msliz
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The Procrastinator
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Jun 26, 2014 21:32:34 GMT
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Post by msliz on Jul 23, 2020 17:17:21 GMT
msliz Did they send a survey in the spring? No, just the one this week. In the spring, they were ordered to shut their doors by the (Connecticut) governor, and schools that were able to continue online did just that. Other schools, in impoverished areas, ended the school year early.
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gotigers
New Member
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Feb 7, 2018 1:00:34 GMT
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Post by gotigers on Jul 23, 2020 17:18:47 GMT
I’m a teacher in a small private school. At the moment, we are going back 100% in person even though doctors and health districts are asking schools to reconsider that decision. I saw my classroom on Monday. Our rooms are being set up for us. All extra furniture was removed. No tables for small group work. No reading corners. All desks are six feet apart. Masks will be required. No cubbies will be used to store backpacks. No lockers for our middle and high school students. Middle schoolers stay in one classroom all day and teachers come to them. No cafeteria. Lunch will be in the classroom. High school kids will go back to their home room to eat. Seeing the classrooms set up made it all seem very real. I have two high school kids and a middle schooler and I teach elementary. My kids want to go back to see friends. When I saw my classroom, I realized that social interactions will not really happen. Kids will be completely isolated in a room full of people. Working with a friend on an assignment can’t happen if you can’t sit next to each other. If friends aren’t assigned to the same class, they won’t see each other all day. It will be hard to make new friends if you can’t interact with people. My daughter who is a junior already knows that she doesn’t have any classes with one of her best friends. She’ll never see her at school. No hanging out at lockers or at lunch. My son who is a freshman has one class with his best friend so he will see him. Class lists haven’t come out yet for my middle schooler but I’m praying she’s in class with her best friend. She’s shy and if they are separated it’s going to be hard. I worry so much about how kids are going to react when the reality hits that what they wanted from school will not be happening. At this point, I would rather do online and set up study groups for my kids with their few close friends. It would get them the social interactions they need. I’m really worried about the feeling of isolation even though you are with people. I taught in a building once without hallways. No walking down the hall and stopping by to say hello to my fellow teachers. Even though I saw adults during the day and went to meetings with them, I never felt more alone. It was probably my worst year teaching. I quit that job and found one in a building where I could talk to people more. A teacher in my new building asked why I left the other job because the new one paid less and I told her that this building has hallways.
I also worry about the logistics of it all. Teachers will get sick. Subs will be needed. In normal times, districts struggle to get enough subs. If you don’t have subs and teachers are out sick, you can’t run a school. Is it really good for kids to have a constant stream of different people teaching the class. Or is opening then closing then opening again and then closing again doing the kids any favors.
There are no good answers. Online was tough. In person will be tough. I don’t have any answers. I know I will be there on the first day of school with my mask on though.
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Post by refugeepea on Jul 23, 2020 17:26:38 GMT
I'm fortunate I have a choice. It's more than covid-19 though. I don't trust our school district to make the right choices concerning my son's health and IEP. He cannot do online learning. It has to be face to face, but his health is more important. I really feel for the parents who need to work.
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Post by craftedbys on Jul 23, 2020 17:39:32 GMT
Both of my kids are in college and both of their schools are doing a mixture of in person and online classes. Both schools have set some pretty strict social distancing guidelines/rules and my kids are both very much aware of the importance and will be as safe as they possibly can.
Both kids are also Resident Advisors so hopefully they will get information straight from the administration in a timely manner. We went and did the last of the shopping since they both leave at the end of next week. The cashier actually asked me if I was concerned about letting them leave and seem surprised that I am not as worried as some.
She did laugh when I said they have been hime for over four months and mama needs a bit of a break.
I am thankful that my kids are older. I cannot imagine the worry of parents with smaller children. My heart truly hurts for those single mothers who have to go to work and don't really have much of a choice. I wish there was a way to help people in that situation.
I have two nieces that have elementary aged kids (and one middle schooler) and they keep posting pictures on Facebook of them not social distancing and not wearing masks. Them I am not about to waste my time worrying about because they either obviously don't care or are just plain stupid. FYI the kicker is one is a special Ed teacher who should act more responsibly!
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johnnysmom
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Jun 25, 2014 21:16:33 GMT
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Post by johnnysmom on Jul 23, 2020 17:40:06 GMT
I don’t disagree that it will be drastically different from anything we’ve ever experienced but not all states/districts have the same restrictions. Our state has said that the kids can have recess though only with their own class. They can have gym class they just recommend it be held outside. The elementary kids don’t have to be masked all day, just in common areas. Our district hasn’t completed their plan yet so I’m not sure how they will accommodate both online and in person yet, hopefully it won’t be all screen time in class but we’ll see. It will suck that ds won’t see his friends from the other class at recess (and I’ve seen the class list, he’s not with any of his best friends ☹️) but he’ll adjust.
