草榴社区

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Dealing With The Pandemic: Parents' Concerns About School Reopening
The COVID-19 has turned our lives upside down. Sending your children back to school raises all sorts of concerns for their safety and education. We answer some of your questions here.

Disclaimer: I am not a health professional. I am a concerned parent and grandparent. This article draws attention to some of the questions I have about sending my grandchildren to school. ~Rob Kennedy

Getting your child ready for school in the summer of 2020 is a nerve-wracking experience for parents. We have always been concerned about our children's safety both at school and at home. We have taught safe behaviors since they were tiny tots. Suddenly, all those familiar scenarios seem so benign and distant. This COVID-19 pandemic is unlike anything you and I have seen in our lifetimes. The virus seems to attack people of all ages. It seems to lurk in hosts and find new hosts via droplets that hang in the air. It lives on common surfaces such as doorknobs and stair railings. It spreads to its new host when he touches his face. Worst of all, there's no vaccine for the COVID-19 virus. Scientists are scrambling to create vaccines, but it doesn't look as though anything will be available before early 2021.

I have listened to podcasts for several months. I have concluded that frequent handwashing, wearing a 2-ply mask in public, social distancing, staying home whenever possible, are necessary steps to protect myself and others from the virus. That's what the health experts recommend. But what about children in school? Let's look at some of the safety steps and protective measures your child's school will most

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Post-Pandemic: How Will They Teach?

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Post-Pandemic: How Will They Teach?
Teachers and parents are concerned about the teaching that will take place once the COVID-19 pandemic has eased. I have tried to cover their concerns in the following set of questions and answers.

Teachers and parents are concerned about the teaching that will take place post-pandemic. I have tried to cover their concerns in the following set of questions and answers.

Question: What happened in March 2020?

Answer: It was as though somebody turned off the power. One day, public and private school teachers were teaching in person in classrooms. The next day they were teaching online.

Question: Was there any warning?

Answer: Very little. The was made on a state-by-state basis by the governors.

Question: When will schools reopen?

Answer: That's a good question. Much depends on the coronavirus situation in your location. If the number of new cases and deaths from COVID-19 are decreasing, your governor will be more inclined to allow schools to open. In general, wherever possible, it seems as though in the fall. Of course, you can expect changes. Children's safety will be paramount, but so will the safety of vulnerable communities such as older faculty and staff. There will be lots of handwashing and hand sanitizer. There will be much less movement about the school. Teachers will move as needed from class to class. Students will remain in place.

Question What kind of protective measures will be in place at my children's private school?

Answer: Again, your governor's health team will recommend several measures that could include social distancing, wearing masks, temperature checks, and other measures. Most states seem to be

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Endowments: Ready Cash? Rainy Day Funds?

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Endowments: Ready Cash? Rainy Day Funds?
Most private schools have endowment funds. We explain how these work and why schools are fortunate to have them in tough times.

On March 27, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stimulus Act of 2020 (the "CARES Act"). What is the Act's purpose and who does it benefit? According to ,

"Title I of the CARES Act establishes, among other things, the Paycheck Protection Program (the "Paycheck Program") providing for up to $349,000,000,000 in forgivable loans to business concerns which are backed by the United States Small Business Administration (the "SBA"). The Paycheck Program is a short-term program for the "Covered Period" from February 15, 2020, until June 30, 2020, and loans are capped at the lesser of 2.5x a borrower鈥檚 LTM average monthly payroll or $10,000,000 per borrower."

Shortly after that, we began to hear stories about businesses that received loans and didn't appear on the surface as the kind of company that should receive a loan. According to the , " Some large hotel and restaurant chains meant for Main Street businesses, prompting calls for changes." So did several private K-12 schools, according to the . The reason why the media criticizes private schools for accepting CARES loans seems to be the optics. As UCLA education professor Tyrone Howard said, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not a good look... There鈥檚 just something that鈥檚 not equitable about that.鈥 Apparently, the private schools are being criticized because they have endowments. The popular thinking seems to be that if

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Running Your School: How To Survive The Pandemic

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Running Your School: How To Survive The Pandemic
COVID-19 has turned education at every level upside-down, inside-out. We offer some steps to guide your planning for this academic year.

It's late spring, early summer. If you are the head or owner of a private K-12 school, you are coping with the aftermath of the pandemic of 2020. It never seems to end, does it?

Your academic year 2019-2020 was going so well until everything stopped in March. You sent students home. You sent teachers home. In a matter of hours, your in-person classroom instruction became online instruction. Your old way of doing things was predictable and full of cherished traditions that made your school what it was. Your brand had dozens of metrics that proved to potential families that your school was worth the fees you charged. Your mission to educate the whole child that depended on personal interaction and watchful supervision was rarely questioned. Your brand and your mission have not changed. But the way you deliver them has most definitely changed.

So, how does a school like yours survive the aftermath of this terrible pandemic? By living in the moment with a cautious, clear vision of the future.

In this video, a doctor explains what COVID-19 is.

Step 1. Convene a planning committee to plan for the academic year

Keep your committee small but representative. Your administrative staff, faculty, board members, and parents are experienced, devoted people who care about the school. Their job is to develop a road map for the immediate future. Management of the day-to-day

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Financing Your Kids鈥 Education: Coronavirus Edition

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Financing Your Kids鈥 Education: Coronavirus Edition
Learn more about how the coronavirus can impact the financing of your child鈥檚 education.

Parents turn to private K-12 education for all kinds of reasons, from overall quality of curricula and individualized teaching strategies to location and religious affiliation. Now they may be adding another motivation to the list: overcrowded classrooms and public school bus rides just seem more dangerous in the age of coronavirus.

If you鈥檙e home-schooling your kids right now, the day they return to classes may seem like a distant dream. (How鈥檚 your blood pressure?) But September will come鈥攚ith or without online classes. Chances are you鈥檙e making decisions right now that will affect at least a year of your child鈥檚 future. Chief among them may be how you will continue to finance your child鈥檚 private school education.

In 2020, the average cost of K-12 private school tuition reached $11,012. Depending on where you live and whether you have elementary-, middle-, or high school-age kids, your mileage may vary. But across the country, has been increasing steadily along with the rising cost of education. K-12 loans aren鈥檛 subsidized by the federal government like higher-education loans. Still, many parents clearly believe that private school education is worth the investment. The question moms and dads should be asking themselves is, 鈥淗ow can I be sure I鈥檓 investing wisely?鈥

School Stability

The global coronavirus pandemic has injected uncertainty into every sector of the economy. That鈥檚 true at the micro-level, as many parents join the fast-expanding ranks of . It鈥檚 also true for private schools,

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