By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green City School District is trying to achieve the delicate balancing act of educating students – and making sure they are safe during a pandemic.
The district is the only in Wood County to not have some in-person classes at the start of the school year – and some parents are wondering how long they can juggle being home teaching assistants, and how learning remotely is affecting their children.
Dee Beck, who has four children at Conneaut Elementary, is one of those parents. She started by pointing out that the teachers are doing incredible work in a very difficult situation.
“The teachers have been doing a phenomenal job,” with some of them taking calls from parents long into the evenings, she said.
But Beck is worried about her children.
“My 5-year-old’s attention span is limited,” and his skills at using a mouse are far from developed, she said. Her second grader sometimes clicks the wrong buttons on the keyboard, and then is lost and frustrated. And distractions are tough to compete against, with four children at four different educational stages.
“I’m getting pulled in every direction,” Beck said.
Last week, one of the lessons for her second grader focused on how to drag and drop matching shapes, using the computer mouse. Since he had not yet mastered the skills of dragging and dropping, he was in tears.
“I know the teachers just ask them to try their best, but he is someone who wants to do it right. The result is so much frustration,” Beck said.
Like many parents in the district, as the new school year was approaching, Beck believed the school board was leaning toward offering options for families.
“Virtual was supposed to be one option, not the only option,” she said. “I felt blindsided by the virtual decision.”
Beck is hopeful the district will be offering more options soon for parents who want their children in school at least a portion of the week.
“I think parents are very frustrated,” she said.
Beck would like to see the district consider starting with in-person classes at least for elementary ages.
“They just can’t get it when they are isolated at home – no matter how great the teacher is,” she said.
Beck also worries about the impact on the school district, since some families are choosing to enroll their children in districts where in-person school is offered.
“I think it’s unfortunate that families are leaving,” she said.
“I am an involved parent. I’m from Bowling Green, and really want our district to do well,” Beck said. “Public schools exist to serve the families of our district.”
Not all parents want kids back in schools
Some parents believe online school continues to be the safest way for Bowling Green City Schools to educate students.
Tara Loar, who has children in third and seventh grades, said she would prefer if the district stuck with online classes until the number of COVID-19 cases in the Bowling Green area decreases.
“I absolutely would love to see them continue what they are doing,” she said. “Being a college town with people from so many places, I just feel the risk is too great.”
“We can’t control those around us, but we can control our exposure,” and online school allows families to do that, she said.
Loar’s children are not struggling with online classes.
“They are doing fantastic,” she said. “We have a designated area for school – which I think works out great.”
Loar also had high praise for the teachers working to educate students online.
“I feel like the teachers are being so helpful,” she said.
Loar, who is self-employed, has the advantage of being able to be home most of the school day.
“My kids come first,” she said. “I very much feel that is our job as parents.”
Some parents don’t have option to stay at home
In many families, both parents are employed – resulting in some families having to choose between giving up one paycheck or leaving kids at home to learn by themselves.
Karen Doust found her family in that position when Bowling Green City Schools went with all online classes this fall. She has three children in kindergarten, third and fourth grades.
So far, Doust’s co-workers have been picking up her shifts at work.
“I have been trying to not work, so I can be home with the kids,” she said. “We can’t afford daycare.”
But with three children in different grades, it is a struggle.
“I love the teachers. But even with me home, with three kids, I’m running from person to person to person,” Doust said.
And now, after about three weeks into the school year, the family is feeling the pinch of one less income.
“Now I’m scrambling. I have to have some income coming in,” Doust said. “Every single day I have a headache.”
Especially tough on kids with special needs
Online learning can be a challenge for any child – but for those with special needs, the switch to classes over a computer can seem insurmountable.
Doust’s oldest child, who is legally blind, has an Individualized Education Program plan with the district. Bowling Green School District is providing Chromebooks to all its students – but it is not sufficient for the fourth grader.
“We got it. But she cannot see it,” Doust said. The district is working on getting a larger screen for her, but in the meantime, her parents purchased one so she didn’t fall behind.
Doust also worries about her kindergartner grasping the lessons – and not learning social skills that come with being in a classroom with peers.
“I don’t think he’s getting it at all,” she said. “And I don’t know how you teach a kindergartner to socialize when they are home with a mouse” for his computer.
Some families have moved children to in-person options
Faced with all online classes, some district families have transferred their children to districts that are offering in-school classes.
Katie Burris said she and her husband wanted to keep their first, third and fourth grade children in Bowling Green City Schools. When the school board was originally talking about a hybrid model – with half the students in class on two days, followed by the other half in school the next two days each week – Burris said her husband was going to flex his work schedule to be home when necessary.
But when the district decided to go all online, the Burris family enrolled their children at Otsego, where Katie Burris teaches and where in-person classes are held five days a week.
“They did not do well with online school in the spring. We had a lot of tears,” Burris said of her children. “They know it didn’t go well in the spring,” and they wanted to be in classrooms with peers – even if it meant starting over making new friends.
“They are just happy they are with peers,” she said. “And I’d rather they got a face-to-face education.”
“For kids’ mental health and emotional well-being, online school is not the best answer,” Burris said.
Despite fears about the potential rapid spread of COVID in schools, the Otsego district has reported one student and three staff testing positive so far.
Joe and Jane Fawcett also decided to move their three children – a kindergartner, second and fourth grader – to an in-person education option. As members of St. Aloysius Catholic Church, they entered their children into St. Aloysius School.
“We thought it was important if they had an opportunity to go to school, we wanted to explore those options,” Joe Fawcett said. “The in-school option for the two youngest seemed to be the best option for our family.”
The children had no difficulty switching schools, he said.
“They are loving it.”
If Bowling Green City Schools goes back to in-person classes at some point this school year, Fawcett said their children will stay at St. Al’s for the year. But then the family will re-evaluate which school system they will be part of next year.
“We were just looking at what was best for our family,” he said.
District leaders also want kids back in school – if it’s safe to do so
A special board of education meeting is scheduled for Tuesday at 5 p.m., with one of the topics on the agenda being a return back to classrooms. Originally, the district had set Oct. 9 as the date when the online school method would be re-evaluated.
“That was the day we told the community we would make a decision on going forward,” Superintendent Francis Scruci said.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Wood County Health Commissioner Ben Robison will be present so the board can ask specific questions about the current COVID trends.
“I don’t anticipate any decision will be made, but it is a possibility,” Scruci said. “In 2020, anything is possible.”
Last week, Scruci sent out a survey to teachers in order to have their input for the Tuesday board meeting.
“I give our teachers a lot of credit. They are making lemonade out of lemons,” he said.
One possibility for the district could be to start back with elementary students first, Scruci said.
“The sooner we can get the younger kids back, the better,” he said.
But Scruci has repeatedly cautioned that Bowling Green School District should not be compared to other districts in the area. As the only school district with a university in its community, Bowling Green has seen higher COVID-19 cases than elsewhere in the county.
“We’re going to look at what’s safe,” he said.
