lost about seven months of learning if in-person classes return in January. It also estimated that for low-income children only, the loss in learning would amount to 12.4 months.

"My daughter is also starting to fall behind with school ‘cause she is not getting the hands on learning she needs," Sipley wrote. "So I would have to quit my job to be home and give her the hands on that she needs."

Read: Overwork and parenting don't mix

I’m scared to allow my kids to go back to school. Their health is what is most important.

While there are concerns about how exactly parents will be able to cope with the responsibility of helping children learn remotely, there is also the most basic of concerns some parents have during this health crisis: The fear that going to school everyday could jeopardize children's health.

"As important as my child’s education is, my child’s safety and well being is way more important than getting the in person learning," wrote Christina Johnson-Carle, a Starbucks store manager who's also based in New Jersey.

"As a father and leader of a team I do have concerns for not only my immediate family but for my team[']s family as well," wrote Michael Russell, a Connecticut-based Lowe's store manager.

"I’m scared to allow my kids to go back to school. Their health is what is most important," he added.

Russell also expressed skepticism over schools' ability to get students to follow rules to lessen the risk of in-person classes.

"I think it has been tough to see adults follow the rules and guidelines," he wrote. "Now we are going to be telling kids of all ages to try to not touch their best friend, stay 6 ft away from them, and possibly have partitions at desks and lunch areas."

If a kid is sent to school and they become infected and they die because of some Covid-19 complication, how important will sending them to school and the job be then? 

In South Korea, a study of over 5,500 coronavirus patients and their contacts (including those who share a household with the patients) found that contacts of kids over the age of 10 were much more likely to have been infected by the disease.

The study gives reason to consider the potential for transmission from students and — within the context of this nationwide discussion about the coming school year — consider how that potential will affect plans for in-person classes.

Armando Mure, a New York-based loss prevention specialist, wrote, "At the end of the day, the way I see it is kids safety tops everything! If a kid is sent to school and they become infected and they die because of some Covid-19 complication, how important will sending them to school and the job be then?" 

Beyond that question, there are more "what if" questions that seem pertinent: What if a teacher contracts COVID-19, and how will that affect a school's scheduling plans? And then there's another that Mure pointed out: If the virus has potential to remain airborne indoors, how does that potential affect schools' plans?

How schools districts address these questions is ultimately as important as the desire to return to regularly scheduled classes itself.

I will definitely try to work with my associates to achieve a schedule that works for the company as well as for his or her family.

No matter what school leaders and elected officials decide, store leaders will play a hand in helping parents at essential jobs cope with the responsibilities that may come with schools' decisions.

"For the people who may work for me in my store, I am going to do my best to give them the support they need for whatever decision will be made regarding school," Russell, the Lowe's store manager, wrote.

If schools decide to continue to delay in-person classes, and kids are required to stay home, supporting staff members will require adjusting schedules to suit parents' needs, Patrice Gilbert, a Connecticut-based retail manager told LinkedIn.

She shared an example of how she worked with an associate who had a child at higher risk of contracting COVID-19.

"She was normally scheduled while our business was open to our customers," Gilbert said. "She was really stressed and thought she would have to quit because she didn't know what else to do. I suggested instead of her working 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. she could start to work 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. This limited her time with the public in our store and her spouse was able to start work at 12 p.m. to accommodate his job."

Whether Gilbert makes similar maneuvers with employees' schedule this fall might depend on how education leaders approach the coming school year.

Do you have thoughts about schools reopening plans and how they affect essential workers? Share you them in the comments below.