What will the fall semester look like for K-12 schools?

Among the striking aspects of Covid-19 has been the speed at which the pandemic has developed, creating a “new normal” of closed schools and shuttered shops. Now, just as we are getting to the point where teachers and students are better adapting to remote learning, schools are shifting focus to what they will do in the fall. The widespread expectation appears to be that schools will re-open, but it’s not yet clear what onsite school may look like in the fall.

Colleges and universities can often move more quickly than K-12 districts, so it’s potentially informative to look at their planning. Currently, however, they appear to be planning everything from being fully online to being back to pre-pandemic normal. The California State University system has announced that it will be mostly online, while Purdue has announced that it will return to something approaching normal. As Phil Hill has noted, both these examples (which I took from his blog post) and others are actually a bit more hybrid, in that they are planning both onsite and online activities in response to the current Covid-19 situation, as well as the possibility of a resurgence. Due to the possible resurgence, in fact, some universities are planning to go back to on-campus instruction early in the fall (or late summer), but end on-campus activities earlier than usual in the late fall/early winter.

We are seeing a similar range of planning in the K-12 districts we are hearing from and seeing referenced in media reports. I have not heard of any that are planning to continue entirely remote learning in the fall. I am also not familiar with any that are not at least considering contingencies to be remote, for some time and/or some students, in the fall. Most commonly, we are hearing that districts feel they need to be ready for one or both of two scenarios: 

1. “Rolling closures,” meaning that although the district may open in August, schools may need to close or shift to remote again for a period sometime during the fall semester.

2. The possibility that some parents will feel uncomfortable sending their children to school, and may expect to continue remote learning even if schools are open in the fall.

This second issue is particularly acute in states that don’t currently have a range of online and hybrid schools. Students in one of the 32 states that allow fully online schools have the option to shift to online learning regardless of whether their districts offer an online option. Students in the other 18 states do not, unfortunately, have that option. Similarly, students who live within relatively close proximity of a hybrid school have the opportunity for day-to-day flexibility in whether they will attend school onsite or learn remotely.

Two related issues are gaining some attention as schools consider re-opening. The first is whether schools can implement some form of social distancing, or limiting large gatherings. Will all-school assemblies continue? Friday night football games? It’s too early to tell for sure, and most likely that we will see differences by state and by district. 

Second is the growing recognition across society—not just schools—of the vulnerable populations that may be most affected by re-openings. It’s well understood that young people are generally less affected than the elderly (although that’s not to say there is no risk for them). But certain people have underlying conditions that make them more vulnerable, regardless of age. And, how to think about students who live with an elderly relative? All of these issues apply to teachers and school staff as well.

The situation remains uncertain, and is likely to keep shifting as the summer unfolds. We will keep watching, commenting in blog posts, and adding information to the DLC Covid pages.