School Decisions

There are lots of decisions for parents to make right now. 

Do we go out to eat? Take-out? Eat at home all of the time? How do I make sure my kids aren't on their screens too much? Do virtual camps count as screen time? How do I make sure my kids are getting the socialization they need? Am I spending enough time with my kids? Am I spending too much time with my kids? How do I get one-on-one time with the kids when we can't really go anywhere? How do I get my kids new clothes? Do I need to get my kids new clothes when they spend half their days in pajamas? The list goes on and on...

But the one that I think every parent is facing, and has possibly agonized over, is, "Is it safe to send my kids to school?"

The million dollar question. If I send them, I'm risking COVID exposure, with who knows what risk to my kids, myself, and others around us. If I don't, will they suffer socially? Academically? Mentally? 

Our district presented two options for parents: 

1. A fully-virtual year-long option where kids would still be eligible for extracurriculars (if any) at their zoned school, but might not be taught by teachers or in classes with students from that school. This would, to the best guess, be a mix of recorded lessons and live teaching.

2. A phase-in model where students would be fully virtual until the virus numbers are down to medium risk. At this point, they would move to a hybrid model, where half the school would have face-to-face instruction Monday and Tuesday, and the other half Thursday and Friday. Wednesday would be an office-hours day, and those who weren't in the schools would learn from recorded lessons on their virtual days. When the virus spread moves to low risk, students would resume five-person, face-to-face instruction. 

At this point, many parents decided on fully-virtual, or moved their kids to private schools, where rules and class size allowed them to start the year fully face-to-face. 

I felt a lot of peace about the phase-in model. I didn't want to pull my kids out of school for a whole year if they didn't need to be. But I trusted the district to follow healthcare determinations to move between levels. I wanted them to be taught by their amazing teachers at their zoned schools and to see familiar faces among their classmates. They are motivated, smart kids who follow rules and schedules and kept in good contact with their friends, and I wasn't worried about their  mental health, thank God. 

Then our governor demanded that every public school offer a face-to-face option, beginning no later than September 15. At first we thought our superintendent of education for the state would not enforce this, but politics won out in the end, and she said she would not approve any plans that did not have that option built in. Many schools proposed a hybrid plan from the beginning, and those were the plans that were approved first. 

Knowing where the numbers are in our state (completely terrifying), I started to freak out. I still didn't want to go fully-virtual, but I knew we wouldn't be ready for our kids to be in school in September. I didn't want to home school until it was safe to re-enroll the kids into school, because then they would lose the connections (very important especially for the big kids entering middle school), and I wasn't sure if I could supplement what they needed for sixth grade learning. 

So, could I home school Gemma and put the kids in the fully-virtual option? I could, but that wasn't really the road I wanted to try. Could I enroll them in the fully-virtual option and then try to change them if numbers got low enough. The district said the virtual option was a full-year commitment, but that they would try to work with families who needed to change during the year. But would they? Could they? 

I stressed, lost sleep, prayed, called and texted friends whose opinions I trust, talked to Jason. We decided to do fully-virtual, but after filling out Kyran's application, I could not get my finger to press the submit button. A voice in my head (a much smarter voice than my own, as it turns out), kept telling me the district would do the right thing. I didn't see how, so I kept his application ready, but I didn't submit it yet. 

Then, at seemingly the last second, our district announced their approved plan. They would offer a completely optional, one-day-a-week option for those who wanted their children in school. Mine could stay fully virtual until it was much safer to go back to face-to-face instruction. 

We feel good about our decision. Is it perfect? No. Is it going to be easy? No. But am I sure it's the right one for our family? Yes. 

If you're still reading this, wow. I know that's a lot, and we were certainly not alone in our impossible decision. My point in writing this is for me, and the kids, to remember that when God gives us an overwhelming peace about something, just trust Him. I spent two days completely stressed over something he had already definitively given me the answer to. I will try my best not to do that again.