TransPARENTcy for Back to School

Source: Markus Spiske/Unsplash

The 2020-2021 school year in the US is, frankly, a vast black hole of unknowns. There are many valid concerns held by parents and teachers. I ask that we reframe the conversation: Education begins and is supported at home. Regardless of how your school will look this year, you are your child's most important teacher. Here is what parents need to know about schools in 2020.

• Many schools will not be fully and properly staffed. Schools are suffering budget cuts and more teachers are leaving the field. Be prepared for limited access and communication because teachers will be stretched thin while parents have more questions. In New York State, for example, education law allows teachers to teach one class outside of their certification area.
• Public schools will increasingly offer social services and inequities will grow. Public schools will be hubs that offer: mental and medical health checks, meals, technology access, transportation, housing, and more. This trend will grow. Privileged families can keep kids home and hire tutors or pursue private education. In our current state, this pay-to-play system can only be equalized through funding at the Federal level.
• Many teachers have not been able to lesson plan for the 2020-2021 academic year. Many teachers are only now learning what courses and grades they will teach with what schedule in what format (asynchronous virtual, synchronous virtual, hybrid, fully remote, etc). Many high performing nations assiduously planned for all models and made sure students’ needs could be met before the start of pandemic-era schooling (read this report from the NCEE). Curricula will be simplified. Learn what will be taught and what will be left out to teach the gaps at home. For example, many first graders will not learn how to tell time in their formal school settings to instead focus on basic arithmetic 1-20.
• Remote learning will be the default. Unpredictable weather from climate change? Shift to remote. Positive COVID case? Shift to remote. Even if your school opens in-person in some capacity, prepare for remote learning at home NOW. Set up your workspaces and familiarize yourself and your children with the learning platforms, teachers, classmates, school-family communication channels, curricula, grading policies, homework.
• Our institutions and corporations need to get involved. Our communities can maximize efficiencies to prioritize our children’s educations. Large spaces like libraries, auditoriums, museums, stadiums are not being utilized but can be repurposed for schooling. Additionally, if corporations like the NBA have enough funding to invest in PPE and daily testing for its players, these very deep pockets should be channeling funds to their fan base of kids and getting them back to school and learning.

We must brace for and embrace this uncertainty. Be flexible and plan. Our younger generation needs us to protect our shared humanity. It is truly the only way.