I hope that whatever choice parents make for their kids, however crappy it might seem, they at least ooze positivity in front of their kids. This is not a one size fits all situation and I’m glad schools are offering options when practical (outside of hot zones).
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Kerri W
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,776
Location: Kentucky
Jun 25, 2014 20:31:44 GMT
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Post by Kerri W on Jul 23, 2020 17:40:37 GMT
I have two high school kids and a middle schooler and I teach elementary. I also worry about the logistics of it all. Teachers will get sick. Subs will be needed. In normal times, districts struggle to get enough subs. If you don’t have subs and teachers are out sick, you can’t run a school. These were two issues discussed at our board of ed meeting last night. There are a significant number of families between family size and parents who are teachers, who span all four schools in our district. We are a small district. Having to quarantine for one family would be a significant challenge. My family alone-one DS in high school, one DGS in intermediate, one DGS in primary, one DD who teaches at the primary school and one DD who is the high school cheerleading coach but has a few 8th graders on her squad as well. We are one of *those* families who touch each school in the district. Our district currently has 8 subs. EIGHT.
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Post by SockMonkey on Jul 23, 2020 17:44:08 GMT
I don’t disagree that it will be drastically different from anything we’ve ever experienced but not all states/districts have the same restrictions. Our state has said that the kids can have recess though only with their own class. They can have gym class they just recommend it be held outside. The elementary kids don’t have to be masked all day, just in common areas. Our district hasn’t completed their plan yet so I’m not sure how they will accommodate both online and in person yet, hopefully it won’t be all screen time in class but we’ll see. It will suck that ds won’t see his friends from the other class at recess (and I’ve seen the class list, he’s not with any of his best friends ☹️) but he’ll adjust. I hope that whatever choice parents make for their kids, however crappy it might seem, they at least ooze positivity in front of their kids. This is not a one size fits all situation and I’m glad schools are offering options when practical (outside of hot zones). You are correct, but I think you can fully expect situations in schools with fewer health modifications to result in student and staff illness and possibly death.
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Post by SockMonkey on Jul 23, 2020 17:47:35 GMT
I have two high school kids and a middle schooler and I teach elementary. I also worry about the logistics of it all. Teachers will get sick. Subs will be needed. In normal times, districts struggle to get enough subs. If you don’t have subs and teachers are out sick, you can’t run a school. These were two issues discussed at our board of ed meeting last night. There are a significant number of families between family size and parents who are teachers, who span all four schools in our district. We are a small district. Having to quarantine for one family would be a significant challenge. My family alone-one DS in high school, one DGS in intermediate, one DGS in primary, one DD who teaches at the primary school and one DD who is the high school cheerleading coach but has a few 8th graders on her squad as well. We are one of *those* families who touch each school in the district. Our district currently has 8 subs. EIGHT. We have zero subs assigned to any particular building full time. We have subs hired by the district, but all of them sign up for openings on the fly in an online system. If no one grabs an opening, there is no assigned sub. Teachers may be assigned to sub if they have a free (plan or resource) period. In our model, this would mean a) increased exposure for that teacher and b) loss of any time to go to the bathroom or get a drink of water, plan for the afternoon of remote learning, or connect with remote-only students during that time that should have been assigned for planning. Oh, they'll pay us a little extra. $30.
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AnotherPea
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,968
Jan 4, 2015 1:47:52 GMT
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Post by AnotherPea on Jul 23, 2020 17:49:19 GMT
Just curious, how old are your kids? Are they going to be allowed to be at the school unsupervised? At my school kids can’t be dropped off any earlier then when breakfast is served and that is 20 minutes before the first bell. I mean, parents could drop them off at the playground but that wouldn’t work in our weather for most of the fall as there is no covered area. Maybe your kids are older then elementary though? I disagree with there being a tax cut for kids not using public school. I guarantee you what you pay for schools is minimal and if there were a tax cut for people not utilizing schools (so anyone without kids or with older kids p, etc) schools would have next to nothing and they are struggling as it is. Schools benefit everyone even if you aren’t utilizing it. I haven’t used my car insurance or health insurance in quite awhile (knock on wood) but it doesn’t mean I am willing to give it up. I have two in high school and one in middle school. All would be fine outside for an hour if need be. High school used to be open at 7 am for kids to get caught up on school work if they need to (not sure if that will change or not). Middle school opens 1/2 hour prior to school start, so he would be outside for half hour. We live in northern ontario so definitely have harsh weather here, they are used to dressing appropriately for the weather, so no worries there. I drive them to school 95% of the time already and this is what we do as their bus ride is 50 minutes long and they detest riding the bus. Another issue we have in our area is that very few of our kids would have access to computers/internet at home. We have a satellite internet at home (one of the very few, neighbours come to our house to use our internet) but very limited GB. I think we have 50 a month and it isn't really good enough to watch videos, or zoom calling. Our at home schooling from March to July was one email a week outlining some exercises for each day. I’m going to suggest you check with the schools regarding early drop off. We have to monitor students now like we never have had to before. Early drop off is not going to be available for families in my district.
