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Here are new additions to THE BEST POSTS PREDICTING WHAT SCHOOLS WILL LOOK LIKE IN THE FALL:

This article says that, if our county’s infection numbers continue to decrease, schools from K-12 can reopen in as soon as two weeks.

They certainly are not going to open that quickly – you can put money on that.

To tell you the truth, though, I’m not sure it makes sense to open before second semester starts. As my colleague Katherine Bell told me, “Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should do it.”

Most of us teachers have zero confidence our dysfunctional school district can organize and provide the needed safety precautions. And it couldn’t even organizing a coherent distance learning plan, much less a hybrid one. For middle and high schools, it’s going to be a scheduling nightmare. In New York, 47 percent of students chose to continue going all remote. And plenty of surveys show that the percentage is higher in communities of color. Granted, California didn’t get hit as badly as New York, but what happens if our school, for example, has a third of students choosing to go remote? We’re going to pull them from their existing classes and try to configure a schedule that resembles what they have now? Good luck with that? And trying to match them with teachers who aren’t willing to return to campus? Jeez.

I can see it making sense to bring back vulnerable populations of students, like English Language Learners and students with learning challenges, first. I’d be willing to go to campus and teacher with smaller numbers of students. But I know some are going to choose to continue with distance learning. What happens to them?

I’d defer to the judgment of our elementary teachers, but I have to say it could make sense to start those back sooner, rather than later.

Waiting until the semester ends, and taking the time to reconfigure classes, is the smart play for middle and high schools.

Which means our district is unlikely to do it…

Sigh

“Sacramento County announced its schools will be able to reopen for in-person instruction in two weeks” I wouldn’t bet on it https://t.co/baOwM6P7aW

— Larry Ferlazzo (@Larryferlazzo) September 30, 2020

A chaotic, down-to-the-wire start of school in New York serves as a harbinger for other cities is from The Washington Post.

After pressure from Florida governor, Miami will open some schools more than two weeks earlier than planned is from The Washington Post.