Withdrawing my son from his high school

[momz]

So, how is school going for you?

School started 2 weeks ago. DS’s high school is a hybrid model. He is attending twice a week in person. The experience has not been good. Going into it, I understood there would be a learning curve. However, I fully expected the teachers to all be using the same platforms and have the same standards. Unfortunately that is not the case at all.

We were told that assignments would be available on Friday and due by midnight the following Friday. We were also told that teachers would be utilizing canvas to post these assignments as well as other materials, and for communication with students. The reality is that only 2 of his 6 teachers are using canvas. Only 1 of them is following the Friday assignment/due date schedule.

with 6 teachers all working independently using different forms of communication, different platforms and different assignment schedules,DS is frustrated being consolation. He is upset every day. He spends more time going between different platforms, and trying to get clarification than he should need to.

consequently, we are strongly considering withdrawing him and enrolling elsewhere. I have found an online charter school that is a Montessori model and is accredited through our state. He can complete classes at his own pace and potentially get us diploma sooner than it he stays at the local high school.

I am calling them tomorrow to get more information and if we decide to go with that school, I will withdraw him on Wednesday (my next day off).

 

[MamaLema]

Sorry it’s been frustrating. I have no experience with that stuff but I hope things will get better. Maybe you could give us an update soon about how things are going.

 

[okeydokey]

I am so sorry. The school should be more prepared and have every teacher doing the same format. They have had months to prepare for this.

 

[Hikergirl]

I'm sorry to hear about the issues your ds is having. It's great to have other options and you should definitely go with what is best for him. Good luck to you.
I fear something similar will happen once my ds starts back, he will be 100% virtual through October.
It was a disaster last spring, and I know that it was unprecedented but our district took 3 weeks after students weren't allowed in person to come up with a plan and they just couldn't get it together.
I am hoping that with all this time they've managed too for this coming year but judging from the online meetings I don't have much faith. Parent questions are being answered with "I don't know, I'll have to check on that" more often then an actual answer is given. Plus, communication is non-existent, I've been reaching out to guidance for a couple weeks with no reply. I am thankful ds is a Senior and only has a few required credits left, if he was a Freshman I think we'd be looking for another school option.

 

[sam_gordon]

So, how is school going for you?

School started 2 weeks ago. DS’s high school is a hybrid model. He is attending twice a week in person. The experience has not been good. Going into it, I understood there would be a learning curve. However, I fully expected the teachers to all be using the same platforms and have the same standards. Unfortunately that is not the case at all.

We were told that assignments would be available on Friday and due by midnight the following Friday. We were also told that teachers would be utilizing canvas to post these assignments as well as other materials, and for communication with students. The reality is that only 2 of his 6 teachers are using canvas. Only 1 of them is following the Friday assignment/due date schedule.

with 6 teachers all working independently using different forms of communication, different platforms and different assignment schedules,DS is frustrated being consolation. He is upset every day. He spends more time going between different platforms, and trying to get clarification than he should need to.

consequently, we are strongly considering withdrawing him and enrolling elsewhere. I have found an online charter school that is a Montessori model and is accredited through our state. He can complete classes at his own pace and potentially get us diploma sooner than it he stays at the local high school.

I am calling them tomorrow to get more information and if we decide to go with that school, I will withdraw him on Wednesday (my next day off).

First, you need to do what is right for your son.
Second, there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions of kids who are home schooled.

That being said, have you (or he) reached out to the teachers or administrators to find out why they aren't doing what they said they would do? I will say, it seems strange to me that assignments would only be handed out on a Friday and due a week later. That means it would take two weeks to find out if students learned things "correctly" on Day 1. Assume Day 1 is Monday. The assignment to cover that content is handed out on Day 5 (Friday). It's then due back on Day 10 (the following Friday). By the time the teacher grades it and gets it back to the student is AT LEAST Day 11.

I do know around here home schoolers can not participate in extra curricular activities for their "home" school (sports, theater, band, etc). That might not be an issue for you and your DS, but I want to point it out.

