Flexibility remains key for school districts

As school districts across the state mark their first month in their new pandemic-influenced reality, the key to making the year successful continues to be flexibility. Parents, teachers, students and staff have done their best to understand that circumstances can change quickly. Coronavirus outbreaks are inevitable, as everyone has seen. Whatever system is in place — whether it’s in-person, online or, more commonly, a mixture of both — may not be in place tomorrow or next week.

To date, everyone involved has weathered the uncertainty as best they can. As the weather gets colder and days get shorter, don’t expect the unknowns to diminish.

Many districts have employed a hybrid system, where students are in class two days a week and learning remotely the other three. Others have a four-in, one-out schedule. Less common is the entirely remote option, though some schools have had to quickly move in that direction as cases of the virus pop up.

In areas where infection rates are low, school administrators have made moves toward opening more days. That’s no doubt welcome news for parents, who have to adjust their work schedules around their children’s e-learning, and teachers, who can do their job the way they always have, rather than split their attention between half the students in front of them and the rest on a computer screen from elsewhere in town.

Still, no one ought to get comfortable. Whatever opening might happen could easily need to be reversed if cases jump. This week New York City, which had seen low transmission numbers for months, saw a rise in new cases. Given how closely New York’s outbreak was linked to Connecticut’s high levels in the spring, it’s not hard to imagine something similar could happen again. Everyone needs to be prepared.

While much of the attention has been on sports, specifically football, and whether it’s safe to play, the majority of students are focused on the ordinary reality of getting through each school day and trying to get something resembling a normal education.

That’s not as easy this year as it usually is, and the pitfalls of remote learning remain. In too many districts, a large number of students are simply not showing up to online classrooms, further widening the gap between rich and poor towns and making it that much harder to catch up once school does, someday, return to normal.

In the meantime, with a lack of an overall policy push from above, individual districts are left to make their own decisions on how to run their schools. All are making the best of the situation, even if there are disagreements on what is best from one town to another. Everyone is acting in what they think is the best interest of the students.

That’s one thing that has not changed. In the best of circumstances, so much is owed to teachers. When times are tougher, the debt is that much greater. As an uncertain school year continues, it’s vital to remember who is ensuring that the system continues to function.

In too many districts, a large number of students are simply not showing up to online classrooms, further widening the gap between rich and poor towns.