Second Chance: View the Virtual Discussion

Featured Panelists:
◆ Paul Henn, Director of Learning Services, New Ulm Public Schools, MN
◆ Dr. Roland Rios, Director of Technology, Ft. Sam Houston ISD, TX
◆ Dr. Travis Taylor, Instructional Technology Specialist, Little Rock School District, AR

If you throw a dozen balls in the air and keep them from touching the ground, while at the same time spinning a dozen plates at the end of wooden sticks, all while driving and texting at night on a rain-soaked highway, you still wouldn’t approach the complexity of figuring the variables for physical space and time rearrangement needed for America’s newest experiment in education – the age of the hybrid school. In this episode of the Learning Counsel’s Back to (e)school Tactics Discussions series, education leaders from some of the nation’s top districts discuss their plans – and how they were able to fill in the missing pieces to begin the process of a return, such as it is, to school this Fall.

According to LeiLani Cauthen, CEO and Publisher at the Learning Counsel, “The new structures are going to be new experiences, so there will be some emotions coming through this. There will be people giving you pushback, and there will be people that don’t know where they’re supposed to go, or when they’re supposed to log on. This is the toughest time on leaders I’ve ever seen.

Let’s talk about these top concerns,” said Cauthen. “Time – giving pre-awareness to schedule change, all those schedule options. Which one are you using and where? What are you going to do with the working parents? What is your variability to make certain students accommodated because they’re going to do it a little differently than everybody else? And then in terms of space, you need be six feet apart and stand on the little dot. What are you going to do with transportation? And how are people arriving through which doors, taking temperatures, checking floor tapes, disinfecting everything, social distancing, kids masks? How are they going to behave in hallways and going to the bathroom, classrooms, and around shared equipment? And then the ever-present social, emotional repercussions of all of this on everybody, which has huge implications.”

Watch the video

Even without all the guidelines in place, districts know that the start of the school year will be enacted through a hybrid model. The missing variables, X and Y, are space and time. At this point, it is an equation without all the necessary numbers in place to solve. That’s why this discussion is so interesting. See how these leading districts are making decisions with final information still to come. The clock is ticking, inching its way towards Autumn. Schools have to be prepared. Watch this discussion to find out how.