Are you sending your kids to school next month?

[godisney14]

Consistent with what I’ve said earlier, about most families in the greater area where I am at not wanting an in-person full-time school schedule, a local news article was put out today highlighting a YMCA summer camp. In previous summers, there were over a thousand kids attending. But, this year, there’s not even a hundred kids enrolled.

 

[MrsBooch]

If the school is open, my kid is absolutely attending in person.

He has the benefit of attending a private school - class size is already at 16 per class with two teachers in each class. Each class is going to be divided into "cohorts" with 8 kids per teacher. The campus is over 100 acres of indoor and outdoor space so they can spread everyone out if they need to- they will be allowing in person education for the Lower School and a hybrid option for the Upper School.

It is absolutely vital for them to be in person - especially the younger kids.

I know that the public school system in our area did their best, but I would NOT be happy if I were a parent of a kid in that system if the last three months of education was any indication. Virtual was "phone it in" for them. Kids were barely engaged and teachers barely checked in.

For us - my kid had between 4-5 live zoom meetings a day with homeroom teachers, math, languages, and arts, two one on one check ins with teachers a week, and we had parent check ins regularly. They sent us all of the materials we needed, and created an amazing virtual space for education to continue. That being said - if they continue to be allowed to open - I will be pulling up in car line on day one and waving goodbye as soon as the doors open. He needs to be around kids his own age and in person education offers a different level of engagement that two work from home parents cannot give him.

 

[randumb0]

@Happyinwonerland Which county are you in? I'm in Orange and we haven't heard anything yet on plans for the Fall

 

[Happyinwonerland]

@Happyinwonerland Which county are you in? I'm in Orange and we haven't heard anything yet on plans for the Fall

We are in the Tampa bay area, but we go to a charter school. Our county has laid out options , but our charter is not offering anything except in person classes.

 

[aprilchem]

No. We have decided to pull our three and homeschool them this year.

 

[Kitty 34]

I feel for you DISers that have to make this decision. I have no clue what I would have done if I was in your shoes and before my obvious lung disease diagnosis.

to you all.

 

[SaintsManiac]

I feel for you DISers that have to make this decision. I have no clue what I would have done if I was in your shoes and before my obvious lung disease diagnosis.

to you all.

Thanks it was very stressful for me for a while. I had to do some serious thinking before making the decision. I may never know what was the right decision to make!

 

[mom2rtk]

My DD is a college sophomore this year. She's scheduled to leave in just over a month. She works on campus. She's in for whatever they offer. So far 2 of her 4 classes are still slotted to be in person, but she's fully aware things might change on a dime. But she'll roll with it. She needs to be there if she can be.

I did ask her to conduct herself in a way that she won't increase our risk any more than necessary when she comes home to visit. She is in a 4 bedroom apartment with her own room and bathroom at least, so that helps. But hopefully she'll avoid any non distanced gatherings of students.

 

[brockash]

Title says it all. Are you sending your kids to school next month? We live in Florida, and our county in particular is seeing skyrocketing infection rates, so we are leaning towards virtual school. I do not care for the "safety plan" our school has laid out.

What are you all doing?

If they're open; we will be. I'm hoping they're open. I'm a school counselor and while I understand the risk of this virus; the fear I have for many of my students who have no stability at home and are not having contact or access to the safety of their schools and those adults; is a much higher priority for me. I also just in general don't believe that this "distance learning" works for a large portion of kids (mine included.)

 

[Renarr]

No kids here, but I'm a teacher. I have absolutely no desire to be back in the buildings in the fall, and I acknowledge that what happened in the spring didn't work. I teach high school.

Our building isn't set up to do distancing. Hybrid teaching isn't going to work; synchronous instruction between online and in-person teaching means that you're going to get the worst of both. And if you're giving kids the outlet they need to actually engage in social behaviors, the social distancing isn't going to happen.

We've got an administration that doesn't even enforce tardy policies, profanity rules, or students out in the hallway, and I'm to believe they're going to enforce masks?

