🎒 How to start planning for what's coming.
Though we'd all prefer to be planning pool parties, the fall is on all of our minds.
Last week held the last day of school for my kids. What should have been a joyous day kicking off a lazy summer stretch is instead overshadowed by the extreme uncertainty of what “coming back to school” might mean in September.
This uncertainly has increased recently because 1. cases continue to skyrocket, mostly eliminating hopes for full in-person school reopenings in the fall and 2. different districts, cities and areas are starting to release snippets of information about what parents might expect. While they may have good intentions of sharing info as they feel comfortable with it, for parents it feels like an anxiety filled breadcrumb trail, trying to pick up little tidbits and make sense of it. This all while still trying to do our jobs and the childcare that hasn’t abated. Should I make plans to hire a tutor/nanny? Should I move closer to family? Should I take some time off from work this fall to manage this all? Big questions needing more firm answers. Answers that just aren’t readily available.
So over this summer we’ll continue to share the latest of how different places are thinking about it and any early data but to start, here’s resources and information to start wading into this complicated pool.
Emerging options for School Openings (from this John Hopkins report):
Remote and Blended learning - eg. in-person for 1-2 days/week, rest remote, or one week on, one week off.
In-person classes for select groups - eg vulnerable students and children of essential workers attend in-person classes
In-Person classes/activities for particular age groups - eg older kids with exam requirements or younger kids to ease working parent burden
Universal In-Person Classes with a Remote Opt-Out Option - In-person for majority but offer option of remote for those with preference to remain remote
Early examples of these:
Fairfax County, Virgina: 2 days on campus or full-time remote learning
🧰 The Tools
Resources to continue monitoring information, research and recommendations:
Filling in the Blanks: National Research Needs to Guide Decisions about Reopening Schools in the United States - Really in depth report around the many, interrelated decisions to be made, plus detailed looks at what other countries have been doing and their early data.
What Parents Can Learn From Child Care Centers That Stayed Open During Lockdowns - reports from orgs like the YMCA and how they’ve quickly and effectively implemented smaller pods, handwashing for kids and physical distancing, in ways that aren’t scary or onerous for kids.
Education Week - How We Go Back To School
🧐 Worth Reading/ Watching
🎈Nuggets for the Week Ahead
🏕Camps for the kids this week:
Camp Kinda - Kingdom of Bugs
Camp Wonderopolis - Wonder Job Site
Camp Kiwi Co - Atlas Camp
🍉 5 fun Summer things for this week