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Post by Lianna on Jul 23, 2020 17:57:37 GMT
Our school board has said they will have three options: virtual, in person, and Virtual Live because the state is mandating an in person option. The problem I am having with it is that three of the five board members have no intention of opening up school, so rather than just saying that so that parents can choose, they are "kicking the can down the road". The other two board members of the poorer districts flat out asked if we had the technology to provide all kids in the county a way to virtual and the answer was absolutely not. They don't even have enough for just high schoolers. Some areas have no internet access, some families that have laptops might be sharing with parents that work from home or multiple siblings. One member stated that in her opinion, if we need to go virtual it should be All kids have the ability of none (postpone school until it's possible).
It's definitely harder for high school where there are IB, Cmbridge, and academies that are not available on the virtual platform. You need virtual live or in person or all your work goes out the window.
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RosieKat
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PeaJect #12
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Jun 25, 2014 19:28:04 GMT
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Post by RosieKat on Jul 23, 2020 19:21:13 GMT
We are in Texas and I'm a SAHM, so the decision between all in-person or all online was "easy" for us. The district is all online for everyone for the first 3 weeks and then we've signed up for all online.
The truth is as many of you have expressed, in-person isn't going to be at all "normal" either. School is just going to be weird and a different beast for at least this next year. It really stinks. This will be my son's first year of middle school and my daughter's last year of middle school. She has really flourished at this school and being there in person and getting to play sports with her friends are what she really lives for - but we just can't give her that this year. And my son really needed a chance to be in the bigger school environment and to meet some new people - and he's not going to get that any time soon. But this is how we have to do it for now.
There really is no good decision for anyone in this.
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Post by Merge on Jul 23, 2020 19:31:41 GMT
These were two issues discussed at our board of ed meeting last night. There are a significant number of families between family size and parents who are teachers, who span all four schools in our district. We are a small district. Having to quarantine for one family would be a significant challenge. My family alone-one DS in high school, one DGS in intermediate, one DGS in primary, one DD who teaches at the primary school and one DD who is the high school cheerleading coach but has a few 8th graders on her squad as well. We are one of *those* families who touch each school in the district. Our district currently has 8 subs. EIGHT. We have zero subs assigned to any particular building full time. We have subs hired by the district, but all of them sign up for openings on the fly in an online system. If no one grabs an opening, there is no assigned sub. Teachers may be assigned to sub if they have a free (plan or resource) period. In our model, this would mean a) increased exposure for that teacher and b) loss of any time to go to the bathroom or get a drink of water, plan for the afternoon of remote learning, or connect with remote-only students during that time that should have been assigned for planning. Oh, they'll pay us a little extra. $30. I think the non-availability of subs was what finally made my district axe the in-person option. That and busing. We are a large district with a robust magnet system, and there is no way to get kids across town on buses safely distanced. The current plan is to limit busing to special ed students and those attending school more than a certain distance from home. I do it think a lot of parents have realized that yet - they’re not going to just be able to drop their kid off at the bus stop like they used to. I’m not sure about early drop off, but I suspect that will go away as well.
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Post by SockMonkey on Jul 23, 2020 20:13:38 GMT
We have zero subs assigned to any particular building full time. We have subs hired by the district, but all of them sign up for openings on the fly in an online system. If no one grabs an opening, there is no assigned sub. Teachers may be assigned to sub if they have a free (plan or resource) period. In our model, this would mean a) increased exposure for that teacher and b) loss of any time to go to the bathroom or get a drink of water, plan for the afternoon of remote learning, or connect with remote-only students during that time that should have been assigned for planning. Oh, they'll pay us a little extra. $30. I think the non-availability of subs was what finally made my district axe the in-person option. That and busing. We are a large district with a robust magnet system, and there is no way to get kids across town on buses safely distanced. The current plan is to limit busing to special ed students and those attending school more than a certain distance from home. I do it think a lot of parents have realized that yet - they’re not going to just be able to drop their kid off at the bus stop like they used to. I’m not sure about early drop off, but I suspect that will go away as well. We will have restricted times to enter the building and exit the building. All external door keys being collected and switched to swipe card system with access only open during certain times.