A previous poster pointed out the logistics of trying to clean the room between class periods. Our school is so jam-packed that we're also switching teachers during a five-minute passing period with 40 seats (20 two-person tables and 40 chairs).

I live with someone who is in a high-risk category, and my options are apparently going to be to go in or to quit.

Yeah, this is just miserable, and it makes me sick how little staff are being thought of.

 

[MrsPete]

I think even if the schools somehow do manage to open in person they will have to shut down again on and off due to exposures and rising numbers this fall/winter.

I also think that IF we go back, we'll be in-and-out. That's why I've worked so hard this summer to get together ALL my lessons that'll work well online, and I'm going to send home a BIG FAT NOTEBOOK on the first day of school with EVERYTHING I might want my students to have.
If we're in school, my students will already have ALL their reading, and they won't have to use shared textbooks. And if we're out with little-or-no notice, I can say, "Check this worksheet in your notebook", and it'll be better than what I did in the spring.

Here's the thing: Maybe she could have held her ridiculous conversation until she was in private. She said other unfortunate things and was so busy ranting on her phone that she didn't even pay attention while her kid was walking through the parking lot behind her.

So she was right in concept but presented it poorly? Not uncommon.

When the kids are old enough they can help clean up. My daughter has been doing that since 2nd grade.

Thing is, in terms of sanitizing desks, they can't. Literally are not allowed because the chemicals are so harsh.

You are missing the point. It is too late for SR's. They will not complete a semester (or even a trimester) before college applications are due.

I guess I am missing the point because what you're saying is true every year. Seniors start school in August. College applications for the big state universities "open" online September 1st. Our on-the-ball students submit their applications in October and November.

IT WAS TERRIBLE in the Spring - there is no other word for it.

Oh, I think most teachers agree with you, but -- in everyone's defense -- a whole lot of things were bad in the spring that won't be bad in the fall:
- We left school on Friday, March 13 and were told that we'd start online instruction on Monday, March 16. Speaking only for myself, I had weeks of lessons and projects "laid out" for those upcoming weeks -- and they were designed for the classroom, not online. In the fall I'm going to start with the idea that we might "leave" any day, and I've had ample time to prepare.
- When we left in March, we weren't sure whether this would be a short 2-3 week thing or whether we'd be out the rest of the year. It took them weeks to decide whether we'd be taking state exams. It's really hard to plan when you don't know the full spectrum of expectations. I fear this will still be an issue in the fall, but teachers are much better prepared now.
- In the spring most of us didn't know how to use Zoom, didn't know how to upload videos, etc. Now we've completed lots of trainings, and the county has thrown loads of resources at us. We know what we're doing.
- Not all our students had computers, and it took a couple weeks to do drive-through Chromebook pick-ups. Even after we gave out computers, some student didn't have home internet service.

In short, we were caught off-guard, but I don't think it's fair to assume that because spring was bad, fall will be too. Please try not to pass this idea on to your students. Give everyone the benefit of the doubt and send them to school with a positive attitude.

Besides, It is not the teachers who I am concerned about - it is the kids.

Oh, we're accustomed to no one caring, but we are an integral part of the situation.
As the people on the "front lines", we do have a good idea of what'll work/what won't -- but no one seems to be listening to us.

All of this social isolation is REALLY bad for them.

I don't disagree for a moment, but it's one of several problems with which we're dealing. Consider, too, that it was really bad for most of our students, but it was pretty good for a few -- they tend to be the invisible students who are left out or bullied. A few of my students really "shined" in online learning /greatly improved their work performance in those last weeks of school -- but they were the minority.

The bottom line is we are wasting time and these kids do not get a do-over.

Again, I don't disagree for a moment.

 

[Lumpy1106]

No kids here, but I'm a teacher. I have absolutely no desire to be back in the buildings in the fall, and I acknowledge that what happened in the spring didn't work. I teach high school.

Our building isn't set up to do distancing. Hybrid teaching isn't going to work; synchronous instruction between online and in-person teaching means that you're going to get the worst of both. And if you're giving kids the outlet they need to actually engage in social behaviors, the social distancing isn't going to happen.

