Post by redpenmama on Jan 19, 2021 21:58:38 GMT -5
Do you think your kids will ever go back to school?
I know this sounds ridiculous, but if you have been virtual since March, do you have any hope of returning to school? Does your district have an achievable return to school plan? In my area, it seems like there are districts willing to find a solution and make it work, and districts (like ours) that are completely unwilling to consider returning. There's no middle ground.
Our district has failed miserably in its response to the pandemic. There is still no plan to return, other than a case number matrix that will be unachievable in our city for not only this year but next year too. We've faced ever-changing targets -- just as we get close to hitting one and reopening, the rules change.
I feel completely hopeless. My kids are struggling. My 4th grader has developed terrible anxiety and cries daily about missing school. My 1st grader is totally disengaged and has about an hour of busy work to do a day and has learned nothing. Our school is doing the bare minimum compared to other elementary schools in the district.
Private schools are pretty much out of our price range. I have contacted the few that we could maybe afford, and no one will respond to an email or return a phone call. Their waitlists are miles long, so I don't even know why I'm calling, other than pure desperation. I am struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel and to give my kids any hope of going to school. At this point, I am concerned about the 2021-22 year too, not just the remainder of this year.
Post by luv2rn4fun on Jan 19, 2021 22:37:37 GMT -5
((Hugs)). While our school district is open (and also offers a full day option for those who want it) many districts in surrounding counties (and even within our county where numbers are very high) are not. I have friends and family whose kids are still 100% virtual and they are all suffering so much.
I really hope that things can look different for everyone next year but I feel like reality is that things might not look much different (at least for us...I think school will be more or less the same, which is hard to fathom...my Kindergartner goes 2.25 hours and does the rest at home. And all his therapies are at home too. My plate is full and I am a SAHM). My biggest hope is that all kids can return to at least some form of school next year. Our numbers are very high here and yet I do feel DS1 is mostly safe at school (he goes 50%, social distance, and masks).
I'm sorry that you're struggling so much, that sounds awful. Is hiring a tutor for a few hours a week something you could afford?
My kids go hybrid, and I expect that to continue for the remainder of the school year unless the new UK variant spikes cases so badly that hospitals are overwhelmed. We debate pulling them to full remote weekly, but so far have not pulled that switch.
Right now I'm expecting that adult vaccination is widespread enough by September that school will reopen 5 days per week in September, probably still with masking and some efforts at distancing. But it's really hard to say what will happen in the future.
My kids are 100% virtual, but their (public) school also offers 5 day, in person. My guess is that in the fall, virtual will not be an option.
One thing I have learned is that “virtual school” success not only depends on the child’s learning style and parent’s ability to help/supplement/guide, but also very significantly on the teacher and the ways they are implementing the system. Each school does things differently. Some are just trying to keep the same schedule, but doing it over Zoom. Others have completely re-worked the schedule and curriculum. I think those who have completely redone things are having more success with less burnout for teachers and students.
Does your state offer a public virtual option? Ours already had a similar program, so some families chose to enroll in that. Our district has done a good job developing a program that attempts to balance screen time and curriculum standards, and it’s going pretty well overall...though they’re missing out on a few important things, IMO.
I would encourage you to reach out to your district and talk to them. I think sometimes they don’t really know what it’s like on the other end. We have a person who is essentially the virtual school principal, and I have called him several times to discuss things. Most recently, we requested a parent forum to discuss different issues. All have been very beneficial. He is super receptive to feedback (I make sure to also praise all the things they’re doing well.) and some significant changes have come as a result of our conversations.
I'm sorry that you're struggling so much, that sounds awful. Is hiring a tutor for a few hours a week something you could afford?
My kids go hybrid, and I expect that to continue for the remainder of the school year unless the new UK variant spikes cases so badly that hospitals are overwhelmed. We debate pulling them to full remote weekly, but so far have not pulled that switch.
Right now I'm expecting that adult vaccination is widespread enough by September that school will reopen 5 days per week in September, probably still with masking and some efforts at distancing. But it's really hard to say what will happen in the future.
