@DeeCee36 I think it is not nearly as bad for rising freshmen as rising upperclassmen because they are not bonded to anyone yet.
@homerdog I would totally be on phone with other parents, too. I can’t believe you’re being judged for assisting your son on such a multidimensional based dilemma he is facing (psychological, financial, logistical, health and academic). All hands on deck is wise. To say otherwise is almost cruel IMO.
Your daughter is wise and honest, and agrees with what I (and others) believe will happen.
It will be interested to see how things shake out in Illinois.
I was surprised at how the social distancing requirement was worded “Require social distancing be observed, as much as possible”.
No distance specified (as we know CDC recommend 6 ft, WHO recommends 3 ft), and what exactly does ‘as much as possible’ mean? Can a school put 49 kids in a class, and say SD isn’t possible?
I also think that prioritizing K-8 paves the way for HSs to be co-opted by K-8 schools for more space, which means some HSs may not be in person.
A relatively affluent North Suburban HS district with two separate HSs had already announced they will be fully remote. I wonder if these guidelines will change anything?
My kid’s HS, also affluent, 1,000 kids per class, said they are leaning toward a model with one week in school, two weeks remote, because they can’t even get half the kids in the school…but maybe they can now with softer than expected SD requirement?
Will be interesting what Chicago public schools do, and other large HSs. There are numerous HSs with 700-1000 kids per class in Chicagoland, fewer that large in the rest of the state.
@shuttlebus We were told last night that, if all works out with the plan in the fall and all of the “systems” for testing and social distancing don’t result in a spike, that freshmen go home and all other students invited back - to masks, social distancing and testing and all remote class.
@123Mom123 thank you
Sure, but colleges can explain the limitations and plan for a bulge when everyone returns. I think most parents would be fine with some temp housing or classes with a few more students in order to get all of the students back. Also, I think colleges need to explain who will be allowed to return first. I have a bad feeling it will be full pay students. Finally they need to pledge to accept zero transfers until everyone is back.
I have been wondering this, too. There’s a lot of wiggle room in that phrase, “as much as possible.”
@Mwfan1921 - Our district is talking about having the HS alternate one week in person/one week online.
One of the things that stood out to me was bussing. Our K-5 students are bussed to school. Not sure how you have them in school every day and still socially distance on a school bus unless they do some kind of staggered start with odd/even house numbers.
This is problem that I’m glad I’m not responsible for the planning!
Makes sense from a day care perspective to prioritize getting younger students in the classroom daily. I also think older students can be more productive online than younger kids.
I will admit that I LOL’d at the recommendation about band and choir moving outdoors and choir having to sing with masks on.
@homerdog I am sorry to hear all of this. IMO your kids are lucky to have a strong support system.
My children are both in denial right now. As things start to open up here in the northeast, I think it is giving them a false sense of normalcy for the fall. Both schools have said that they are welcoming students to campus in the fall, but we are still waiting to hear detailed plans. I would not be one bit surprised if either or both schools do a complete turnaround and we are faced with a completely on-line fall semester.
@homerdog I’m sorry you and your son are going through this. I absolutely think this is a situation where you need to be involved. This is a very tough and unique decision-making process whether you are 20 or 50. It’s hard for 20 year olds to have the financial perspective needed. Also, many of them have never hunted for an apartment before or signed a lease, especially in a market like this, where supply may be low, demand high and end date uncertain. I think getting perspective from other parents might he helpful. Call away, guilt-free! If it were me, I would do all I could to help while making sure my student’s needs and opinions were front and center. Good luck and keep us posted.
@AlwaysMoving We are asking today how Bowdoin plans to prioritize who comes back. Some kids think it will be the fall recruited athletes. If that’s true, that would cause a ruckus.
I agree with all of this. Give students the full plan, how difficult is that to define it ahead of time? Things like how many gaps/leaves will be allowed, how students will be prioritized for the return, add modular housing, allow more students to live off campus.
IMO the school saying they are offering unlimited gap years, but can’t guarantee when you can come back, with no other guidance, makes the offer of unlimited gap years seem disingenuous.
Yep have no clue how New Trier or Lane Tech will do it with 4,000 students.
@ChemAM My daughter wholeheartedly agrees with you. She will be a returning sophomore at UMD-CP BioE major. She got ripped out of her freshman year and thrust back into her parents home, specifically her 10 year old little brothers room, and is currently sleeping under a giant poster of Joel Embiid.
Now she currently lost her housing due to de-densification so we signed her a 1 year lease but she will do what it takes to make sure her campus stays open and do her part. We come from a hard hit area so she knows the drill. “Living it up” to her is picking up take out. She wants to be a student and go to college and not be home and she knows what she has to do. The others need to fall in line or their dorm rooms will be gone when the cases go up and the campus shuts down and they go completely online like last year. My daughter can stay in her off campus apartment.
Every other week seems aggressive, your HS is the same size as ours (1,000/class), but we only have sophs-seniors in the main building, frosh have their own campus.
Prior to these guidelines, admin said ‘we can’t figure out how to get half the kids in the building’…so 1,500, plus several hundred teachers and other staff, don’t seem to work and allow for SD. Hence the likely scenario of one week in school, two remote.
Bussing kids to school is also a huge issue, because of the expense. Many school districts (beyond Illinois) don’t think they can afford to open simply because they can’t pay for more busses/drivers, unless more fed money is coming.
I can’t understand how any performing arts can happen in schools at all this coming year. If they don’t, that will open up more space for academics, which probably makes sense.
I wonder if some districts will cut bussing and tell parents they are responsible for getting their kids to school. (That was routinely done in OH when school levies failed to pass).
@homerdog. Maybe your school is different then the rest. But both of our kids stayed on campus last semester. Best decisions for them. I would assume your son and friends would just go back to campus and find an apartment. I bet ya there will be more kids on campus (off campus) also. I assume Maine has apartment brokers? They can help in the search. For my son’s schools they have off campus housings departments and listserves for students looks for roommates /apartments etc. Is it not like that at Bowdoin?
My sons also looking for apartments now off campus. I don’t have an issue sending links to things that look interesting. This usually spikes the “thx but don’t really need help” conversation but gets him going… Lol… You know your kid. Be the parent you need to be.
BTW just did a quick Google search… Even on the Bowdoin classified ads there are lots for rents. One was on 10 acres of waterfront… Lol… I am sending my kids to the wrong schools… Lol ?
@mom517 I don’t think colleges will send students home again, because they really want to keep room and board; worst-case scenario, I think they shift to online learning, but let students stay in on-campus housing.
What do you suggest they do? If they have housing for 2400 but 200 take a gap year then they’ll have 2600 students the following year. The housing in the community is limited, so they can’t all go there. Is there space on campus to build temporary housing? Are you willing to absorb part of the cost in the form of tuition increases?
How are colleges supposed to “figure out” the class offerings? Faculty teach x number of courses per semester. The administration can’t make them teach more and they don’t seem to be hiring additional faculty, so there probably won’t be additional sections. They can’t increase the room capacity or move classes to larger rooms that don’t exist either. The only realistic options that I can see are for students to not to defer so they stay on track or defer and be accepted back in groups as class space becomes available.
I think parents have to accept that gap years come with certain risks. I would make plans based on what the college is offering, not what you think they should offer. If they say they don’t know when deferred students can return, don’t assume students can go back next fall. If they aren’t guaranteeing priority registration for students who take a gap year, don’t assume the classes they want will have enough seats for everyone who wants one. If your child can live with those choices, defer. If not, they may want to keep their place in their class instead of giving up seniority and joining a younger cohort.