There is no clear path here
Dear Reader,
I’m a parent, and I am anxious and confused about education in Michigan this fall and beyond.
In-person, virtual, hybrid, online only. Can learning from home be effective?
Masks and enhanced social distancing, boxed meals and constant sanitizing. Can learning in a school be safe?
My youngest is starting as a full-time college student, but won’t be on campus. That decision to learn online came at the end of a long spring and summer of discussions, worrying, assessing what was best. I’m certainly not alone – more than 1 million Michiganders are parents of school-age children.
We at MLive realize it’s our job to find facts that answer as many of the unknowns and provide credible information that helps you make decisions about your children’s safety, as well as their education options.
“There’s a fundamental disruption in routines, and parents are really agonizing about how to handle that,” said Julie Mack, a reporter on our statewide team who has covered education issues for decades. “Most experts would readily concede that there is no clear path here.”
That’s why we launched a new email newsletter, Michigan Schools: Education in the COVID Era, this week. It will bring you our latest in-depth reporting about quickly evolving decisions being made at the state and local levels.
The weekly newsletter made its debut Tuesday, with interesting stories on the experience of one Jackson school that has reopened in a hybrid model, what teachers fear most about returning to the classroom, and the uncertainty over a fall football season as high school players were returning to the practice fields.
We are weeks away from the start of the school year, and the only thing we know for sure is that there will be a school year. Many districts, such as Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor and Lansing, have announced that all learning will be remote. Other districts are moving forward with in-person learning. And still others are doing combinations, and giving parents the option of deciding what is best for their children.
Martin Slagter, who covers education in the Ann Arbor area, spent a day at an elementary school in Jackson that reopened with a hybrid model. He saw enthusiasm among teachers and students, but also noted the work it takes to enforce distancing and sanitizing.
“They want to be able to prove that can continue, and get to the stage where they can have in-person classes,” Slagter said. “The real test comes when you’re going back into the classroom 100 percent. That’s when you’ll see the building constraints. The question is, when do we return to full in-school instruction?”
That answer is not clear to anyone at this point. But where there are questions, MLive’s reporters will continue to provide answers on a daily basis.
To subscribe to the newsletter Michigan Schools: Education in the COVID era, click here. To read our ongoing daily coverage of back-to-school issues, visit this page and add it to your bookmarks.
🎧 And to hear a longer discussion with Mack and Slagter on the education and health impacts of COVID on Michigan schools, students and families, click here for this week's episode of Behind the Headlines podcast.
Editor's note: I value your feedback to my columns, story tips and your suggestions on how to improve our coverage. Let me know how MLive helps you, and how we can do better. Please feel free to reach out by emailing me at editor@mlive.com.
John Hiner Executive Editor Vice President of Content Mlive Media Group
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