Good suggestion. I honestly haven't considered it but could afford it. I would certainly need someone capable of supplementing the insufficient learning they are receiving from their school. Finding a way to enhance their work is on my to-do list, but I also work and have a 3-year-old at home too, so I am just stretched too thin. Outsourcing that may help.
I agree with your assessment on next year -- I fully expect masking/distancing in place too. My kids just need to be in a classroom, and I am losing hope (but admittedly not in a good place right now, so it's fueling my anxiety about this).
Post by pinkdutchtulips on Jan 19, 2021 23:42:39 GMT -5
I’m cautiously optimistic that she’ll go back in the fall 🤞🤞 The teachers’ union in my district is fighting any kind of re-opening and they have the district superintendent’s blessing. Nothing has been done since March ‘19 about re-opening other than lots of parent surveys that they nothing with.
To say that this has been a hard year for Miss R is a massive understatement. She’s not a self motivated learner at all and w me working at my office w no chance of working at home, it’s a constant battle to get work done.
Post by mccallister84 on Jan 19, 2021 23:52:22 GMT -5
My girls are in preschool and I really have to believe they will go in September. Only one stand alone preschool opened here this year. Their school has at least started registration for next year, which most schools have not. The public school is currently hybrid.
Post by wesleycrusher on Jan 20, 2021 0:10:11 GMT -5
We've been virtual since March. The district constantly changes their plans last minute. They called at 8:30 pm the Saturday before school was supposed to begin on Monday and delayed the start by one week. Then the district tried reopening in November. They assigned kids to their different days for hybrid. The week before cancelled hybrid and said only ESL/ select special needs students would go back. So they let 800 special need/ESL students go back hybrid for one week before they went back to all virtual. Now they are saying select students in mid February, but we won't get more details until later this week.
Getting little to no information and the last minutes changes is ridiculous to me with our household having 2 parents who work FT with no family nearby. I think our teachers are doing an excellent job teaching virtually and our kids have live instruction 8am-3pm everyday, and I do see my kids learning and progressing, but from a purely planning standpoint there have been A LOT of screw-ups from the district.
Post by cricketwife on Jan 20, 2021 9:54:18 GMT -5
I'm really sorry. I think that looking into a tutor could be a "good" solution (as good as it gets, these days.) I have friend who hired a college student and it's worked really well. She pays less than half the cost of a "real" tutor (degreed professional) but it works for them. Of course if your kids have any special needs it may be better to see if you can find a professional. It has the added benefit of just taking some of the burden (and arguments, if that applies) off of you.
Post by minniemouse on Jan 20, 2021 10:06:05 GMT -5
Hugs. This is so hard, and so dependent on the individual schools and teachers. We have been hybrid since September with a 3 week period of full virtual when cases spiked around thanksgiving-early December. I am hopeful they will be back 5 days/week by September. My fingers are crossed that even if kids are not approved to be vaccinated yet, the teachers and staff will be. I hope that’s enough to get the schools to reopen. While I am grateful we have a hybrid option I honestly think my 2nd grader learned way more in the 3 virtual weeks. She got teacher led instruction 4.5 days/week during that time. With hybrid she is in person 2 days a week, with a 1.5 hour zoom on Wednesdays. The other 2 days a week is asynchronous. The middle schooler zooms into her classes on her at home days, so she actually is getting a full week of instruction.
We are hybrid. Full days in one week and out virtual the next. I think we will be 100% in school in the fall, but still with masks and as much distancing as possible. I know the vaccine rollout has been at a snails pace, but I am hoping for some level of herd immunity in the Fall. We also had good Covid numbers until Thanksgiving, so I think we can semi safely return and hope the vaccine is out for the majority by late Fall. I know the outlook on vaccinating those under 12 is not quite clear yet though.
Edited because somehow I randomly tagged a few people :-)
We were in hybrid (1/3 in person) for maybe 2.5 months. Middle schools are closed now and I think they may return to hybrid in April after the spring break. That assumes cases will be much lower in April than they are now. Schools run very late into the year here so opening in April would be almost 3 months of school.