We've got an administration that doesn't even enforce tardy policies, profanity rules, or students out in the hallway, and I'm to believe they're going to enforce masks?

A previous poster pointed out the logistics of trying to clean the room between class periods. Our school is so jam-packed that we're also switching teachers during a five-minute passing period with 40 seats (20 two-person tables and 40 chairs).

I live with someone who is in a high-risk category, and my options are apparently going to be to go in or to quit.

Yeah, this is just miserable, and it makes me sick how little staff are being thought of.

I feel for you and I agree - there is no way you will be enforcing masks or even social distancing. My kids are both on the lacrosse teams. We had an "end of season" get-together for them in a park and we could not get any of them to wear masks and they insisted on all sitting together - no distancing whatsoever. That is exactly what I see the schools being like. That's the bad news...

The good news is nobody got sick. No correlation was found for anybody getting sick at the BLM protests either though, and no correlation has been tied to open beaches either. Those cases include adults, not just kids.

I think there needs to be a certain amount of "leap-of-faith" that we are going to need if we are to get through this. Schools HAVE TO open. We can establish guidelines for the kids, but we have to be comfortable with them not being 100% followed. Classes need to be held outside or with extra ventilation. Our school district sent out questionnaires to kids and parents; 60% across the board wanted in-person only instruction, 25% wanted NO in-person instruction, and the rest were comfortable with a blend. Teachers like you who can't put their families or themselves at risk should be responsible for the 25% who do not want to/cannot return. Those would be pretty small groups of students - while remote teaching is not ideal, if you get the numbers down enough I would think it would be a lot more feasible. Parents of the remote learning kids need to understand that the job is part theirs. Meanwhile in-person students are given guidelines and teachers are given the ability to keep their distance. If teachers and kids really are getting sick then yes, you would also have to be able to shut it all down. Honestly though I don't think that will happen, and I really don't think you want to go into Fall assuming it will.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

NYC here. No kids, but my husband is a teacher. Our schools don't start until after Labor Day, but we're not expecting much in terms of in person teaching.

 

[Heather07438]

Our son is set to start first year at college in 5 weeks. Still not sure if he is going.

 

[SamFaniam]

My kids are both on the lacrosse teams. We had an "end of season" get-together for them in a park and we could not get any of them to wear masks and they insisted on all sitting together - no distancing whatsoever. That is exactly what I see the schools being like.

If this is the kind of parental support that the schools will get in the fall, then I agree with you that enforcing mask wearing and social distancing will be very difficult for schools.

 

[kirstenb1]

Our younger dd will be in ninth grade. I'll be sending her back to school, but still waiting to see if it's hybrid or full time. We're in small town Virginia, and have had very few cases of Covid. She has special needs and really benefits from being around friends, and caring teachers.

 

[AndreaA]

If masks are required, my kids will be staying home. One has ASD and masks would basically tear away his ability to read non-verbal cues. The other gets migraines and yes, wearing a mask can cause one - I’ve gotten several just wearing them while shopping, so no way will my kid wear one for 8hrs a day. A few like-minded friends and I will form a group so the kids can safely socialize.

Nevermind the fact that kids can’t even be relied upon to wash their hands after going to the bathroom half the time, and we’re thinking they can handle keeping a mask clean all day? I’m sure we’ve all seen some of the humorous youtube videos about THAT idea. If it’s dangerous enough to require a mask, then the kids shouldn’t be in school at all.

At the moment our numbers are very low and decreasing (one of the few states that is decreasing) so we’ll have to see what happens in the next month or two and whether idiots from out of state or idiots visiting other states cause our numbers to rise.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Kids in other country do and are wearing masks. These kids have all sorts of abilities as well. There's no reason American kids cannot.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Our son is supposed to go back to college in mid-August. Right now we are planning on having him go.

What's interesting is that the school is sending them home for Thanksgiving break and then finishing the semester from home

 

[Happyinwonerland]

Kids in other country do and are wearing masks. These kids have all sorts of abilities as well. There's no reason American kids cannot.

There are a lot of things being done in other countries that we can't seem to be bothered to do here in America.