K-12 Schools & COVID

[mu_hilltopper]

Our school district sent out a survey today about parents' thoughts on how the K-12 school year should progress in COVID times.


The first question was a gut check .. the options were "I am not sending my child to school until there is a vaccine" .. followed by other options like "everyone wears masks" .. "split the classes in half" .. etc.


I have two kids in middle school .. extraordinary school, and it's painful to not have them there. 


But .. I don't want my kids going to indoor classes.   Our family has had a minimal risk exposure since March.  If we sent them to school, it would be the riskiest thing they've done by a factor of 10.    Frankly, they are healthy lads, but they'll bring it home to us.


I also think it's 10000% inevitable that if they have in-person classes, eventually there'll be a positive test and the school will need to shut down. 


I think the (middle/high-) schools should try and have sporadic OUTDOOR meetings/classes, in good weather.  Get the teachers and students together, socialize, try to have some kind of lesson, etc. -- Otherwise, 100% virtual learning.  I know it's a poor substitute.

Do you have school kids?   What are your thoughts?

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

My wife's school district here in Connecticut sent a similar survey to all parents in her district.  She said 90% of the surveys came back with "I'm sending my kids to school."  The district is setting up for online learning for parents who don't want to risk sending their kids in.

[injuryBug]

My wife's school district here in Connecticut sent a similar survey to all parents in her district.  She said 90% of the surveys came back with "I'm sending my kids to school."  The district is setting up for online learning for parents who don't want to risk sending their kids in.

our district in WI is sending out a similar survey.  I am for the kids back in school.  My kids have been active with friends since June.  With 2 in high school and having sports started back up at HS July 1 and for one of them aau hoops started mid June, it is the happiest I have seen them since this all started.  They need the social interaction daily or we will see a lot of mental health issues

[Pakuni]

Here in the Chicago suburbs, it seems most districts are planning in-person classes, but giving parents a chance to opt out. But if you opt out, you're out for at least the semester, if not the entire school year.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

I wouldn't have a problem sending my kid to in-person instruction, but I would feel much better if they either alternated half-weeks or days to allow for half the class in at once. 

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

I will also say, that if I were a public school teacher nearing retirement, I would be seriously looking at my financial plans right now.  I have a friend who was going to teach one or two more years, but decided to retire and got a part time job at Menards instead.  (He can get on his wife's medical insurance so that helps.)

[mu_hilltopper]

TBH, I'm surprised with the commentary. 

Question for yous .. is sending your kids to school going to be the riskiest thing your family has done in the last ~4 months?

[#UnleashSean]

Kids need to go to school. The social interaction needs to happen. At some point were going to have to get back to normal for the "greater good"

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

Kids need to go to school. The social interaction needs to happen. At some point were going to have to get back to normal for the "greater good"

This all sounds great and it is what everyone wants, but it strikes me as...

What do we want? Everything back to normal

What are we going to do to achieve it? Nothing!

[reinko]

TBH, I'm surprised with the commentary. 

Question for yous .. is sending your kids to school going to be the riskiest thing your family has done in the last ~4 months?

Yes, the only enclosed space outside of my home I have been in is the grocery store maybe 6 or 7 times that past 4 months.

[Hards Alumni]

Kids need to go to school. The social interaction needs to happen. At some point were going to have to get back to normal for the "greater good"

What I see when I read things like this is, "I'm sick of my kids being at home, and I don't want to have to teach them."

Kids don't NEED to go to school.  There are over 2 million students who learn from home every year.

I don't have kids, but I would not consider sending them to school without a ton of guarantees. 

Anyone advocating for kids going to school as normal this fall is advocating for a massive outbreak.

[pbiflyer]

Florida's governor says we have to open all schools for all services for all days.
Palm Beach county promptly says they are going virtual for the foreseeable future.

[MUfan12]

What I see when I read things like this is, "I'm sick of my kids being at home, and I don't want to have to teach them."

Seems harsh.

I don't have kids

There we go.

Precautions need to be taken, but the socialization aspect is very important to development and shouldn't be dismissed like that.

[#UnleashSean]

This all sounds great and it is what everyone wants, but it strikes me as...

What do we want? Everything back to normal

What are we going to do to achieve it? Nothing!

How do we achieve it? We already actively are getting closer.

The original stay at home order (Which has now been blown in politics...) real reason is missed by many individuals. Health officals knew we weren't going to conquer it by staying home, that wasn't realistic. It was to slow the tide and not overwhelm our medical facilities. Now that we have a steady supply chain and increased care its time to let COVID burn through.

