So this upcoming week should give my kids some insight into what the fall will look like. Both will find out if they will be returning to campus. The only way my D will be returning is if the league decides to have athletics. My S’s school has said that either every student will be invited to campus or no one will be invited to campus. I have a feeling both will be home this fall.
Our K-12 district (in SE PA, outside of Philly, a relatively hard hit area where cases are now trending downwards a bit) hasn’t released final plans but did put out a statement last week that as of now, they are not planning to require masks to be worn by students. W. T. H.??? Masks are currently required by the PA governor – not sure the district has the ability to override that. But if they’re really serious, I’ll probably be pulling my son to the “online academy” they are planning to offer in addition to face to face…which, if it’s anything like the online courses they offered this spring, will be a complete joke. Ugh. Hopefully they are watching what’s been happening in Florida and TX this week and it changes their minds. And I hope they make a decision soon, as my rising junior still doesn’t have a class schedule for next year which means he hasn’t started any of the AP summer work.
@zozoty amazing the teachers are ok with that.
Amherst sent out an email a few days ago giving families a better picture of what the fall semester will look like. It had some specifics, and had another survey to fill out to assess the interest of families to return or stay remote with this additional information.
“We are doing everything possible to prepare the campus for as many students as we believe it is wise to bring. At this point, we do not believe we will be able to bring to campus all the students who have indicated a desire to be here, given our intergenerational community, the ease with which the COVID-19 virus is transmitted, and the fact that it is transmitted by asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic individuals. In order to implement the steps deemed by public health experts to be necessary or advisable to reduce risk of spread, we will almost certainly have to limit the numbers.”
Amherst bought 20 tents to put up around campus for classes, socializing and workouts.
They will have lower residential density through a one-student-per-room policy and fewer occupied rooms, with a smaller student-to-bathroom ratio. This indicates that less than half the student body will be able to come back to campus.
They mentioned how frequently testing would occur, and that fall athletics are unlikely to happen.
Amherst is supposed to let families know their final plan by the end of June, beginning of July.
Actually that hasn’t been decided yet. The report from Sick Kids’ Hospital is only one item being taken into consideration in informing the government’s decision making process. There still needs to be consultations with other stake holders including the various teachers’ unions (English/French public/Catholic elementary/secondary) before the province issues it’s guidelines and options. It will then be up to each school board to choose the approach that best suits their needs. So far nothing definitive has been announced.
We don’t know that is the case yet. From what I have been reading children are not getting sick- their body is fighting off the virus and not allowing it to multiple. The virus spreads from people shedding the virus… if they don’t have a high viral load (virus not multiplying) they are probably not spreading it.
I personally think mask wearing by the under 10 crowd is ineffective and will be a huge distraction. The school should focus on social distancing, good airflow, and keeping the teachers as far to the front as possible. Hopefully they will have a visor and mask. If I were the teacher, it have a fan pointed across - with airflow perpendicular to where I’m standing to block as much airflow possible.
Actually, editing the yearbook in an innovative way to capture the times will be a great accomplishment for this student’s applications.
Smart kids will continue to find ways to distinguish themselves even if some of the most commonly used programs are not available, and colleges will be able to populate their classes very well IMO.
@Rivet2000 that is true about D21’s yearbook editing. She can talk about it in her interviews. For all of the 2021’s, there are many apps not due until 11/1 or 12/1 and they can talk about fall accomplishments if they can figure something out that shows their creativity and resilience. D21 is just mourning the senior year she was hoping for. 
Once the deposits get paid and the refund dates pass, schools will go fully remote.
here’s some guidance just released from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Conclusion is the AAP strongly advocates that all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having kids physically in school.
https://services.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/clinical-guidance/covid-19-planning-considerations-return-to-in-person-education-in-schools/#.XvZQ5fK-xNs.email
I don’t disagree at all. When I was referring to kids I meant college age students. Lol. They are all kids to me. My bad.
Or this. I discovered these a few weeks ago.
https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/a-note-from-your-university-about-its-plans-for-next-semester
Not really looking forward to American college admissions system barreling further down the beauty pageant road.
“Test blind” policies may work for some, but can only disadvantage kids like our younger who scored 35 on an ACT in 7th grade.
@TheVulcan that is insulting. Beauty pageant??
Our S19 was always a high scorer at a young age and I whole heartedly believe that D21 has as much to offer a college as he does. Each student is different and has different strengths to being to college and eventually to their careers.
^^Really, Vulc? After all this, you’d still opt for the HYPMS “degree-at-all-costs” over a hybrid degree from your own state flagship?
Not a fan of the “holistic” system here. At all.
I do not want to derail the thread, but those interested in its history may be surprised to learn what problem Harvard president Lawrence Lowell proposed to solve by selecting students “by a personal estimate of character on the part of the Admissions authorities” in his letter to the admissions committee in 1925:
https://www.city-journal.org/html/fewer-asians-need-apply-14180.html
After all what?
^Not knowing how long your kid will be on campus before the semester has to end suddenly.
This might have been covered already: are colleges giving financial aid to cover living expenses off campus for those students whose need includes that expense even though campus is closed? Or are they expecting such students to stay home these semesters that campus is closed and just cover the tuition part of the expense?
The other day MA released K-12 guidelines for the fall. Desks need to be spaced at least 3 feet apart, meals will likely be eaten in the classroom, and libraries, cafeterias and auditoriums may be used for additional classroom space. Students (2nd grade and up) and adults will be required to wear masks, but they are encouraging “mask breaks” throughout the day when students can be 6 feet apart and ideally outside, but at least with the windows open. They also suggest that face shields might be better for younger children and their teachers because they rely on visual and facial cues a lot. Face shields might also be a better option for students with medical, behavioral, or other challenges. Schools will be able to determine their own class sizes.
This is a bit of a shift from the June 3 report that stated desks 6 feet apart, and no more than 10 students in a classroom. I’m not sure what changed in 3 weeks. Perhaps it’s because state Covid numbers are low and continuing down, and the key indicators are looking great?