Virtual is hard but not in the way I expected. Our middle school is doing pretty much the full curriculum so on-line burn out is serious problem as well as isolation. Doing the whole day on zoom and then having 2-3 hours of homework is just draining. Because my kids are older hybrid is not as heavy a burden on my family as it would be for others in terms of child care so while it isn't ideal I am really hoping for at least 1/3 to 1/2 time in person at some point this year.
I believe the next school year will have considerable restrictions on it as well. No one knows what it will be and based on this year we might not really know the plan until 2 weeks before school starts. The plan does depend on vaccine rates, case rates and parental views (well over 50% families picked full virtual, so parents are pushing to keep schools closed not open).
We've been hybrid K-5 since October, so it's possible. 6th grade went back later and senior started back this week. I posted a little about our schedule in the thread on ML yesterday.
I will say, I think schools are able to return to hybrid because many people pulled their kids or chose full virtual. Previously our elementary school was seriously overcrowded for a variety of issues, but the loss of students have allowed for social distancing in classrooms and enough classrooms for all of the students/grades. For example, our music teacher has been on the cafeteria stage for several years, but this year now has a classroom.
I do think the push back to school was a bit quick, but locally, I'm in a pretty generous red area. We had people telling the BOE that the virus was a hoax, so there's that. Thankfully there's been no in-school spread so far. I have a feeling if they bring more than 1 grade into the middle/high schools spread will increase.
Unfortunately our state/local area's vaccine roll-out is abysmal, so I can only hope at least teachers are vaccinated by the end of the school year.
Have you looked at tuition for online schools? There are quite a few "school from home" programs which some homeschooling families use. You go at your own pace, your child watches videos or participates in interactive lessons (not live), and grading is online. Some have a flat fee for the school year, while others have monthly fees. This is a common "homeschool" approach for many families with working parents.
Our district was remote all last spring and returned in September with full in person K-5, hybrid for 6-12. We had about a month of everyone being remote over the holidays due to staffing shortages, and high school has had some additional breaks, but we are back to the previous schedule for now. Everything is very dynamic, which is hard on kids who crave routine. K-5 is better able to maintain in person than high school because the quarantines are smaller, due to more stable cohorts.
We're white knuckling it through in person because DD struggles badly with virtual. I think that's common at her age (5). My friend has a first grader who has been remote since March, and she is resigned to the possibility that she may repeat 1st grade, and then be in DD's grade (despite being 18 months older, eesh).
For my friend, she doesn't feel she can do in person until her mom & grandmother are vaccinated, because they are in a multigenerational household situation. But once they are, she will go back when she can. Once teachers are vaccinated, and parents have access, I think many of the worries are significantly reduced, esp. at the elementary level. I don't expect the 2021-22 school year to be "normal," and I expect masking and distancing may be necessary until pediatric vaccines are available and widespread, but I do expect full time in person and return to a more stable school environment by next year.
Post by Velar Fricative on Jan 20, 2021 11:42:42 GMT -5
I'm sorry, redpenmama . Ditto the suggestion of investigating a tutor option.
My second-grader now goes in 2-3 days a week (some neighboring schools have younger kids going 5 days but her school doesn't have as much space for everyone who wants hybrid learning to do that). My Pre-K3 kid goes 5 days to her local preschool center, but will hopefully get into Pre-K4 at DD1's school for September. I expect full-time school to happen by September, because teachers are already eligible to be vaccinated. DH believes his union will agree to open schools fully if, among various demands, one of them is that all teachers who have the opportunity to get vaccinated have been given the opportunity before they commit to fully reopening. And September seems like a likely target. But, I expect there to be masks and as much distancing as possible still too.
I mean, nothing is set in stone but I have to stay optimistic. DD1's at-home days aren't that great, and she's so much happier in the building. If she still can't go full-time in September, we will investigate tutoring options too. I have no desire to homeschool more than I have to and there are many reasons I refuse to pull her/them out of public school.
Our schools have been open the whole time, although sometimes on a hybrid plan. We are virtual by choice and it's working well for us. I fully expect the kids to be back in school in fall. Being virtual has been so good for my second grader that I am still not sure what we will do next year. I always have homeschool for her in the back of my mind.
