This has been a tough year for everyone.

We have all been in survival mode and doing the best we can. But the pressure on parents and students has been the hardest. Both coupled and single parents are working their normal workloads while also trying to handle their children’s education, on top of the added stress of just surviving a pandemic. Many times they have less help than before, to protect their friends and family by keeping their distance.

We all know the kids are behind, and the kids who are most behind are those from low-income families. We are expecting everyone to keep up like it’s a normal year, and it just isn’t. Teachers also are stretched to their limits, trying to maintain essentially two classrooms — in person and virtual — simultaneously.

Many schools are pushing hard and sending home make-up work for this year already. A lot of families are doing school work on the weekends to make up. It’s too much.

I wonder if we can consider extending this school year into the next. Not holding the kids back to repeat the year, just extending this year over the next year, too. I really feel like it would be better for our children and their mental health.

Whether we are back to in-person or not by next year, it’ll give everyone a chance to get through the material at a pace that is on par with surviving a catastrophe, which is what we’ve been doing all year.

Bethany Genereux, Lewiston