Tell me about hybrid schooling for elementary

[karinothing]

Is your kid going to school in a hybrid method? Please tell me about it.

Our district released a new plan yesterday:

Tuesday/Wednesday (A/A Hybrid Students):
•All PreK, 1st, 3rd, and 5th graders who select the hybrid model attend school in person.
•Each class would be divided into two classrooms (to achieve required physical distancing) and receive instruction by their teacher and an assistant.
•The assistant will monitor students while they work, as the teacher delivers instruction, rotating from one classroom to the other.
•All Kindergarten, 2nd and 4th grade students who select the hybrid model will participate in distance learning, including synchronous and asynchronous instruction, with their assigned teachers.

Thursday/Friday (B/B):
•All Kindergarten, 2nd and 4th graders who select the hybrid model attend school in person.
•Each class would be divided into two classrooms (to achieve required physical distancing) and receive instruction by their teacher and an assistant.
•The assistant will monitor students while they work, as the teacher delivers instruction, rotating from one classroom to the other.
•All PreK, 1st, 3rd and 5th grade students who select hybrid model will participate in distance learning, including synchronous and asynchronous instruction, with their assigned teachers.

My kids will be going to school on different days. Masks are required. The prior plan had siblings going in on the same day but had them doing two days live instruction and three days asych. I am glad its 4 days live now, but it still seems like a hard day. Distance learning is currently going really well for us and I have no idea what to do. There is no guarantee kids will get to keep their teacher if we stay with virtual or go with hybrid.

My eldest says he wants to do whatever his teachers are doing but we won't know that. He also says he really wants to go to school but is also afraid of Covid (but maybe more so the test lol).

How does your hybrid program work? Does your kid enjoy it?

Bonus question? Does your kid ride the bus?

[ssmjlm]

Mine hasn't started yet, but PK, K, and 1st started this week. 2nd and 3rd start week of Oct 19.

They are in 2 cohorts based on last name.

Cohort A - M/Tu
Cohort B - Th/Fr
Wednesday remains all asynchronous minus morning attendance meeting.

If you are in the school, you receive live instruction. If you are at home, you check-in for morning meeting, then all asynchronous (3 days).

Students are masked, no encore (electives), breakfast and lunch in classroom and being provided (but my kid doesn't eat school lunch much).

I can't comment on how it's going because it's so new.

We are not doing the bus. We're just hoping drop-off/pick-up isn't the normal shit show like during the regular school year.

[gardengal]

I am also in Arlington & facing the same decision. Virtual is going surprisingly well. My kids kinda love it b/c they can scooter for recess time.

I was a hard NO on hybrid when there were 3 async days. Now...I'm not sure?

[SusanBAnthony]

We have async hybrid for one kid and full virtual with no other choice for the other (its based on grade level).

My kids are starved for anything so we are thrilled with whatever we can get at this point. Honestly my bar is super low as virtual is not working for us for various reasons. Stuff like having to wear masks and be spaced is a total non-issues because at least it is in person.

[minniemouse]

Our hybrid is split by last name. A-L goes in person on mon and tues. M-Z is in person on thurs and fri. English language learners are in person 4 days, and self contained special Ed classes are 5 days a week.
Everyone (except special Ed) is remote on wed, and they have one zoom call for the whole class for about an hour. On the hybrid at home days, it’s all asynchronous work. I don’t I love it. I do not feel they are really learning that much. Unfortunately we do not have the physical space to allow everyone to go 4 or 5 days a week.

[Deleted]

My kids are in 3rd and 5th and have been back for about a month. They are happy to be there and it's gone pretty smoothly. For us, K-3 goes everyday but Wednesday. 4-5 is either M/T or Th/F. When they're at home, it's all self-directed learning with no live meets. Those days have been harder than we expected because there hasn't been enough work. 

But overall, it's gone well. They are so happy to be back at school. They needed to be out of the house and around other kids their ages. I knew it had been hard but my 10 year old, who isn't emotional, was breaking down by the time she went back. She needed that connection with others. She's returned to her normal self the last few weeks.

[savan]

My kids are in middle school but they follow the same hybrid schedule as the elementary. A-L go Monday/Tuesday mornings and M-Z go Thursday/Friday. The days at home are asynchronous learning in the morning and a quick zoom check in with their teachers in the afternoon. They all have a one hour zoom Wednesday mornings.

They have a small amount of asynchronous work but it's basically 2 days at school and then a 5 day weekend. Not great but I guess it's a start?

[luckyval]

We’re not there yet. But the school system just released their plan.

