Several big US school districts are extending remote classes into the fall

[Nevilledog]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/several-big-us-school-districts-are-extending-remote-classes-into-the-fall/ar-BB16HpfS?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=mailsignout


School districts across the country are being forced to reconsider their reopening plans and even reverse course for the upcoming school year, as coronavirus infection rates continue to spike and new hot spots emerge.

With conflicting opinions and contradictory plans continuing to emerge, here is where school reopening plans stand in big cities.

Los Angeles and San Diego

California's two largest school districts announced Monday that schools will not open for any in-person instruction when the academic year starts in August, and that students will continue to learn remotely. Los Angeles Unified School District and San Diego Unified School District are the largest school districts to date to forgo any type of in-person instruction.

Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner said in a video announcement that more information on the details to the start of the school year will be shared "in the coming weeks" and that "our goal is to welcome students back to school as soon as it is safe and appropriate for us to do so." LA's district is the second largest in the country.

*snip*

[kimbutgar]

1. I just got a call that San Francisco USD is doing online until further notice

School was supposed to start August 17th.

[frazzled]

2. It's probably best, but lots of problems too

If parents are working from home too, some families don’t have enough devices, or quiet spaces, for everyone to be focusing and working at once. Some students will not have sufficiently reliable internet connections. And then there’s little brothers and sisters running around.

Here in Chicago, the district has been distributing 100,000 laptops and tablets, and is starting to provide free high-speed internet connections to 100,000 of the neediest families, for a full 4 years. Despite these efforts, it’s hard to get anywhere near full attendance.

I think this has to happen for a while, at least, this fall. But it’s not ideal. It works pretty well for college-age, but I have doubts how much real learning will go on in younger grades. That said, it’s better to be alive and have living family members than to learn multiplication right away. Wish there were a magic bullet, but there’s just not.