Those who are vulnerable should continue to stay home. As they always should have. However the rest of the world needs to get back to life. I understand the 86 year old hunkering down, I understand the kidney transplant recipient on immunosuppressants hunkering down, I don't understand the perfectly healthy 30 year olds and 15 year olds hunkering down.

As for ideas like children wearing masks. Do we realistically expect an 8 year old to practice social distancing, and proper hygiene throughout the day?

[#UnleashSean]

What I see when I read things like this is, "I'm sick of my kids being at home, and I don't want to have to teach them."

Kids don't NEED to go to school.  There are over 2 million students who learn from home every year.

I don't have kids, but I would not consider sending them to school without a ton of guarantees. 

Anyone advocating for kids going to school as normal this fall is advocating for a massive outbreak.

Well, to your first statement....  then to your "I don't have kids"   

Kids do NEED socialization. Something you are failing to understand. Even kids who learn from home have tons of socialization. School is just the main way most kids receive it.

[Its DJOver]

Well, to your first statement....  then to your "I don't have kids"   

Kids do NEED socialization. Something you are failing to understand. Even kids who learn from home have tons of socialization. School is just the main way most kids receive it.

While I don't disagree, it's not exactly at the top of the list of things that kids NEED.  HA point about a lot of guarantees/precautions, as well as having a plan for when an outbreak happens within a school (because one will) are all things that should be prioritized before the need of social interaction. 

[Pakuni]

At some point were going to have to get back to normal for the "greater good"

This attitude has everything going swimmingly these days in Florida, Arizona, Texas, etc.

[GB Warrior]

2 kids - One still just daycare, the other entering preschool years. Our decision will be whether to 1) send him to a school that we have researched and discussed with other parents, but have never set foot in, or 2)keep him in childcare for another year (assuming they re-open). The third option is that we are not comfortable with

The reality is his half-day school will now be half-day, 2 days a week, and his first interactions with other kids in an education environment in nearly 6 months will be in a building he's never been to with people he's never met. We are really struggling with that, as much as we want him in this school.

The other option is that if we think society is moving recklessly fast (and it is), that we nix all of that, and I flex my work to take 2 days off and doing 'home schooling' from here until there are good-faith solutions in place. We'll need to figure out the socialization (parent pods or whatnot), as falling behind here is what scares me more than anything else.

Full transparency:Let me say, professionally, I am sick of having my kids home  We have had some really special moments despite two working parents, but on a day-to-day basis, it really, REALLY sucks.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

How do we achieve it? We already actively are getting closer.

The original stay at home order (Which has now been blown in politics...) real reason is missed by many individuals. Health officals knew we weren't going to conquer it by staying home, that wasn't realistic. It was to slow the tide and not overwhelm our medical facilities. Now that we have a steady supply chain and increased care its time to let COVID burn through.

Those who are vulnerable should continue to stay home. As they always should have. However the rest of the world needs to get back to life. I understand the 86 year old hunkering down, I understand the kidney transplant recipient on immunosuppressants hunkering down, I don't understand the perfectly healthy 30 year olds and 15 year olds hunkering down.

As for ideas like children wearing masks. Do we realistically expect an 8 year old to practice social distancing, and proper hygiene throughout the day?

I wont derail the thread addressing the other points other than we don't even know if 'burn through' is realistic (mathematically or practically). 

I agree with school being a high societal priority -- I think most of the country does. 

So my over-arching point is the discussions should be how can we do this without causing out of control spread - and what do we need to give up to get it.  Yes, my guess is kids are going to have to do something different this fall like wear a mask or keep their distance as best as possible.  We need to catch outbreaks and have a plan when we find them.  My guess is we may have to give up other high risk things if we prioritize school (maybe indoor church or singing at church -- and bars). 

[Hards Alumni]

Seems harsh.

There we go.

Precautions need to be taken, but the socialization aspect is very important to development and shouldn't be dismissed like that.

Ah, you're right.  Shoot, I forgot that because I don't have kids my opinion means less.  I must have been sick that day in school.

[MUfan12]

Full transparency:Let me say, professionally, I am sick of having my kids home  We have had some really special moments despite two working parents, but on a day-to-day basis, it really, REALLY sucks.

It's hard. My wife and I just got my mom involved in watching our two year old, and that has made a big difference. But from March until June, it was brutal trying to work and not turn her into a screen zombie. Your day starts early and finishes way late as you make the time up. I know I'll look back on this time with her fondly, but the amount of stress it put us through is huge, and frankly, isn't sustainable.