Starting in December, 4th and 5th graders are getting divided into three groups, with 2 doing remote while the other is in school each week.
The schedule is mapped out through January. But teachers and principals are pushing back hard on bringing students back into the classroom.

Only elementary kids are being moved back in to classrooms. Middle and high school are staying remote through December.

Oh, and we now have an asynchronous school day every Wednesday. This started this week and it took DS like 1 hour to do all the work. So that was fun.

[Pilsy]

We have two cohorts, A and B, with A going in person on Monday/Tuesday and B going Thursday/Friday. The school is closed on Wednesday for a deep cleaning, so everyone is remote then.

They worked carefully to ensure siblings are in the same cohort and, in large part, so are entire neighborhoods. We had originally opted out of bus service, as we agreed on a carpool arrangement with a neighbor, but she told me (two days before school began - sweet!) that she couldn't fit the kids in her car after all. UGH. So, DD1 does ride the bus. They assign seats, have some windows open, and of course require masks. Classroom instruction is split between two rooms per class, with the teacher going between them; each class has an aide to provide some assistance and supervision in the other room.

2/3 remote days are great, with lots of instruction via Zoom. Wednesdays include live morning meeting, two live specials, and a live meeting of the whole school with skits and songs (with everyone but the performers on mute and sans video, thank goodness!); but the rest of the day is asynchronous and really tough on parents.

Lunch is in the lunchroom, but at old-fashioned desks so they can be spread apart generously. Recess is one class outside at a time, and still with masks.

We are probably going to 4 days in person, beginning 10/19. Wednesdays will remain remote. Depends on numbers next week, but that's the plan for K - 3. DD1 is looking forward to it, as she does prefer her days at school, but she's certainly not hating the remote days right now either.

[court26]

DD is in 5th. She goes T/Th and every other F for a full day with half her class. On M/W and every other F she has about 1-2 hours of asynchronous work. She is very bored on her home days (her brother is in middle school and when he is home he is in live classes all day so she is alone) but so very excited for school the next day. We don’t really have complaints- happy it is working out so far. I was worried about them being in masks all day, but they are just happy to go!

They both ride the bus and for us, very few kids are on the bus. Maybe 8-10?

[katiecj6]

Our school does has split the class in half and they alternate weeks. All the classes are streamed live via Google Meets.

All assignments are submitted via Google Classroom.

It is actually working pretty well. It helps that they release a weekly schedule with details regarding each class and assignments.

[megkat]

My first grader is doing hybrid half days- she goes five days a week, from 12-2:30. 12 kids in her classroom, masks required at all times

Art and music are virtual and to be done during the “at home” portion of the day. The school also sends their iPads back and forth, with work they can do on those. None of the asynchronous work has to be turned it, it’s basically on the honor system that we’re doing it. The school also sends home work they can do

She’s doing GREAT with the in school part of the day- I actually think the shortened time has been good for her. Where we’re struggling is getting her to understand that the mornings are still “school” time- she really thinks it’s just her time to watch TV or play. We’ve tried implementing checklists with limited success- I started a new job the same week school started, so we’re ALL still settling into our new routine

Oh, and we drive her to school. Mostly because we have the ability to, and I’d like to help keep numbers down on the bus, since I know some parents DON’T have to option to transport themselves

[scribellesam]

My kinder and 3rd grader are in school five days a week, for three hours. Each class is divided in two so half goes 8:30-11:30, and mine go 12:00-3:00. It’s actually working really well for us; my 3rd grader has special needs and a full 6 hour school day has always been very challenging for him. He also has about an hour of independent work he does in the morning; my kinder is supposed to do about 30 minutes.

I know this system has been more difficult for working parents to handle, but I’m a SAHM so I don’t mind it.

[sugarbear]

I am teaching remotely. My 4th graders is supposed to go back in a couple weeks, and I do not know the plan yet. My first grader has been in-person M / TH and remote the rest of the week. Our school offers supervision for families whose kids aren't in-person but have parents who need to work, which my 4th grader attends on the days that DS2 and I are already in the building. I kind of love it. It's enough socialization that they both feel like they are at school, but remote days are pretty easy now too.

[karinothing]

Thank you everyone. Can you speak to how the actual class day goes? I have a kind in K and 3rd. It looks like they will be in old schools desks and spaced out for both classes. Do the kids find being in class difficult? Are the teachers struggling with being unable to walk around the class?

Do they maintain social distancing at school all day? How does recess work?