Well, my kid has been 100% virtual this year by our choice (could choose hybrid or virtual) and I still consider him to be “in school”. 🤷🏻♀️
His school and teachers have done an amazing job adapting the curriculum to online/hybrid learning and he’s doing great, with almost no supervision from me during the day, which I know we’re lucky to experience. He wants to continue virtually next year, but we’ve moved and committed to send him to the local public school next year. I hope we have the virus under control by then because I’m dreading exposing ourselves to people who don’t take it seriously.
I know this is not realistic, but I think if my school district wouldn't consider anything for this year or next year, then I would enroll in private or move. In terms of private, I believe enrollment starts now.
If you thought that they would open in the fall, then the tutor until the end of the school year sounds viable.
We both work, and we have had to pay a nanny the entire school year so far. The nanny is way overpaid at this point because we are just trying to keep her with us since they are also going hyrbid. However, school plans to return to 100% then I feel like they will quickly go remote and then we will have lost the nanny. It's been kind of nightmare, but you are right at least they have gotten to go hybrid so far.
Children here are in school and I'm pretty sure it's because of the government's swift reaction to the pandemic. Our provincial government has had no qualms about making masks mandatory, prioritizing education over the economy, and not hesitating to close businesses like bars, nightclubs and gyms where modeling shows a larger risk of outbreak. That being said I know teachers here who feel they have not been given enough guidance, and there is also concern from parents with children who are immunocompromised about the lack of support for their children's education.
Post by sandandsea on Jan 20, 2021 16:22:22 GMT -5
Not this year, maybe in August. We have decided to keep DS2 in private next year for kindergarten as we’ve lost faith in our district going back on August and I’m not signing up for virtual K. If we don’t go back in August we will be sending ds1 to private as well. This year has been pretty bleak for him and they’re maybe covering half of a typical 3rd grade year via distance learning and Catching up will be hard for him the longer this continues as he’s not a self motivated learner.
ETA. We have hired outside tutors and will have to go back to the office in the summer so the cost of private will be offset by the cost of daycare plus tutors.
Post by hbomdiggity on Jan 20, 2021 17:31:11 GMT -5
Our governor recently relaxed the requirements, yet again, but it’s still a huge uphill climb to get the union on board. Our vaccine distribution has been atrocious which is not helping.
I lost any hope last summer and enrolled DS in private for K. He has been 2 hours limited in person per day since Sept. Now with the new requirements, all grades can go full time, which starts next week. It has been the best decision ever.
When we registered in the summer I was def still wanting to be open minded about the possibility of public school for future years, but now I’ve already submitted an intent to return for 1st and he will likely stay through 8th.
I so wish we had put my two elementary schoolers (1st and 3rd) in private school this year. We could afford it, but when our governor said in July that no schools could open if cases didn't go way down, I worried about private school also being remote and then ending up paying private tuition and still having to pay for childcare, which would have been a stretch. Then of course all the private schools filled up.
We're now hybrid, but my first grade boy in particular has had a terrible year. The main thing keeping me going is that our district (only 8 elementary schools) has a very concrete plan to go to 5 days (8 am - 12:45 each day, so they don't have to have lunch at school and worry about spacing on the rare rainy day) when our cases decline enough. They've already hired more teachers to reduce class sizes. So I do think it actually may happen before the end of the year.
That said, we're still on the fence about applying for the first grader to a Waldorf school. It's really pricey, and far away, and would super complicate our lives. But he really really needs to have some consistency day to day and actual learning more than 2 days a week.
Post by chickadee77 on Jan 20, 2021 19:00:55 GMT -5
I hope so, but I don't know. Virtual this year has been a cluster (apparently on purpose - we're in FL and they want everyone back in brick and mortar ASAP) - we pulled to homeschool. She's working at least a full grade level ahead - I don't know how I feel about sending her back at this point. I know she loves hanging with classmates, etc., but I also think homeschooling will look very different for us post-pandemic - we plan to do a lot more social activities, but, being in FL, don't feel safe doing so right now. I hate to send her back to re-do concepts she already grasps - this was something that really discouraged me in school, and I'm wary of doing the same thing to her.
