COVID's Not Ending Soon So Embrace Tech, Say Some Chesco Parents

WEST CHESTER, PA — A Downingtown Area School District parents group wants the community to prepare for the worst in case the vaccine rollout takes longer than expected and to get a better attitude about technology.

The group of Downingtown community members told Patch they "feel strongly that our district should not be attempting five days a week for all students," and that those pushing hard to get kids back in school five days a week are being "short-sighted."

DASD Community Members for School Safety and Metrics issued a statement saying, "The reality is that until there is a widely available vaccine, some form of remote instruction will be an essential and unavoidable part of education. And, unfortunately, we have no idea when this will end. Rumors are that this could even stretch into the fall; even with the vaccine, there could continue to be outbreaks in the future which would make it temporarily unsafe for parents to send their kids to school."

Proceed With Caution, Embrace Technology

Two group members, Tara Haarlander and Heather Barrett, want to take the positives of the last year and consider creatively what can be done to educate kids with the tools we have, ready to embrace remote instruction and make the most of it amid the reality of an unrelenting pandemic.

Haarlander, of Chester Springs, hopes that parents across the district can break out of a "fixed mindset" and be open to making alternative forms of learning workable for everyone. She said she knows there are children who truly need face-to-face instruction; resources can be put into creating alternatives for kids with those needs, while better remote methods are forged.

"We have to approach it with the right attitude," said Barrett, who lives in Romansville. Both women have two children in Downingtown schools and both have moved their children to fully remote learning over the course of this school year with a few bumps and adjustments to make it work.

"It's frustrating to hear the five-dayers push for 'normal' when we're not living in normal times," said Barrett. Her children had been attending two days a week in hybrid instruction. "When the numbers started going up, I felt like we'd lost. I took my son out."

The DASD community group states, "Those of us who can keep our kids home should be doing so as much as realistically possible."

Haarlander said, "Every choice a person makes in the pandemic world affects everyone else. We can't think so individualistically."

The group emphasizes both the problems with COVID-19 safety and the related importance of being open to better forms of virtual schooling as a way through what could be a long pandemic.

"The vaccine distribution program is still going too slowly to start opening up schools more, and teachers — and students — are nowhere near getting their vaccine doses," Haarlander said.

Haarlander and Barrett both decided to take their kids out of the back-and-forth of hybrid.

Haarlander compared the ongoing change in models and guidelines to "building the plane while flying." She and Barrett say they are not criticizing school district administration whose job is nearly impossible. Rather, they are suggesting moving beyond the present modes that have been on the table and seriously considering ways to mold virtual education into something much more usable.

"We're asking the district to think outside the box, to make something new," Barrett said.

The parent group they are part of, and other county parent groups with whom they say they have crossover agreement, point out that states are required to make sure children are educated; but how that happens is wide open, the women point out. Both women have forged ways for their own children to do well, recognizing that one child may do well in fully remote learning while another is not as self-directed.

Parents have to take some responsibility, the group's statement says. "In a pandemic, parenting — and life — are just harder all around. We all need to work harder and do our part."

Pandemic Fatigue Is Real

"The intersection of pandemic fatigue, a new more contagious variant, cold weather, flu and cold seasons, and an overloaded healthcare system are creating the perfect storm of conditions for us to lose our tenuous hold on the viral spread in Chester County," Haarlander said.

They see a real problem with people right now pushing the limits of the restrictions that are in place. "We could be so much better off if everyone would just follow the rules for a short time," said Haarlander.

Districts across Chester County have been discussing what the vaccine will mean in terms of social distancing and if perhaps the 6-feet of social distancing will be relaxed in health officials' guidance. But meanwhile, the vaccine is slow in coming. As students return to the school year's third quarter not much is different than it was in the fall. COVID-19 metrics remain under the watchful eye of administrators.

Lisa Strobridge, a parent of three students in Downingtown schools, told Patch that she and other parents are concerned that there is not full transparency about cases of COVID-19 in schools.

"DASD's lack of transparency in reporting the number of cases of COVID-19 among their student and staff population makes it impossible for parents to make factual data-driven decisions in selecting their preferred instructional model and understanding the virus spread in our school community," Strobridge said.

A DASD teacher, who asked that her name be withheld, echoed Strobridge's concern, saying she's seen problems with testing and reporting by families. "They're not getting tests if they have symptoms, or they're not reporting a positive, and sending the siblings to school," the veteran Downingtown teacher told Patch a phone call.

For Haarlander and Barrett's community group, these stories and others they say are circulating showcase why it's so important for districts to stop working in triage mode and start taking virtual education seriously as a permanent fixture in public education.

Strobridge said she would like to see mass testing of students and staff. Then, she said, "We can make accurate data-driven decisions that prioritize safety. This is being done at other local schools, so it's possible. We just need the will of our well-funded DASD to make it a priority."

"Every day is a struggle. These are not normal times," Haarlander said.

To read a Patch story about other parent groups advocating for "Brick and Mortar" instruction, go here.