School Decisions

Back when school shut down last March, we never fully understood how different life was going to be and how long this would be lasting. I think everybody naively thought that if we got through the couple of weeks, everything would get back to normal and by summer corona virus would be a thing of the past. This has not been the case. Cases are ramping up again, and parents everywhere are having to make decisions about what they want their kids to do in the fall. Our school district is providing a couple of options:

1. Send your kids back to school. They will have the benefit of in-person instruction. They will wear masks all day. They will have to stay six feet apart. If cases rise, the district may move to a hybrid model (kids are in school part-time and distance learning part-time). If they rise beyond that threshold, they move to all distance-learning.

2. Kids will participate in a distance-learning program through Rural Virtual Academy and the school district. Kids will learn from home, but will follow the curriculum and instruction from staff members. The program is called Hodag Tracks.

Our kids thrive on routine and we didn't want them to have to adapt to the changing instruction delivery model all year. We didn't feel comfortable with adults other than us making decisions about covid surrounding our children. Also, since I am home full time with Simon, we knew keeping our kids home would make the class number smaller for working parents who may not have as much flexibility. Therefore, we decided on Option 2 - the Hodag Tracks program.

We waited and waited and waited for more information about what the program would look like. My anxiety grew as I kept wanting answers, but none came. Finally, less than a week, before the start date, we got our proposed schedule. My kids would each have three REQUIRED zoom meetings daily...that's six zoom meetings for me to facilitate every day with a toddler in tow. That was never communicated from the school district in any of my phone calls or emails with them. In fact, I was told the program was HIGHLY flexible and families could work at their own pace. I worked myself up into quite a state. How was I going to facilitate six meetings a day, help with the technology, and keep Simon out of it?! How was I going to be able to be an attentive mother to Simon, while devoting so much of my time to Nolan and Olivia's needs?! How was I going to keep him quiet during those meetings?! How was I going to utilize my support from Patti in getting through this school year if they have attendance taken three times daily?! How can Olivia, a kindergartener, do all of her learning on a computer?! The questions went on and on, and I had no good answers for any of them. I had envisioned lots of time outside, learning together. I had envisioned games and lots of practice with STEAM activities. I bought handbells for music class, letter learning games, and made book bins for each kid. What I was trying to create was actually a homeschool environment!

So, we the biggest pit in my stomach and every bit of courage I could muster, I sent an email to our school district, telling them would we be unenrolling our children for this school year and they would be homeschooling. I gathered resources as fast as I could, and talked to my teacher friends. There will be a lot of learning on my end, but I know I can do this. And I actually think my kids may thrive this way. I am excited by the challenge. And though some days are going to be overwhelming, I am thankful for this memorable period of time with them, where there mom gets to be their teacher in this whole new and different way.