Reopening of schools is a logistical nightmare

C

CarolfromTX

Senior Member
Location
Central Texas
My daughter is a teacher. I am a retired teacher. I have just spent an hour on the phone with her. What she is being put through is horrible. The lack of leadership from the top is unbelievable, and yet somewhat understandable. And I'm sure its not just this school district. Nobody has any answers. Certainly not me. The details would take hours to type out. The district tried to find teachers who would be willing to teach remotely only, and had few takers, because they wanted a year-long job. And it might or might not work out that way. They have scrapped several plans. 60 Percent of parents want to send their kids in person. 30% want them to remain remote for 9 weeks, at least. It's crazy. There are no answers. And if you have never taught, you have NO IDEA what this entails. Separate planning for remote lessons vs. in person. Recess, specials, lunch time, conference periods, and on and on. My head is about to explode.
 

The schools in my area have been given the green light to reopen.

Some of the districts seem to have solid plans and some seem to be scrambling which is sad since they have had since March to figure it out.

Most of the schools seem to favor a hybrid model two days in school and two days out of school or some variation of that.

The local teacher's union is pushing for totally remote learning working in conjunction with local childcare centers and the use of some supervised gathering spots in public buildings around the community for older students. To me that option is nonsense. If the kids are attending paid daycare or gathering to learn they might as well be in the familiar surroundings of their school being taught by trained professionals.

It is definitely a complicated and controversial topic that people are passionate about. IMO as long as the infection rates in our area remain low we should offer full time in school classes for those that need/want it and homeschooling/remote learning options for those that have concerns over sending their children back to school. In this area, the split would be about even and would go a long way towards solving the social distancing issues even if it meant that some students needed to be bused to different school buildings/districts in the area until things settle down.
 
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Our school district ha just closed a perfectly serviceable building. They could reopen it, and perhaps hire more teachers to have smaller classes. Maybe? I just don't know. Don't know what's possible. And the money involved? Oy!
 

"Most of the schools seem to favor a hybrid model two days in school and two days out of school or some variation of that." ................................................. My cousins grandkids are going to be doing that. But I'm having problems understanding how this is safe. Does the Covid virus stay away on days kids are in school??? (sarcasm)
 
Our grandkids are Very concerned about the school openings. They each have two youngsters, and their schools are set to open in late August. The schools are still trying to figure out how the classes will be handled, and it may be just days before school opens before they know whether it will be remote, or actually in the school. The little ones go to small town schools, so the risk isn't as great as a crowded city school, but the risk is still there.

Working parents always have issues with balancing their work and family routines, and this virus is making it Very difficult to try to make any plans.
 
Most California schools are opening remotely by order of our governor.

My daughter, a private middle school teacher, starts her classes today. She said this week will primarily be ice breakers, explanations about how it will work, what is expected, an explanation of student accountability (and consequences).

Content begins next week.
 
DD said that she and other mothers had a socially-distanced meeting to discuss possible options. She’s a single parent with a 10 year with asthma, one in high school and one in university. The latter is online only for the first term. So many unknowns for teachers, parents & students.

Kids can’t help being kids. There’ll be lots of spontaneous interactions.
 
There are no good solutions. Whatever path decision-makers choose, there will be those who will condemn them for doing the wrong thing.

Two things that people, especially those of our age, need to understand and accept:
1. This world is a dangerous place. It always has been and always will be.
2. "Governments" are not going the take care of our every need. They can be useful and, occasionally, even helpful but looking out for ourselves and our loved ones is ultimately our own personal responsibility.
 
It is just a damn mess, as OP states.
No, general public has no idea how teachers will cope, apparently school adm has no idea either.

we thought school administrators knew how to run schools, not even close.

The local news shows us how inept all planning has been.
It is a circus!
No wonder our public schools are in such a mess
 
I feel sad for everyone involved.... I know that my two youngest grandkids (only two that are school age) have signed up to go back in person in September, and ride the buses too. One is Jr. High and the other goes to a public elementary school.

They have had regular interaction with several schoolmates during the summer, swimming pool and neighborhood gatherings, and haven't been isolated in that respect, but they want school life to resume.

I'll just sit and watch what's to come.
 
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StarSong said:
Most California schools are opening remotely by order of our governor.

My daughter, a private middle school teacher, starts her classes today. She said this week will primarily be ice breakers, explanations about how it will work, what is expected, an explanation of student accountability (and consequences).

Content begins next week.
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Does she teach in a parochial school or maybe a charter or prep school?
 
The problem as I see it is that we (meaning everyone here in the U.S.) has never seen or been involved in a situation like we have, so finding or figuring out a solution is a nightmare of a job. We can all think of a plan that may work, but so many times I have seen things added on to a plan after it has been formulated and that screws up everything.

One school district here had a plan set up where half the school would do 2 weeks in school and the other half would have virtual teaching at home, then after 2 weeks, everyone would switch. Then the Governor wanted the buses to be sanitized each time the kids were dropped off, so it would be sterile for the next run.

As for classrooms, the kids would stay in the same room and the teachers would do the switching. However, trying to get the kids taking the same courses in the same program at the same time became an impossibility, according to some who tried to work it out.

Bottom line is, "I don't have a clue." We will have to learn as we go along. Like we said in the Marines, "Learn to adapt and overcome."
 
StarSong said:
Upscale Catholic school.
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I would like to see school choice become legal. I don't know about California, but parochial schools here in PA get no help from the government. Having school choice and allowing the kids and parents to decide where they want to attend school makes it more beneficial to all. IMO, not to mention, some of our private schools would then receive money from the state government.
 
My grandson is 8, going into 3rd grade.
Our school district has decided to do split shifts? He will go from 7:15 am to 1:30 pm.
My issue is getting little kids to adhere to safety precautions,I have a picture of our kid having a Spider-Man mask and yours have Batman and they decide to swap...logistical nightmare!
 
911 said:
I would like to see school choice become legal. I don't know about California, but parochial schools here in PA get no help from the government. Having school choice and allowing the kids and parents to decide where they want to attend school makes it more beneficial to all. IMO, not to mention, some of our private schools would then receive money from the state government.
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Private schools aren't supported by taxpayers here either. As someone who sent my children to private schools, I disagree with your position.

The way I see it, part of my social contract includes financially supporting public schools. It is not part of my social contract to support for-profit, religious based, or other schools with agendas beyond education.

IMHO, public schools should not have a single dime removed from their budgets, in fact their budgets should be increased.

I had an excellent (small town) public school education in the 50s & 60s. If I'd found our local Los Angeles public schools sufficient to the task I would have sent my children to them. Indeed, I'd expected to do so, and gave it two years before bailing out. At that point my husband and I made financial sacrifices to pay tuition.

Private schools tend to skim the easiest students off the top. Because they're not mandated to offer a full complement of resources, they enroll very few children with poor English skills, and almost no severely learning disabled or physically disabled students. Within their contracts they reserve the right to rather unceremoniously suspend or expel students who flout the rules, so kids with behavior problems don't last long.

Our neighborhood public schools have improved dramatically over the past 30 years, I'm happy to say. Eroding public school funding would only have delayed their ability to get on track.
 
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