Everyone at DS’s school is just chomping at the bit to go back.
I’m hearing that some international students may have a tough time returning - one faculty member I know at another BS tells me they are trying to make accommodations for students who want to keep enrolled but can’t travel back to campus in the fall.
DS school said even though they expect to have kids back at school, they would still need to maintain online capabilities for kids that either can’t get back b to campus or can’t be on campus because they need to leave campus for illness and then quarantine.
Also – what about teachers who don’t want to expose themselves? Even if the kids all came to campus, I’m guessing some hybrid would have to happen with the classes.
Even if they can return, few of the international students who left the country in March would be back in the fall after the ordeals they went through.
I expect some older faculty will continue to teach online both at boarding schools and at colleges
@CateCAParent The reason parents consider not sending kids back is not necessarily that they are afraid of coronavirus, but because residential high school in the time of social distancing is just no longer an appealing choice for their families. Lots of my kid’s friends are serious athletes who hope to play in college and therefore will not come back if sports are off the table, particularly if the school indeed won’t even run practices and kids won’t be allowed to leave campus for their club practices/weekend tournaments etc. And even if playing in college is not the plan, what are the kids going to be doing without sports? And I just talked to a friend who is a music teacher and she says music may be on the chopping block too, since both singing and playing instruments (in groups) is high risk activity for covid transmission due to the droplets flying around etc.
And some of the reopening plans have kids stuck just with their small cohort, no intermingling with other grades (and even the entire grade for the big schools?) which means no school-wide events to keep kids occupied either. That is not at all a healthy situation, and is bound to result in even more risky behavior which is already pretty entrenched on campuses based on the move out emails it seems just about every school has sent. Plus what is the living situation going to be like, what are they going to do with the cramped dorms and communal bathrooms? How is the health center going to be prepared to handle any outbreak?
I think it is only fair to want to have the answers before making a commitment one way or another, because clearly things have changed dramatically and what we all signed up for may no longer be on the table.
@417WHB That’s interesting. I don’t know a single parent who isn’t hoping to send their kids back to Thacher in the fall. Then again, our school is tiny (260 kids), most dorm rooms are singles with doors that open up to the outdoors (safer from virus droplets than indoor hallways), and the strongest sport in terms of college recruitment is cross country running, so athletes can continue to train and improve their times. (If team sports are curtailed, they’ll probably encourage kids to choose rock climbing, mountain biking, horseback riding, hiking, surfing, outdoor yoga, etc, to make sure they get exercise every day). And yes, lots of things (classes, dining) can be done outdoors because of the California weather.
Staying at home/sheltering in place is especially hard on teens. Their brains are wired to seek out novel experiences, establish autonomy, and define their identity and status through peers. Boarding schools are great places for adolescents to do all three.
Many factors at play here.
Anyone else feeling exhausted yet? Practicing gratitude daily. Thankful we are healthy. Grateful to those keeping us safe and helping others. But boxing against this invisible opponent is wearing us down. It is getting difficult to keep positive…not being able to plan for anything and the uncertainty is really tough for our kids.
For many of us families “in the middle” and/or for those of us with small businesses, there are looming financial factors that may impact the decision to return in the fall. Here is a link to a recent New Yorker article on how the COVID virus is hurting the middle class.
Sports, theater, music etc will be affected whether kids are homeschooled, schooled at day/public schools or boarding. If ECs are the sole purpose for being at a school, then IMHO the child can be schooled anywhere and will still miss out on the sports/ECs next year.
DS is very committed to his varsity sports but goes to BS for the other opportunities that only boarding can provide.
The minute those doors open, he will be ready to return - sports/ECs or not.
In recent days local Universities and colleges in MA have started to discuss Fall plans. Many schools plan to open( Harvard college( but not dentsl or medical), Babson, Olin, Northeastern. Many on the fence and only a handful in the publicly negative camp ( BU). Don’t hopd me to exact lists as I am remembering based on various things. The point is, some will open. Some might have classes outside in tents ( in CA not MA); it’s also likely many will have a dual option for international and those who are high risk.