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sarahruby
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Jul 1, 2014 0:40:17 GMT
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Post by sarahruby on Jul 23, 2020 20:19:40 GMT
For us, it was an easy choice. When the pandemic hit, DS9 did better learning from home. He has a learning disability. I am also working from home due to the pandemic. For us, the decision was easy. I just felt it was best that he do cyber school through our district. DS will get a laptop and workbooks. If my work situation were to change, and he would have to learn in the classroom, he can do that.
I will be honest, part of me would like him to be in the classroom, to give me some quiet time! There are times when he doesn't understand that I need to focus on my work. For the most part things have been good.
I am excited for this school year.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jul 8, 2024 22:46:38 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2020 23:27:41 GMT
I still have not made a decision because our school has not rolled out our actual plan yet (start August 19th - Illinois). They have done surveys and have discussed that their goal is you are either 5 days a week in person or 5 days a week online. I have a senior and a sophomore, so we are not sure what we want to do yet. Cases have been "lite" in our county, but are rising. My teens don't want to lose out on extracurriculars if they stay home.
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Post by maryland on Jul 24, 2020 0:38:33 GMT
Our district is going back to regular school, masks required in halls (but not in the classroom). They gave an option of cyber school or traditional school. It's my daughter's senior year, and she wants to go back. I joke that these kids complain about school, and once they lost it (our state closed all schools March 13th), they realize that it's pretty good to go to school.
I wonder if there are some states that never closed schools in the spring?
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Post by crazy4scraps on Jul 24, 2020 2:01:09 GMT
I don’t disagree that it will be drastically different from anything we’ve ever experienced but not all states/districts have the same restrictions. Our state has said that the kids can have recess though only with their own class. They can have gym class they just recommend it be held outside. The elementary kids don’t have to be masked all day, just in common areas. Our district hasn’t completed their plan yet so I’m not sure how they will accommodate both online and in person yet, hopefully it won’t be all screen time in class but we’ll see. It will suck that ds won’t see his friends from the other class at recess (and I’ve seen the class list, he’s not with any of his best friends ☹️) but he’ll adjust. I hope that whatever choice parents make for their kids, however crappy it might seem, they at least ooze positivity in front of their kids. This is not a one size fits all situation and I’m glad schools are offering options when practical (outside of hot zones). I have an elementary aged kid. Our governor just mandated masks for everyone in any public building starting Saturday, including school buildings going forward. As a result, we received an email from the school district telling us “If you haven’t already done so, please begin making or purchasing cloth masks and allowing your children the opportunity to become comfortable wearing them for extended periods of time.” It also said that masks are to be worn at all times inside the school building, with the exception of eating lunch, during indoor phy ed or other exercise periods where wearing a mask would make breathing difficult. The email did say they will make accommodations for those people who can’t wear a mask for “legitimate health reasons.” Nothing has been said yet about recess and how that will work.
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Post by SockMonkey on Jul 24, 2020 2:02:43 GMT
I still have not made a decision because our school has not rolled out our actual plan yet (start August 19th - Illinois). They have done surveys and have discussed that their goal is you are either 5 days a week in person or 5 days a week online. I have a senior and a sophomore, so we are not sure what we want to do yet. Cases have been "lite" in our county, but are rising. My teens don't want to lose out on extracurriculars if they stay home. Even in person, I wouldn’t count on any extracurriculars happening.
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Post by iteach3rdgrade on Jul 24, 2020 3:06:21 GMT
I still have not made a decision because our school has not rolled out our actual plan yet (start August 19th - Illinois). They have done surveys and have discussed that their goal is you are either 5 days a week in person or 5 days a week online. I have a senior and a sophomore, so we are not sure what we want to do yet. Cases have been "lite" in our county, but are rising. My teens don't want to lose out on extracurriculars if they stay home. Even in person, I wouldn’t count on any extracurriculars happening. Currently, sports are on. They are already practicing or conditioning. Anything could change in 3 weeks.
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msliz
Drama Llama
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The Procrastinator
Posts: 6,419
Jun 26, 2014 21:32:34 GMT
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Post by msliz on Jul 24, 2020 3:39:11 GMT
The latest email from our (Connecticut) school indicates that the district has been charged with coming up with 3 models: 100% on-site, 100% off-site, and a hybrid model. The school district will be told by the state which model they will be using at any given time, but distance learning will be an available option for anyone at any time. Unless anything changes in the next month, on August 30th they'll be going ahead with 100% on-site (except for those who choose to keep their kids at home.)