[karinothing]

AS a side note, I am kind of sad they are going back because I have learned more Spanish in 5 weeks of Spanish kinder than I learned in 8 years of classes lol.

[thebreakfastclub]

My 2nd grader has been hybrid since I think the first week of September?

On week 1, group A attends Mon/Wed/Fri and group B attends Tue/Thu. For week 2, group A attends Mon/Wed and group B gets the Friday. Groups were decided by last names, although you could request a group based on family needs.

Each Saturday, assignments for the next week hit the ipad, which would be for the off days. My son attends daycare on his off days, so he most he does on those days at daycare is read or play some math games on his ipad.

We map out a plan each Sunday to get the assignments done through the week. We do a few on Sunday and then 1-2 each night until they're done. They are due on Friday by midnight, but sometimes we submit a final couple the next day, and nobody seems to care.

He wears a mask, the desks are separated, and I know they are spaced at lunch. They are somewhat separated at recess in smaller groups. Otherwise I don't know much more. That's on me, it's been highly communicated, I just haven't read all of it. My son is doing well and enjoying his school year, so no complaints from me.

[Deleted]

Oct 8, 2020 10:44:55 GMT -5 karinothing said:

Thank you everyone. Can you speak to how the actual class day goes? I have a kind in K and 3rd. It looks like they will be in old schools desks and spaced out for both classes. Do the kids find being in class difficult? Are the teachers struggling with being unable to walk around the class?

Do they maintain social distancing at school all day? How does recess work?

My girls said at first it was weird to have their desks so far apart but they are used to it now. Recess they're just reminded to distance. They both said they typically just sit with their friends and talk because it's too hot out to be running around with a mask on. I asked if it's worth it to go through all of that because we can switch them to 100% online in a few weeks and they said absolutely yes.

[eddy]

Cohort A is M/Tu and every other Wed
Cohort B is Th/F and every other Wed

My son has maybe 10 people in his classroom?

Masks are required.

We just started up last week. Only my youngest is in hybrid and is SO HAPPY. 

[marie]

Oct 8, 2020 10:25:52 GMT -5 katiecj6 said:

Our school does has split the class in half and they alternate weeks. All the classes are streamed live via Google Meets.

All assignments are submitted via Google Classroom.

It is actually working pretty well. It helps that they release a weekly schedule with details regarding each class and assignments.

This is our situation... they are split alphabetically, so siblings are on the same schedule.  Been at it since 9/15 and so far so good!  We opted out of the bus and drive them, which is a pain in the butt, but makes me feel more at ease.  There was a positive COVID case at the high school, and it reassured me that I knew my kids were not on a bus that a COVID positive student rode earlier in the day.

ETA: Masks are required ALL day, gym included.  They go outdoors for mask breaks often and no masks at lunch (obviously).

[Pilsy]

Oct 8, 2020 10:44:55 GMT -5 karinothing said:

Thank you everyone. Can you speak to how the actual class day goes? I have a kind in K and 3rd. It looks like they will be in old schools desks and spaced out for both classes. Do the kids find being in class difficult? Are the teachers struggling with being unable to walk around the class?

Do they maintain social distancing at school all day? How does recess work?

Ours are using old-school desks for now. It's not ideal, but it's necessary. DD1 doesn't mind at all and likes having her own space. Really, just being back at the school is exciting for her, and I think the changes are tougher on parents and teachers than they are on the children. 

I have heard our teachers are nervous about bumping up to 4 days in person, but I haven't heard anything specific about not being able to roam the classroom. Everyone acknowledges this year is different and not ideal 

My understanding is, they're doing a great job of maintaining social distancing. In our classrooms, they are at a minimum of 5.5', nose to nose. I mentioned recess above, but they don't allow classes to comingle, and masks stay on. The kids don't seem to mind a bit. Again, it's the parents who have some issues with it, but the kids are pretty "go with the flow" and taking the changes in stride. 

[expectantsteelerfan]

Our school is hybrid right now. A students attend Mon/Tues. B students attend Thurs./Fri. Everyone is remote Wed. There is also the option to be fully remote. On Wed. the teachers do synchronous lessons for all the students and then they also have some asynchronous work. On Mon/Tues/Thurs/Fri. the teacher teaches the in class kids while also streaming lessons to the remote kids. This sounds like it would be insane, but we are 4 weeks in and it is going well so far. Elementary is going much smoother than middle school for us (dd is in 3rd, ds is in 6th). Right now my kids are not riding the bus. They both go on Mon/Tues, so I drop dd off in the morning, come home and take my dogs for a walk, then drop ds off. In the afternoon I pick dd up, drop her at home, and then go pick ds up. It's annoying but doable, esp. since both schools are only 5 min. away.
Our district is talking about increasing to 4 or 5 days in person next month, and they do ask that if you choose to send your kids to school, you use the busses at that point because they think having all the parents that are currently driving kids combined would overload the lots and take too long.