 

[spiders]

We withdrew in elementary school. We are homeschooling and will re-evaluate in January.

 

[aggiedog]

I think there will be a lot of shuffling around as kids find programs to fit their learning styles and IRL schools figure out what will work in their community. If it's not working for your ds, definitely move him to some system that will work.

Our 3 dds went from PreK3 thru 6th grade at the local Catholic school. We loved it, but as younger ds came up thru it, the administration changed, teachers changed, and by 3rd grade we were fed up. We transferred him to the public school and looking back it was definitely the right decision. I know it's not the same situation, but just illustrating that changing mid-stream is not only doable but can be beneficial.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I hear your frustration and I know exactly how you feel! When my special needs son started mainstream middle school, I was told about all kinds of things they would do to support him. I had asked for an aide to help him navigate the first few weeks of switching classes, writing down homework assignments, etc. They assured me that each teacher would check his planner every day. They also said the teachers would each have a homework line that I could call to make sure he was doing the correct assignments. I could call their classroom phones after 4:00 p.m., and their recorded voicemail greetings would contain that day's homework. Um, right. He would come home with nothing written in his planner. No one checked in with him and he didn't quite have the skills to follow up. If the homework lines were even recorded, they would have the same message for days or even weeks. I talked to the principal many times and she would say, "Well...the teachers are very busy. Perhaps we could give them a break." I finally had to talk to the special ed director and tell him my son's IEP was out of compliance because all of the supposed supports were written into it. That didn't help either. We ended up pulling him out and placing him in a him in a private school that had built-in supports for him. All of us breathed a huge sigh of relief after that!

Have you tried communicating directly with the principal yet? I would lay out exactly what you were told would happen and what is actually happening. Let them know that you and your son are very frustrated and you will consider pulling him if things don't change quickly. Put it in an email so you have documentation. The only reason I would give them a chance is because of the very unusual circumstances we're in. The teachers might be scrambling to make things work. Perhaps the directives they were given have changed and they're trying to catch up. Perhaps there are technology issues that need to be solved. I work in a school district and I know how quickly things can change. The administration gets these ideas about how things should be done, and the people who are in the trenches (the staff) are never asked if it's even possible. If you still get the runaround from the administration, by all means pull him and do what's right for your family.

 

[Southernmiss]

Our district has been in session since August 6th. The district did not offer hybrid to anyone who wanted it until after 2 weeks of exchanges with parents, administrators, and elected officials.

The teachers had only one week to prepare to teach in person and online at the sametime. Teachers and students here are still frustrated as the superintendent stated that the teachers had been training on the online platform all summer. That was untrue.

My friend (not a teacher) has been tutoring her own husband at night on computer skills so that he can deliver his material to his online students. It's been a mess.

I know another teacher using at least one sick day a week so that she can regroup and be there for her students.

Before you withdraw, I would talk to the administration. I am sure there are others (teachers and students) still frustrated like your son.

 

[Summer2018]

My school system has wasted the summer debating what to do rather than preparation for what we should do. Now it’s too late and we’re starting. The only thing that we have going for us is one universal online platform.

 

[mom2rtk]

My school system has wasted the summer debating what to do rather than preparation for what we should do. Now it’s too late and we’re starting. The only thing that we have going for us is one universal online platform.

Well, they blew it. Even if they had decided to be 100% in person, any reasonable person would know they needed to be ready to move to online if needed.

 

[sk!mom]

My school system has wasted the summer debating what to do rather than preparation for what we should do. Now it’s too late and we’re starting. The only thing that we have going for us is one universal online platform.

Same, same, same! 5 months of dithering and now we started with no training on the new system we will use if we have to go virtual again.

 

[gotomu212]

My school system has wasted the summer debating what to do rather than preparation for what we should do. Now it’s too late and we’re starting. The only thing that we have going for us is one universal online platform.

It’s SO incredibly frustrating. I’ve always approached a problem with “plan for the worst”, then if the worst doesn’t materialize you can easily scale back. Instead almost every state and local school board went with the “don‘t make any decisions or plans until a month before school because everything might be better“ approach. It’s incompetence and administrative negligence.

