Likelihood of in-person school starting in the fall (middle school, college)

[Trainwreck20]

I dunno who has internet and who doesn't, but I know they are sending out buses set up as mobile wifi centers. The apartments down the street have on parked in the parking lot mon-fri all day, more or less. They were doing surveys of who had or didn't have access to try and get access for everyone.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

I dunno who has internet and who doesn't, but I know they are sending out buses set up as mobile wifi centers. The apartments down the street have on parked in the parking lot mon-fri all day, more or less. They were doing surveys of who had or didn't have access to try and get access for everyone.

And how many people are sitting in their cars using the internet? How helpful is that for a family that doesn't have a car? I'm not arguing or saying that it's the best/worst/only response. No one knows right now. AISD is trying. They really are. But, aside from health issues, when this gets to a manageable point and we start evaluating the response and the things we, as a society has noticed, inequity and access to technology will be one of them.

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

And how many people are sitting in their cars using the internet? How helpful is that for a family that doesn't have a car? I'm not arguing or saying that it's the best/worst/only response. No one knows right now. AISD is trying. They really are. But, aside from health issues, when this gets to a manageable point and we start evaluating the response and the things we, as a society has noticed, inequity and access to technology will be one of them.

The wifi covers the entire apartment complex. My understanding is that they are positioning the buses (started with 110 buses, I understand there are a few more now) wherever there is an identified need for internet. I don't know what percent of kids w/o internet are covered, but it probably takes a good bite out of it. 92% of Austin has internet and a somewhat outdated survey I saw identified retirees as one of the largest groups w/o internet.

While it won't work for Zoom meetings, mobile phone access will allow for a lot of connectivity. Will it get everyone? No, but it may be a small enough number to be dealt with.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

The wifi covers the entire apartment complex. My understanding is that they are positioning the buses (started with 110 buses, I understand there are a few more now) wherever there is an identified need for internet. I don't know what percent of kids w/o internet are covered, but it probably takes a good bite out of it. 92% of Austin has internet and a somewhat outdated survey I saw identified retirees as one of the largest groups w/o internet.

While it won't work for Zoom meetings, mobile phone access will allow for a lot of connectivity. Will it get everyone? No, but it may be a small enough number to be dealt with.

It's just not the best model. I speak to parents daily ho say they don't have internet access.

[Trainwreck20]

It may not be 'good', but it still may be the 'best' under the current situation.

Many places are starting to get more free access, although obviously not all:
https://www.statesman.com/business/2...ings-in-austin

As an aside, the city (and other cities) were 'shot down' when they were proposing city-wide wifi (I forget the proper name) due to competition issues. Sure would be nice to have about now, though.

[CarnivalGal]

I have two kids in LISD, and I think they'll open in the fall. Heck, the governor has said the school districts can open for summer school on June 1st. I have mixed feelings about it. I think cases will definitely go up, but we can't do this forever. There is not going to be a vaccine anytime soon. They may hope, but it's just not realistic. At some point, we're going to have to just bite the bullet and start going back to life before COVID. We can take precautions, but we can't stay shut down.

Also, as a former educator, I can tell you that the vast majority of kids aren't going to fall that far behind because they've missed what amounts to about 2 months of school. However, if they miss a year, it's going to cause issues.

[ATX Wahine]

Originally Posted by CarnivalGal

I have two kids in LISD, and I think they'll open in the fall. Heck, the governor has said the school districts can open for summer school on June 1st. I have mixed feelings about it. I think cases will definitely go up, but we can't do this forever. There is not going to be a vaccine anytime soon. They may hope, but it's just not realistic. At some point, we're going to have to just bite the bullet and start going back to life before COVID. We can take precautions, but we can't stay shut down.

Also, as a former educator, I can tell you that the vast majority of kids aren't going to fall that far behind because they've missed what amounts to about 2 months of school. However, if they miss a year, it's going to cause issues.

My niece and nephew (10 and 12) have surprisingly taken extremely well to distance learning by PC. They both say the lack of distraction is a huge part of it. They’ve both had regular access to their teachers (DSISD) and have settled into great patterns. My sis-in-law has already been told to work from home for the rest of the year, and she’s thinking of just keeping the kids at home with her. They are thriving despite all circumstances and enjoying their close family time.

[alanesmith]

Here's another story to add more confusion:
AISD considers only allowing 25% of students into school in the fall

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by alanesmith

Here's another story to add more confusion:
AISD considers only allowing 25% of students into school in the fall

Yeah, I heard about that last week. I suppose on some level it makes sense. On the other hand, the explosion it will cause will be epic .

[TCBTEX]

Have to imagine whatever plan AISD proposes it will involve staggered attendance so proper social distancing may be attempted on campuses. The KXAN link showing the proposed 25% of kids having physical access to teachers during the year is making home schooling look more probable for us each day. If 75% of students will be pushed into at home online learning than you have consider if AISD will be able to offer a better 100% online curriculum vs. the online home school programs that have already been doing it for years. I definitely feel for parents unable to "work at home" and need the school day to make their jobs possible. Any type of staggered attendance will be a challenge for them. Perhaps that needs to be considered when selecting the group of students allowed to physically attend next year? No one size fits all solution to this problem - that's for certain.