ETA...all desks are 6 ft. apart and have plexiglass dividers.  Kids wear a mask all day except during lunch.  Lunch is either in the lunch room or the LGI so they can stay 6 ft. apart there.  Both of my kids prefer the in-school days to the remote days by FAR.  

[jinkies]

Oct 8, 2020 10:44:55 GMT -5 karinothing said:

Thank you everyone. Can you speak to how the actual class day goes? I have a kind in K and 3rd. It looks like they will be in old schools desks and spaced out for both classes. Do the kids find being in class difficult? Are the teachers struggling with being unable to walk around the class?

Do they maintain social distancing at school all day? How does recess work?

We went from virtual to in-person options last week. I was really nervous about sending them back, especially since my 3rd grader was doing surprisingly well with virtual this fall. It just seemed like so many significant changes, that I was worried it would not be the experience she was expecting. 

She LOVES being back in school. They have to wear a mask. There is no circle time, and group work is done through their computers using headsets/mics to maintain distance. (We are 1-to-1 district). 

Teachers generally have a clear "zone" at the front of the class. My understanding is that they have laser pointers that they are supposed to use when helping kids with tech issues so that they don't have to go their desk/touch their computer. I can't comment on how much they are struggling, but it is for sure a very big change, and can't be easy. Especially for younger grades. 

Our school day was shortened by one hour, and there basically is no recess. There is one 11-minute break that doubles as "recess" and snack time, which they do outside. To the extent that they are able to play at recess, they are not allowed to have any toys/balls/etc that are not a permanent fixture of the playground. So I guess they are letting them on the swings and play structures, but not providing balls, jump-ropes, etc that they normally would. 

They have established 7 or 8 outdoor zones and teachers can sign up for time slots in the zones. So a lot of the teachers are taking the kids outside more frequently for mask breaks. They are going for walks, doing lessons outside, or just giving extra mask breaks. 

I think you asked this elsewhere, but I'm not having her ride the bus. I'm just not comfortable with the lack of supervision. 

[k3am]

Can I piggy back on this post? I'm part of a parent advocacy group for our district that is pushing our district to plan for resuming in person instruction, starting with our most vulnerable learners and then (hopefully!) gradually phasing in to include more of the student population via hybrid.

Our distance stance is.. all or nothing. Either all kids are in class with no safety precautions or distancing, or all kids are at home. Our county is doing pretty well statistically, and we've been allowed to reopen for weeks now, but the district is either not making plans or not willing to advertise that they are. Which.. is the reason for the group that we've formed. We are currently trying to compile as much information on comparable school disticts and how it's going/been recieved.

If anyone who's district is hybrid or going hybrid is willing to share (privately) their location, school district (bonus points if your district is large - 30k+, but not necessary), hybrid model, and how it's working for you guys (parent or teacher views would be appreciated), I would really appreciate it. I know it takes away some of the anonymity of a message board, so if you're not comfortable, no worries.

[devonpow]

Ours hasn’t started yet. Kindergarten and preK are in full time and have been since September 16

Hybrid for grades 1-2 and 9th is set to start on the 20th. All other grades the week after. Two cohorts. A attends on mondays and Tuesdays full day. Alternating Wednesdays until noon (no lunch). Cohort B goes Thursday and Friday all day and also alternating Wednesday through noon. We aren’t totally sure of what kids will do on their off days, but it will be asynchronous for non high school (high school might use Owl cameras for synchronous learning). They might also have all specials on off days.

Safety includes 6 feet of distancing, no sharing of any supplies, universal masking, and upgraded ventilation systems. Specific quarantine space in each school and a detailed quarantine plan (we are currently on a 14 day quarantine because my older son had a soccer teammate test positive). Currently still developing a testing plan- don’t know if that will be in effect by the 20th.

[jinkies]

Oct 8, 2020 11:37:00 GMT -5 k3am said:

Can I piggy back on this post? I'm part of a parent advocacy group for our district that is pushing our district to plan for resuming in person instruction, starting with our most vulnerable learners and then (hopefully!) gradually phasing in to include more of the student population via hybrid.

