This is not meant to be political or for direct COVID discussion, although it is COVID related

So, about six weeks to go before the start of the next school year and I still am not sure whats going on with Bryan ISD or CS ISD schooling plans

My sister is a teacher in the Woodlands and we've talked about some of the TEA recommendations

-Reduced classroom sizes
-A B scheduling
-Outbreak mitigation, forced remote/online classes
-parents electing to teach from home

I'm a single parent of 2. A toddler and a second grader. I am hopeful that my employer will be understanding in partially having to stay home with my second grader.

What are other possible options?

-Do i pay a caretaker to come to my home to take care of both kids? Whats the going rate for something like that?
-Is there a parent collective that might get started in all this for parents in similar situations?

What are you guys thoughts and what are you planning for?

Hi pacecar -
I have questions as well. I have 3 kids in elementary but also have education/outreach as part of my job. The idea of a parent collective intrigues me. There is an opening for parents to get more involved in their children's education (understanding that's not possible for everyone) and incorporate relatable examples into learning, in an informal educator format. I took a break from watching a webinar about water education programs for schools, saw your question, and that got my brain ticking. Thanks!

College Station sent out a survey I think last week. They asked questions about how comfortable you would be with sending your kids back to school, etc. Some of the questions are below. I think they are still trying to figure it out. I heard somewhere that if you homeschool, you must do it for the 6-9 weeks and then can go back in person (essentially done on an each 6 weeks basis) but can't remember where I heard that.



How comfortable are you with your child returning to school if classes are held on-site with normal class sizes and the understanding that additional safety precautions will be taken to mitigate the spread of COVID-19?

How comfortable are you with your child returning to school if classes were held with reduced class sizes and the understanding that additional safety precautions will be taken to mitigate the spread of COVID-19?

If you had to choose today, what would be your plan for the start of school?
I would send my student(s) to their CSISD campus for face-to-face instruction.
I would utilize CSISD's virtual learning platform for my student(s) at home.

If CSISD offers a virtual learning option in the fall and/or is forced to close, the instruction would be more rigorous and time-consuming than what was offered this past spring. With this in mind, what best describes your family's access to technology?

Would you be able to transport your child(ren) to/from school if transportation is limited due to reduced capacity requirements on buses?

Kind of in the same boat as OP. Both of us work fulltime with a kid going into kinder. No idea what is being discussed or how this is going to work. Getting a bit more nervous as the weeks go by without hearing anything. Not sure if this is normal or not

"School systems must post for parents and the general public, one week prior to the start of oncampus activities and instruction, a summary of the plan they will follow to mitigate COVID-19 spread in their schools based on the requirements and recommendations outlined here."

https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/covid/covid19-SY-20-21-Public-Health-Guidance.pdf

Hopefully we get some info sooner than a week before school starts up so folks can make whatever decisions they need to.

Yeah, that doc is full of interesting info for the fall.

Teachers are currently filling out a survey on if they personally are comfortable/able to return to the classroom. Reasons not to return to the classroom: their own age/health conditions; the age/health conditions of someone in their household; their own need for child care.

So they are looking for young, healthy people without children or elderly dependents to teach in person. Sounds like the military looking for volunteers for a mission. I wonder how many teachers we have in that pool.

Options given for BISD

www.bryanisd.org/returntolearn

Bryan released their plan immediately following the TEA update

CS school board meets Wednesday. I think a lot of us would like to know options sooner than later with high school activities getting ready to start

Wall Street Journal Editorial Board: Reopening schools harm of lost instruction outweighs COVID-19 risks

Quote:

---

Everything else about the coronavirus has become politicized in America, so why not a return to school as well? That's the depressing state of play as President Trump pushes schools to reopen while Democrats heed teachers unions that demand more federal money and even then may not return. The losers, as ever, would be the children.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30 children under age 15 have died from COVID-19. In a typical year 190 children die of the flu, 436 from suicide, 625 from homicide, and 4,114 from unintentional deaths such as drowning.

Only two children under age 18 have died in Chicago fewer than were killed in shootings in a recent weekend. In New York City, 0.03 percent of children under age 18 have been hospitalized for Covid and 7.5 in one million have died. The death rate for those over 75 is more than 2,200-times higher than for those under 18.

---

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/reopening-schools-wall-street-journal-editorial-board

I'm curious what online consist of

is it like last year?

Are they required to have x minutes of screen-time?

My daughter hated online, she also has a blood disorder. Her specialist hasn't said its a must to stay home but if possible it might be an option to consider at least through the fall when perhaps there might be better treatments/vaccine/ or just better info.

My daughter is so sick of seeing just me and her brother and few other select people, lol

I hate this

Tailgate88 said:

---

Wall Street Journal Editorial Board: Reopening schools harm of lost instruction outweighs COVID-19 risks

Quote:

---

Everything else about the coronavirus has become politicized in America, so why not a return to school as well? That's the depressing state of play as President Trump pushes schools to reopen while Democrats heed teachers unions that demand more federal money and even then may not return. The losers, as ever, would be the children.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30 children under age 15 have died from COVID-19. In a typical year 190 children die of the flu, 436 from suicide, 625 from homicide, and 4,114 from unintentional deaths such as drowning.

Only two children under age 18 have died in Chicago fewer than were killed in shootings in a recent weekend. In New York City, 0.03 percent of children under age 18 have been hospitalized for Covid and 7.5 in one million have died. The death rate for those over 75 is more than 2,200-times higher than for those under 18.

---

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/reopening-schools-wall-street-journal-editorial-board

---

One could argue that the statistics for children are blunted specifically because they have been out of school, and not in close contact with other children often. Additionally, the spread of the virus between children is likely to be lower risk, however the spread from children to their older parents or extended family is also a higher risk. Junior catches it, has mild to no symptoms, but passes to to Grampy who does.

There's also consideration that this virus even when not fatal has a fairly strong and prolonged set of health concerns after infection has gone. Kids probably do have the minimal effects, but in people who've recovered, there is reported evidence of lasting scarification on lung tissue, blood thickening issues and heart concerns. So, yeah, Junior may not die, but he could have lasting health issues that can effect quality of life, and health care costs, and these concerns aren't typically weighed in these comparisons. It's binary in many of them; healthy or dead.

One could also argue that suicide, homicide and unintentional deaths typically aren't transmissible, so should one student die by suicide, it's not likely to spread to others, and as such they're not factors that would weigh on closing a school. One kid's suicide, tragic as it would be, would have no bearing on closing a school. A kid with the virus that could spread it, even asymptomatically, to others could very well be a reason to stop public gatherings.

I'm thankful that my child is too young right now for us to have to make the decision, and I feel for those that do right now. I'm not 100% on either side, but I'd rather err on the side of my family's health. If that means that there is a chance of learning taking a bit longer or needing more work on my part as a parent, that's what I do, but at least there's a stronger shot they'll be healthy and alive for it.