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How Will We Balance Public Education In The Near Future?


My thoughts have been all over the board lately when it comes to education. As we have all been living in this life of maneuvering through the pandemic, many people in the Country are trying to figure out how to get back to "normal" the best we can. It is a strange time for myself, going to stores (only when necessary), wearing mask and gloves, using hand sanitizer and unfortunately viewing strangers with suspect while attempting to pass at a reasonable six feet of distance. It is truly an odd time for the world and I do wonder how we will create the massive balancing act once the 2020-21 school year begins?


Thus far, we have bulldozed our way almost to the finish line of the 2019-20 school year. It has been an amazing shift in thinking as well as how we do business. We flipped public education upside down and began from scratch with remote learning and video conferencing all over the place. I can see and almost feel the ribbon as we pass through and complete the race. It has not been easy in the least. I commend each person who has worked extremely hard for their students to make this work the best we could. We made a huge batch of lemonade from a global Lemon Grove and made it happen.


What about next school year? What will it look like? What will this pandemic be doing at that time? Will scientists come up with a vaccine sooner than we think? If so, will it be safe? Ah, so many questions. Questions that are also mixed with the reality of what public education is about. Our re-entry quest for public school is now in draft form. Most of what I have been reading pertains to the typical school population and what a common school day will look like. Social distancing, one classroom, fewer students on busses at a time, staggered schedules and the list does go on and on.


What about our special populations? How will they fare with the "New Normal?" As a current Director, I find myself deep in the middle of the sandwich. On one hand, I cannot ethically deny FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education) for our students. I hear testy notes in parent's social media comments as well as some saying "I'm not teaching my kid again next year." The students do deserve FAPE and are currently receiving what a typical student gets. Compliance is there but is it enough? My mind heads towards our primary students Pre-K- second grade. How does one teach social distancing when a first response from many of those kids is to run up and hug their teacher? Can we expect a 5 year old to wear a mask? That being said, what about the students in our Life Skills programs? The same questions come to my head. How do we get these students back into a school setting and practice safe, social distancing. Many of the students in this population do not have the cognitive means to stay that magical six feet away. Yes, we can continue to work on teaching these skills, and we will but the skills won't take over night. We will need some time.


The flip side of this argument is this. How do we protect our staff's from becoming infected with the COVID-19 virus? If we are putting people back into situations where they WILL come in contact with potentially infected people, how do we protect against illness without denying FAPE? I deeply care for the staff I work with. Many of these people I have hand picked and hired based on skill sets and talents I saw in them. I do not wish to see any of them hurt or sick.


You do see our dilemma then don't you? It will surely be a huge balancing act once fall starts. Even under the guise of a "Hybrid Model," which is something I hear from OSPI on a weekly basis, people will still be coming in contact with students who might be carriers of the virus. Yet, we did sign up for teaching students in a school environment.


As we wrestle with what will be best in the fall, I assure each of you reading this right now, it is not an easy task. I care about our students and the families of the kids we work with who have special needs. I also care about our staff members who will potentially be coming in contact with infected folks. Fortunately, we have a few months to hopefully come up with the best possible solution to the puzzle. School must go on and we must continue to educate our students. If we are using a form of distance learning, combined with some in person services, this maybe the best of both worlds. My biggest hope from all however is that we receive grace and support during this time. It is a huge balancing act and will become more tenuous as time moves on.


Please keep on being safe and healthy. I you have any brainstorms, I would love to hear them.

Jon

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