I'm hoping enough of the students will be kept at home to make it a safer environment, but mine performed so terribly at home last spring that I really want to send her if at all possible.
ugh. And I just found out her sister has an interview next week for a teaching position in a private school. She doesn't know what grade or anything about the place yet. But now I have to worry about her too.
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Post by iteach3rdgrade on Jul 24, 2020 4:18:22 GMT
I appreciate everyone sharing their situations! We are leaning towards online at the moment. My ds said he'd prefer that. He hasn't missed the kids at school. I have to rely on my working dh to monitor while he's working and I'm not sure how that will go. He might have more patience than me though, but he runs a business so he'll be busy. ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/5645536/images/MNrJDkDuSwqIMVw33MdD.jpg) I know how much work this online program is, and I can't quite imagine doing it for every subject. I'm not sure he has the stamina for 5+ hours of computer work. I also feel like we will end up online and I'll be overwhelmed with my own change so I may as well keep his work consistent.
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ddly
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,963
Jul 10, 2014 19:36:28 GMT
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Post by ddly on Jul 24, 2020 13:14:38 GMT
I live in a rural area. The district I work in has 6 elementary schools and 1 high school (where I work). They recently did a survey and about 20% of the K-8 students will be doing 100% remote. What really surprised me was that 12% decided to do the state's home school program.
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pridemom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,843
Jul 12, 2014 21:58:10 GMT
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Post by pridemom on Jul 24, 2020 15:38:00 GMT
My daughter has an autoimmune disease and the parents I communicate with in that circle are scared. They want their kids to have the normalcy of school, but are afraid for their kids’ health.
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Post by huskermom98 on Jul 24, 2020 16:43:11 GMT
Other parents are torn, but in our situation we are not because we are not opposed to kids going back. DS12 is going back like any normal year because his small private decided to at least start the year like that--and we are happy with that decision because he does much better in person. But they also have the ability to quickly & easily transfer to online learning if necessary.
We are not torn regarding DS15, just pissed that things keep changing. The district announced 2 days in school, 3 days virtual for K-8 & 1 day in person, 4 virtual for 9-12 (or everyone has the option to go 100% virtual thru the district's existing virtual school). Now the governor is saying schools have to do at least 50% in-person...we don't care either way, we are just pissed it was announced weeks after the district announced the plan & one week into registration (when parents had to pick an option.) So now we are waiting to see what is next--will the district get a waiver or do they have to change their plans.
Right now DS is signed up for the hybrid plan, but realistically it's a virtual plan because 5 of his 7 classes are thru a central school that chose to go 100% virtual rather than bring kids from as many as 17 schools together in one day to one place. Depending on how they spread out the classes (doing 3-4 classes per quarter instead of 7 classes per semester) he might not leave the house some days...which makes me "mad" because we went thru the hassle & expense of getting him a school permit & car!
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Post by shamrock on Jul 24, 2020 17:22:24 GMT
It is a tough decision. I have 2 gifted students in high school. Our district is offering in-person or virtual. High school can do both. The catch is very few advanced, honors, foreign language or AP classes are offered virtually. If my kids were to do all virtual they would be in classes they have already taken or ones that are well below their level. So our only option is in-person with maybe a course or 2 virtual. But if that's all they'd do virtual does it make a difference to their/our exposure? Is it worth it?
Our State Health Department has 3 levels that dictate all in, hybrid or remote. Our levels are at remote, but we haven't heard that that will be followed or enforced.
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Post by kernriver on Jul 24, 2020 18:51:05 GMT
I’m soooo glad my kids are grown. I would NOT send them to school under these conditions. They would work together to make it as difficult as they possibly could on me. I know this would happen as surely as I know anything.
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Post by bumble on Jul 24, 2020 19:58:45 GMT
My kids are going into grade 8 and grade 10. We don’t know yet if schools will open full time here or not, but if they do my kids will go back. I work outside the home. I’m comfortable with my kids learning online without me there during the day if their schools don’t open or If they decide on a hybrid model. I’m lucky that I have a lot of flexible in my choices.
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Post by MalleyCat on Jul 24, 2020 20:08:39 GMT
Here in California, the schools and parents don’t have a choice. Governor Newsom made that decision for us! 🥴 Crazy numbers. Yep! I hear we are #1 in our numbers!😬😳😮 Makes me think there must be lots of people out and about, spreading it. I wouldn’t know first hand, since we have pretty much stayed home the entire time.
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