Yesterday, my husband and I received our weekly email update from our children’s principal.  In the message, she states that students just finished their 8th day of school.  In reality, today would have marked the 20th day of school! We chose the full remote model, meaning two days of virtual lessons with their assigned teacher, followed by a Wellness Wednesday and wrapped up with two days of independent learning.  The hybrid model sees students attend in person two days per week and then have a similar schedule to our own children the remainder of the week (3 days remote).  

I tend to be driven by data.  Numbers help me put things in perspective.  In a typical school year we would be about 11% through at this point.  However, if we view it as our 8th day of school, it essentially means zero weight is placed on the “independent learning days” and we are only 4% through the year.  It frightens me that we are placing no weight on those days.  In essence, does this mean the days do not count if we have to go back to full remote? 

What is this doing for our students with special educational needs?  I continue to work with families who are only receiving around 40% of the services on their IEP.  These services have been agreed upon by the committee as essential in helping the student succeed. Are we ok with the student getting less than half of what they are entitled to? 

The achievement gap is rapidly becoming a gaping hole!  Who is helping parents fight for these services?  

#standreadytosupport