 

[mousefan73]

I also have HS kids and last year the real learning curve was self organization and time management. For me it seems more like an internship than school, which I actually am grateful for.. They learned MS TEAMS, time management and organihzation.. My DD was frustrated for 2 weeks as she kept saying this teached will send an email another TEAMS, another a differnt platform etc.. i laughed and said welcome to my world... She needed to learn to check daily all platforms.. I said you need to maintain your outlook calendar for calls and start each day with 15 miinutes skimming emails and chat.. Then prioritize your work around calls.. Took her 2 weeks but she then got it.. My DS got it right away..

Granted there might be other issues you mentioned that need to be clarified..... if you decide to stay, but like I said above give it some time...

Speak to your son about pulling out in details... sometimes the shortterm solution is not the best solution, but none of can really comment as there are some many other variables only you and your son can look into..

you also need to check if your son is a Montessori type.. some kids thrive and some dont... My kids need deadlines and structure and pressure...

 

[quandrea]

This year was going to be a mess. Too much dithering, not enough planning. We pulled our dd from the system even before plans were released. She will finish high school as a homeschooler. In the end, she only did a year and a half in bricks and mortar school. The rest was homeschool. The year and a half was enough to make me know for sure that I won’t be enrolling my twins for high school. The system is broken.

 

[crazylady]

We start 100% on-line Monday. I'm hoping for an improvement over spring but our district also wasted the summer trying to come up with the best plan instead of trying to get the teachers the skills they need to teach better on-line. Luckily one of my kids did great with virtual learning and I only have to concentrate on the other.

 

[crazylady]

Also, I think the get all your assignments on Friday thing is hard on the teachers and might take them a little more time to get into the habit.

I hope this week is a better week for your son.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

So, how is school going for you?

School started 2 weeks ago. DS’s high school is a hybrid model. He is attending twice a week in person. The experience has not been good. Going into it, I understood there would be a learning curve. However, I fully expected the teachers to all be using the same platforms and have the same standards. Unfortunately that is not the case at all.

We were told that assignments would be available on Friday and due by midnight the following Friday. We were also told that teachers would be utilizing canvas to post these assignments as well as other materials, and for communication with students. The reality is that only 2 of his 6 teachers are using canvas. Only 1 of them is following the Friday assignment/due date schedule.

with 6 teachers all working independently using different forms of communication, different platforms and different assignment schedules,DS is frustrated being consolation. He is upset every day. He spends more time going between different platforms, and trying to get clarification than he should need to.

consequently, we are strongly considering withdrawing him and enrolling elsewhere. I have found an online charter school that is a Montessori model and is accredited through our state. He can complete classes at his own pace and potentially get us diploma sooner than it he stays at the local high school.

I am calling them tomorrow to get more information and if we decide to go with that school, I will withdraw him on Wednesday (my next day off).

( pre C-19)
We pulled our son out of school in 9th grade because he was ill and the homebound school was horrible. We are in Texas so it's a homeschool friendly state. He graduated on a home school diploma. He started college at the junior college. Everything is going to be great no worries.
This year My younger kids ds10 and ds 13 are doing time4learning.com

You might not need the online school.

 

[2China2009]

Pull him and get moving on homeschool. Like other PP said he can learn at his own pace and start community college earlier. All this stress on these kids is just horrible.

 

[monsterkitty]

Listening to you guys makes me so incredibly happy that my district uses only one in-house platform that was developed for our district. It was a pain to learn 10 years ago and every time they do updates, which is a few times a year, we have to retrain ourselves and the students, but at least we all use it and everyone knows how to use it.

School started last week for the district. The parents who choose on-line over in-person are not happy because they thought everything would be going through the child's school. They did not read or listen to the parts that said that the program is an online academy that we've used for several years for homebound students and expelled students. Many are bringing their kids back to in-person this week because they feel safe on how the district is doing in-person and they don't want an online program.