Syracuse, N.Y. — Ashley Jandolenko’s daughter wants to go back to school. The fourth-grader misses her friends, her class and her routine.
She will go, Jandolenko first decided.
But what about wearing a mask all day? Jandolenko’s daughter struggles with that. And what about staying in one room all day? That’s hard for her. And what about her family members with weakened immune systems? She could bring the virus home.
She should stay home, Jandolenko next decided.
The mother in the East Syracuse School District changed her mind again. And again. And again. All summer long.
“As of right now, we are a no,” Jandolenko said. “The decision was incredibly hard. I’ve been back and forth since the beginning of the summer on what to do.”
The parents of 140,000 other students across Central New York have two weeks or less to make a choice that carries great uncertainty and weight: to send their kids to school or keep them home.
The governor on Friday decided schools could reopen in person. Most districts have put each grade into one of three options: at school every day, home every day or a hybrid of the two.
But even those kids who can come to school at least some of time can choose instead to learn from home all the time. Now, for tens of thousands of parents, it’s time to make that choice, tell the district in writing and stick with it.
Districts are telling families to check a box on a form and not change it for months. Some have to wait at least eight weeks while others are locked in until February.
Each district is sending its own parent choice survey. Some are on district websites, others are in email. Many districts will follow up with a phone call or in-person visit if the surveys are not submitted by the deadline. That’s because districts are using those parent choice surveys to decide critical decisions on classes for fall.
In East Syracuse-Minoa, where Jandolenko’s daughter goes, the district has already said students in pre-K to 8th grade will be able to attend school five days a week. At this point, high school students in the district will have in-person school two days a week and learn online for three. But it’s possible high school students may be able to have more in-person days if fewer families decide to send their kids back.
An earlier survey in that district indicated that nearly 40 percent of the families there planned to keep their kids home every day.
Many schools in Central New York asked parents early in the summer what their choice would be if they had to decide then. But then it was hypothetical. Parents didn’t know what their districts’ plans would be.
Now, the plans are specific. The decisions are binding.
Regardless of their choice about school, parents across the nation share one thing: They are worried about their kids, said Jon Valant, an expert on education policy at the Brookings Institution who has analyzed pandemic back-to-school decisions across the nation.
Valant has studied polling from three different groups on parents’ back-to-school decisions nationwide and said that most are worried about their kids’ health and safety and how going back to school might put them at risk. But then they are also worried about what children will miss at school if they are kept home, and whether they will fall behind or suffer, mentally.
“It’s not a problem that has a clean and clear solution that will satisfy everyone,” said Valant, who is also a parent of two school-aged children. “We’re just in a tough spot.”
He said something else also shows up in the parent polling data: Parents of color and parents who live in poverty are far more likely to decide to keep their kids home. The coronavirus has hit communities of color and poor communities much harder than wealthier, white communities. So the decisions parents make are impacted by how the virus has already touched their lives.
Valant said the decisions to send kids back or keep them home are difficult and personal. Every family, he said, needs to feel that their kids are safe. School districts have the difficult task of figuring out how to accommodate them.
While most districts in Central New York have announced how many days kids will be in school and at home, none have detailed how they will be educating kids in both places.
Cuomo told districts Friday that they must have at least three discussions with parents and one exclusively with teachers.
They also have to post on their web sites three components of their plans: Their plan for remote learning and how they are dealing with inequities, their plan for testing kids and staff if they test positive for the virus and how they will do contact tracing.
“We also need to be sure we’re not forcing them to accept a vastly inferior education,” Valant said.
School does not start in Central New York for a month, but the first weeks of school in the South and Midwest show the potential for trouble. Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama have all experienced outbreaks in schools that have left the communities struggling with what to do next.
Elizabeth Snow decided the risk is too great for her three children: Hailey is going into ninth grade, Jacob is going into sixth grade and Aubree is going into fifth grade in the East Syracuse Minoa district.
“My son has asthma and I’m scared of sending him into a situation where there are still so many things we don’t know,” Snow said. Her husband works days and she works nights as a waitress, so she can handle the online learning shift.
It was a long haul in the spring, but she sees no other choice for now. The kids will miss their friends, teachers and football games (if they happen).
“It’s tough. I’m mom, teacher, principal, lunch lady,” Snow said. “But no matter how hard it is I’ll keep them home knowing I’m doing all I can to keep them safe.”
Snow wishes she could have an option to send her kids later in the fall.
“Once school starts and we figure out if it’s safe, I would like to be able to change my mind,” she said.
But districts have to make hiring, staffing, bus and class space decisions based on who is coming and who is staying home. It’s not like normal times, when you can just add one more kid to a class of 26. Every room will be set up with a finite number of desks, spaced six feet apart.
“We really need parents to complete the survey so we can accurately identify the number of students who will need daily remote instruction in September,” said Christopher R. Leahey, associate superintendent for teaching and learning in the North Syracuse School District. “The numbers will directly impact staffing assignments, class rosters and will enable us to better meet the health and safety requirements in our schools.”
For many districts, the parent surveys will decide how many buses a district will need.
In West Genesee, the district expects to fit 22 kids on a bus, not the usual 60. That makes getting 4,400 kids to seven different buildings a daunting task, even with them split into two groups. The district is asking parents to provide transportation to and from school if they can.
“It feels like we are reinventing everything. It’s daunting, but we will get it done,” said West Genesee Superintendent David Bills.
In Baldwinsville, parent choices will dictate which grades come to school five days a week. If enough parents opt to keep their children home, the district will be able to send students in k-2 to school five days a week.
Parents who don’t submit their choice will be called.
Some districts are telling parents their choices are binding until February, leaving parents to weigh and re-weigh every option and risk with so much still unknown.
That’s the case in North Syracuse.
Eva Goodwin’s son, Liam, is 16 and will be a junior. The district has said he’ll go one day a week, and learn the rest of the time online.
“What will he get out of in-person instruction for just one day a week? Is going that one day worth the risk of exposure,” Goodwin has been asking herself.
For now, she feels that the answer is no, it is not worth the risk. She said she feels like she doesn’t have enough detail about what kids will get in-person vs. what they will get if they choose online.
“There isn’t a lot of information to work with,” Goodwin said. She has until Friday, Aug. 14 to decide.
Salwa Hilwa, whose children are in eighth and ninth grade in the Liverpool district, also struggled with it but decided to send them.
Her son has Type 1 diabetes. Maybe the health risk to him is too great? But if they stay home, she cannot change her mind until February. What if they miss too much? Will they fall behind? Will they get depressed without seeing their friends for at least a few days a week?
And maybe, probably, the school won’t stay open through February, anyway, because a new outbreak will shut it down before then.
“I think it will be a short-lived opening,’' she said.
Elizabeth Doran covers education, suburban government and development, breaking news and more. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact her anytime 315-470-3012 or email edoran@syracuse.com
Marnie Eisenstadt is a reporter who writes about people and public affairs in Central New York. Have an idea or question? Contact her anytime: email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-2246
The Link LonkAugust 09, 2020 at 05:00PM
https://www.syracuse.com/coronavirus/2020/08/cny-parents-confront-the-toughest-test-question-right-now-do-i-send-my-kid-to-school.html
CNY parents confront the toughest test question right now: Do I send my kid to school? - syracuse.com
https://news.google.com/search?q=Send&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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