By Lucretia Free
Eight Questions for students living in Vail, Corona de Tucson or SE Tucson. Please mention your grade. You may respond to all 8 or chose one or two that you feel strongly about. You may also email lucretia@thevailvoice.com. Feel free to forward to others!
From Parents of a 3rd grader at Cottonwood Elementary
1. Schools moved to an online platform last spring and many students didn’t return to school after spring break. Describe how that made you feel? My wife and I feel that our son is getting a lesser educational experience. At the end of last year it was not so bad with the work packets to be completed. However, so far this year it is not working out. The video sessions have been difficult. The teachers are going too fast, students are asking the same questions over and over, and a parent ends up having to do a lot of repetition because the children are not used to this format. It almost feels like this semester is going to be a complete loss.
2. How have you kept in touch with your school friends this summer? (facetime, insta, ticktok, face-to-face, etc.). Telephone communication with some school friends and face-face with family members of similar age. Schoolmate parents have been in contact by telephone and are considered withdrawing from Vail schools until they can improve the format.
3. Did you take any online classes this summer? If so, what did you take and why? Not applicable.
4. How has your school day changed as you prepare to begin school this fall? Are your hours different? Are there classes you were planning to take that you won’t be able to take now? The beginning of the school day is similar in preparation, but the hours can fluctuate depending on my child’s attention span. Staring at a computer screen only works for so long before kids start day dreaming.
5. Do you prefer being taught online or in person and why? In person for the retention of information and social interactions with other students.
6. If you were in charge of keeping other students safe from Covid-19, what would you want the schools to do? Send students home with any sickness at the sign of illness. My child would get sick like once a month slightly less when school was in session. Now that he has been out of school he has not been sick at all.
7. Should there be more options besides either online or in school? What might those be? Other options would be great. However, the more options will make the process of reopening schools less efficient.
8. Are you concerned about going back to in person school? Of course there is concern, but the current format is not working out so far.