Our distance stance is.. all or nothing. Either all kids are in class with no safety precautions or distancing, or all kids are at home. Our county is doing pretty well statistically, and we've been allowed to reopen for weeks now, but the district is either not making plans or not willing to advertise that they are. Which.. is the reason for the group that we've formed. We are currently trying to compile as much information on comparable school disticts and how it's going/been recieved.

If anyone who's district is hybrid or going hybrid is willing to share (privately) their location, school district (bonus points if your district is large - 30k+, but not necessary), hybrid model, and how it's working for you guys (parent or teacher views would be appreciated), I would really appreciate it. I know it takes away some of the anonymity of a message board, so if you're not comfortable, no worries.

Our district has 18k kids in PA. I can PM you more specific info (including our publicly available health and safety plan) if you would like it. 

For our Hybrid option, "A" students go on Mon/Tues. Wednesday all hybrid learners are at home. "B" students go Thurs/Fri. I'm not exactly sure how the hybrid groups were formed, but all children within the same household are on the same hybrid schedule.

Kids have 3 choices: Remain fully virtual, go hybrid using the schedule above, or at the elementary level ONLY, they can choose full time. 

At the elementary level, students were placed into classes based on their selection. For 3rd grade for example, there are 2 full time classes, one hybrid, and 2 fully virtual classes. 

At the secondary level there is no 5-day option, and hybrid and virtual kids are in the same classes. Teachers are expected to live stream to the virtual and at-home hybrid students at the same time as they are teaching the students who are physically in the room with them. Most instruction is synchronous.

Elementary hybrid students are at desks 6 feet apart. Elementary full time students, and secondary hybrid students, are 3 feet apart. Everyone wears masks. This was approved by our county health director. 

They have shortened the school days by 1 hour to allow for extra planning time.

As a parent, it is going OK. My biggest challenge right now is logistics. My son is playing a school sport, but because of the extra planning period for teachers at the end of the day, he has to come home and then go back for practice. Even if we wanted to take the bus, the bus ride is too long to get him home, eat lunch, get changed, and then return to school. On the 2 days that he is in school, I spend all afternoon driving.

Beyond that, the kids are happier than I expected being back in class. I was really worried about all the changes. I was also very worried about the teachers being asked to simultaneously teach in person and online students, but generally it has been fine. The end result is that they are basically just doing the exact same thing that they were doing in the fully virtual model (ie: sitting in front of the computer). THey are just doing from their school desk instead of their room. 

[k3am]

jinkies, this is great! If you wouldn't mind PM'ing me the additional info, I'd appreciate it. (We are trying to have specific data points of where they've brought kids back into the classroom so that we can provide a more meaningful argument.)

[karinothing]

Can I ask a practical question. Do the kids in hybrid do work mainly on the ipad or are they doing pen and paper work? There is a group here pushing the narrative that kids won't be able to do anything via paper because teachers cant get w/in 6 feet of kids. But I feel like that isn't really going to be as big of problem as they are making it out to be.

[Pilsy]

Oct 8, 2020 12:15:57 GMT -5 karinothing said:

Can I ask a practical question. Do the kids in hybrid do work mainly on the ipad or are they doing pen and paper work? There is a group here pushing the narrative that kids won't be able to do anything via paper because teachers cant get w/in 6 feet of kids. But I feel like that isn't really going to be as big of problem as they are making it out to be.

Both remotely and in person, my daughter does plenty of work with pencil and paper. 

We have 1:1 iPads that go back and forth with them, so I know they use them in the classroom (and obviously at home), but by no means are they using iPads only. 

[waverly]

Hybrid is going OK. Ours is alternating Mondays. Cohort A is Tues/ Thurs and Cohort B is Wed/ Fri. DD gets to keep her current teacher, and is happy to get out of the house and have some away time from her brother who is continuing fully remote.

Childcare is still an issue because they really only go on Mondays 1 Monday a month because of Columbus Day, PT Conferences, the Election is a holiday now in our state, Fall break etc. So you would still need childcare the other 3 days. The other 3 days are only 1 meeting and the rest of the day is asynchronous. I don't think it is quite as academically robust as full e-learning due to that, but they do get more academics on the days they are there than the remote learners.

If you chose to stay remote, then students were moved to a remote only teacher. They meet with their in person classroom teacher 3 times a week just to keep that connection for if they ever go back in person. It is 2.5 asynchronous and 2.5 hours asynchronous. So again not as fully robust as when it was more synchronous back when everyone was remote, but I figure academically everyone will be behind this year, so I am not too worried about that.

DD and DS are both happy with their choices as of now. It is only week 3, and so far we have not had to quarantine.