Although school districts are still making their decisions and contingency plans based on the recent turn of events with Covid-19 variants. Most were able to pivot (or fall) into a remote or hybrid learning track for their students during the thick of the pandemic. Adjustments needed to be made and teachers who were ill-prepared and caught off-guard. Everyone had to make do. Homes had to be adjusted to accommodate classroom work and parents had to make decisions regarding their work life.

As remote school was not ideal, it did hold merit and remote learning is possible. As awkward as it was, if teachers were given tools to help them plan lessons online, it would only be better. “If even 20 percent of students learn virtually next year, that would create “a whole new parallel track for schools,” said Heather Schwartz, a RAND Corp. researcher who led a recent study showing that 1 in 5 districts were planning or considering a fully remote learning option for 2021-22. ” (Gewertz, 2021)

It’s now fair to say that parents would still most likely want options in this pandemic climate while school districts are hashing it out. Perhaps as an course of action, parents can and should look outside of the traditional learning environment and look for online accredited schools or home-schooling.

Gerwertz, C., (May 4, 2021) https://www.edweek.org/leadership/remote-learning-isnt-going-away-will-it-create-separate-and-unequal-school-systems/2021/05