Back to school is usually a time of excitement, meeting new teachers and friends, fall sports and daily announcements. All of these things have been replaced with online class meetings from your home, P.E. in the front or back yard, and parents as teaching assistants. This school year is definitely unlike any other.
This is sure to be a trying time for all involved, but we will get through this together. This is the first time in modern history that a national health emergency has disrupted peoples lives to this extent. I am sure that everyone, teachers, parents, administrators and even students would prefer to be in class, but that is not possible.
The key to this year is to find ways to achieve the possible. If the normal is not possible, then what is possible? If we cannot go back to school full time, then we need to plan for ways to limit “community spread” through limited days or hybrid education models. There are ways to accomplish this goal, but it requires some strategic planning and encouragement of staff to think beyond the regular modes of education.
As a former professor who has done distance learning and instruction, I can say that it is easier to provide instruction in a classroom, but we have a duty to not only educate but to provide a safe environment for our students and their families.