There's no easy answer to any of this when balancing the child's learning and development, the health of both student and staff, and the impact on working parents. Then you factor in kids who don't have the right home environment to learn virtually, and it's as complicated of a question as we've seen related to this virus.

But hey, we're just sick of our kids.

[Hards Alumni]

2 kids - One still just daycare, the other entering preschool years. Our decision will be whether to 1) send him to a school that we have researched and discussed with other parents, but have never set foot in, or 2)keep him in childcare for another year (assuming they re-open). The third option is that we are not comfortable with

The reality is his half-day school will now be half-day, 2 days a week, and his first interactions with other kids in an education environment in nearly 6 months will be in a building he's never been to with people he's never met. We are really struggling with that, as much as we want him in this school.

The other option is that if we think society is moving recklessly fast (and it is), that we nix all of that, and I flex my work to take 2 days off and doing 'home schooling' from here until there are good-faith solutions in place. We'll need to figure out the socialization (parent pods or whatnot), as falling behind here is what scares me more than anything else.

Full transparency:Let me say, professionally, I am sick of having my kids home  We have had some really special moments despite two working parents, but on a day-to-day basis, it really, REALLY sucks.

Thanks for being candid.  I totally get it, and those are totally valid feelings.  But I also agree with you that we are rushing into this.

[injuryBug]

What I see when I read things like this is, "I'm sick of my kids being at home, and I don't want to have to teach them."

Kids don't NEED to go to school.  There are over 2 million students who learn from home every year.

I don't have kids, but I would not consider sending them to school without a ton of guarantees. 

Anyone advocating for kids going to school as normal this fall is advocating for a massive outbreak.

Hards as someone with 4 kids 2 middle school aged and 2 HS aged kids need school kids need their friends.  Mom and dad are great for stretches of times but read my post above.  My to be senior has had a hell of a time adjusting to life without socializing and he typically is one that sits at home and does not go out much.  But he is involved in sports year round and the time with teammates and friends cannot be duplicated.  I think it is more the kids are sick of us than we are sick of them. The kids will be safe with covid, if a person (kid or family) has some condition that makes it unsafe then schools need to find a way to help those kids learn. 
If you had kids and saw them depressed for 3 months cause of covid and then saw them suddenly back to normal cause they are able to hang with their friends and do normal things then you would be all in with sending them to school. 

[DegenerateDish]

I was actually contemplating starting this exact type of thread a few days ago, and am very curious on thoughts here.

Our district sent out the same survey, options were 1) All E-Learning, 2)Rotate M/W/F one week, then T/Th the following week based on what grade your in, 3) Everyone back, 4) K-3 in school, 4-5 e-learning. I have three kids, two going into fifth, one going into first.

My son Bradley is our big concern, as he had leukemia and a stem cell transplant. Going back to school has given my wife and I cause for concern for any of our kids. If one kid gets it, then obviously everyone can get it. We have not registered our kids for school yet, as we wanted to hear what the go forward plan is. Yesterday the school principal emailed us (and a ton of other people) saying they need us to register now, so they can have an idea on staffing/logistics/etc.

I'm really torn here. Our first grader could really use the classroom experience. My twins going into fifth grade are really good students, I think they'd be fine on e-learning, but my wife and I are looking at seeing if there's a tutor we can get to get them personalized/one on one teaching.

It's also July 9th, my kids are supposed to start school Aug 12th. I know there's a lot to be figured out, but we need more info from our district asap.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

How do we achieve it? We already actively are getting closer.

The original stay at home order (Which has now been blown in politics...) real reason is missed by many individuals. Health officals knew we weren't going to conquer it by staying home, that wasn't realistic. It was to slow the tide and not overwhelm our medical facilities. Now that we have a steady supply chain and increased care its time to let COVID burn through.

Those who are vulnerable should continue to stay home. As they always should have. However the rest of the world needs to get back to life. I understand the 86 year old hunkering down, I understand the kidney transplant recipient on immunosuppressants hunkering down, I don't understand the perfectly healthy 30 year olds and 15 year olds hunkering down.

As for ideas like children wearing masks. Do we realistically expect an 8 year old to practice social distancing, and proper hygiene throughout the day?

No.  "Burning through" was never the alternative to shutting down.  Opening responsibly, like they have done in Europe and Asia, with testing, contact tracing, masks, etc. was what was supposed to happening after shutting down. 

Opening up irresponsibly, like in Arizona, Texas and Florida, is causing problems.

Those three states could have shut down for six months, but unless they committed to safely opening up, they would have the same problems then that they do now.