Many international kids want to return whether they will depends on lots of factors.
For the sports kids, recruiting will be tough for a few. But not everyone cares. Some serious athletes have already decided not to play in college. Some will stay in shape on their own. Some need ti competition to improve and make it worthwhile. Some don’t. Depends on the sport and kid.
Doesn’t seem like their will be a huge drop in enrollment anywhere. Most people seem to be riding it out. And even for freshmen students, the school & colleges have lots of kids waiting to take their spots.
@417WHB I totally get that every family has a different matrix to consider and every decision a family makes is legit and I wouldn’t challenge anyone’s choices. The sports angle is interesting. I have no idea how colleges could recruit right now.
I think I was more surprised that the decisions to pull are starting to happen already.
I was just reading through the California phases for opening up and what triggers a county being able to open schools. There are some counties (not mine, but the one that Cate is in) on the cusp. I would want to wait to see things play out a bit longer before pulling my kid. I would for sure want to know the school’s plan, travel limitations, etc. if the school isn’t able to deliver what my family needs, and they can be met better elsewhere and/or we can’t afford it, then I would pull kiddo with a heavy heart. For now, though, I am not seeing better options - safety or otherwise. If I were overseas, I would feel differently.
@Golfgr8 - I am totally worn down by it all. ?
We don’t allow ourselves to fathom a world where Thacher doesn’t allow students back on campus in the fall. All any of us can do is (patiently) wait and see. And keep our fingers crossed.
Here is my last poem of the 2019-2020 school year:
“‘Twas the last week of classes
Online and on Zoom
It’s lonely for Kiddo
Finishing school ALONE in a room
The spring term flew by
Study for fail or for pass
What’s the use of kids trying
Taking class on their —ss?
With the future uncertain
If there will be a fall start
We finish this year
With a hole in our heart
We must rally our spirits
Keep on posting, you’ll see
Soon a new crop of applicants
To help and “Chance me”!
So, as next year’s deposits are due
You might ask -
Will I be grabbing my check book?
Or will I be grabbing my flask?
I’m not for the early openings going on with businesses, but at least it will give us some data as to what is safe and what isn’t. As DS school is only 240 students and 90% of the teachers live on campus. I think they will be able to come up with a fairly good plan by September.
Just got off a Zoom call with DS HOS. I am now so confident about them returning in the Fall. Yes, it will look different, but they have a great plan in place. For those of you with students in CT these are the state’s reopening guidelines. https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/Office-of-the-Governor/News/20200506-Recommendations-to-Governor-Lamont-for-a-phased-reopening-of-colleges-and-universities.pdf?la=en
What do you all think of this trend to open colleges early?? Sounds like so far Montana universities and Notre Dame are going to start early, finish the semester at Thanksgiving break and then not resume until January. I wonder if this is an option boarding schools are considering?? Of course, their state would have to get to opening requirements that much earlier…but I like the idea of it .
I like the idea of an early start. It is a way to hedge bets against a second wave- they can bake in a shut down to the schedule and still stay on track.
The long Holiday break is one way to do it. Kiddo’s school has been talking about keeping kids over Thanksgiving and starting the long break after - the problem the long break addresses is all the back and forth of people from all over the world. It is hard to screen that much and it is unknowable how the international travel rules will play out. Better to minimize the risks by keeping the kids on campus.
The other thing an early start can address is how to catch these kids up from all they have lost academically. Incoming freshmen in particular are going to be all over the place, so academic onboarding will be a huge issue.
I think increasingly, everyone is realizing that there is going to be risk and the question is how best to live with it. This isn’t going to be over, in a definitive way, any time soon.
I like the early start. I also like the idea of minimizing breaks. Not that I have a kid that’s going back to school. But it makes sense.
With all that said, we could be back to a really messy and dangerous place again in the fall. I live in a hot spot and am waiting to see what happens with gradual re-openings. Will cases spike up again? Will people take precautions seriously? When people start traveling, what will happen?
I think that what is troubling is that it’s very hard to manage the safety of your environment once we can all move around again. And at a school, it’s virtually impossible.