And, then, we're also looking at moving to somewhere fairly remote, out-of-the-US, so it might be a moot point anyhow. We'll see.
Our district went back hybrid (2 days per week) this week and is making the decision on 2 days plus alternating Wednesdays or five days beginning the second week of February.
I am super surprised we are going from virtual to FT so quickly. We do have a virtual option, but if we choose virtual, we are choosing it through the end of the year, and I am not willing to say my kid won’t be in school for seven more months. I have high hopes for April and May after the vaccine ramps up, and I figure it is easier to keep him home for a few weeks if rates get bad and then send him back again than to choose virtual now.
The state is loosening guidelines and the governor wants the youngest kids to be hybrid by 2/15. Some districts are going full force and others seem to be waiting and watching. Our district is in the waiting and watching zone but the survey they did in August vs the one they did earlier this month had really drastic changes. Sounds like 60% of our district is content with staying distance. We live in a low income district so I'm surprised by these results. I'm not planning on DD (4th) returning to in person this school year. She wouldn't do well with hybrid and we have gotten a good routine down and she works independently well 95% of the time.
Post by redpenmama on Jan 20, 2021 22:34:53 GMT -5
Thanks everyone for your responses -- you have made me feel less alone in my struggles. I'm sorry for those of you who are also struggling with virtual.
lilac05, our district offers a separate virtual academy, but it was thrown together very last minute, and I have heard terrible things about it, so I don't think that's worth investigating.
waverly, I actually told my husband the other night that we either need to get on every private waitlist in town and figure out the finances next (we could do it but it'd be a stretch with 3 kids...) or move to a county south of us where schools are open (and where H works). So, those suggestions, sadly, make some sense to me.
CloudBee, online homeschooling would probably be my next step if our district remained virtual next year and we couldn't get into the few private schools in our area. I would not attend our current school virtually again.
My 4th grader went to sleep again tonight sobbing that she can't handle virtual school anymore. I am going to reach out to our school's counselor, if she's willing, to see if she can talk to someone. I need to deal with the long-term issues on my end, but in the short term, I simply need to get her in a better mindset to get through this school year.
I’m so sorry that she’s struggling so much. I hope the counselor will be able to meet with her virtually to some help for her.
Is it possible for you and her to take a mental health day? Call her out of school and then just spend the day together. Grab takeout and eat it in the car somewhere different. Go for a walk somewhere. Snuggle on the couch and watch a movie. Just take time to relax and breathe.
I’m trying to stay optimistic about next year. Now that Biden is in office, I think things will change in vaccine administration. We’re also coming up on a possible new vaccine or two available soon. Try not to borrow worry. You’ve got enough on your plate already. If it helps you feel better, call about getting on private school waiting lists so you feel like you have a backup plan...but try to stay optimistic that good things are coming.
I’m so sorry that she’s struggling so much. I hope the counselor will be able to meet with her virtually to some help for her.
Is it possible for you and her to take a mental health day? Call her out of school and then just spend the day together. Grab takeout and eat it in the car somewhere different. Go for a walk somewhere. Snuggle on the couch and watch a movie. Just take time to relax and breathe.
I’m trying to stay optimistic about next year. Now that Biden is in office, I think things will change in vaccine administration. We’re also coming up on a possible new vaccine or two available soon. Try not to borrow worry. You’ve got enough on your plate already. If it helps you feel better, call about getting on private school waiting lists so you feel like you have a backup plan...but try to stay optimistic that good things are coming.
Great suggestions on all fronts! I do feel a bit more hopeful after today’s inauguration. Thanks for the ideas...I think a mental health day is just what she needs.
redpenmama, when we were originally looking at private, we were planning on sending both our elementary schoolers. But now that we’ve realized that 3rd grade DD has done pretty well with virtual and hybrid and likes the YMCA distance learning support program where we send the kids, while 1st grade DS is really struggling, we’ve decided we’d only do private for him. That would give us more financial flexibility. Have you considered only sending 1-2 kids who need it more to private, instead of all 3?