Withdrawing my son from his high school

[quandrea]

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.

Agreed. My dd will start her last year September 8. No one in our province is returning on time. They’ve delayed to September 15-22. She’ll get to graduate a year early because she got moving in her studies in July (summer school was something the school board also tried to block).

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I'm so sorry it's hasn't been a successful start. What you describe would be upsetting and frustrating to anybody. I would suggest setting up a meeting with admin and finding out what's going on and expressing your concerns. What does your son want to do?

To answer you're question, it's going well here. My high schoolers started 2 weeks ago and my elementary aged this past week. It's night and day from the Spring. I think it helped that our district made a decision and stuck to it - currently 100% remote until at least Oct 30th. They get 5 days a week live instruction and have a schedule that keeps them in school the same number of instructional minutes as they would if they were in person. I'm thankful ours schools have made the transition so smoothly because Spring was a mess.

On an aside, because of the wildfires, our schools would have been closed anyway this week. At least this way they're able to still get schooling in.

 

[FigmentSpark]

That sounds like our school last fall. What a shame they haven't got things together better. Whatever you decide, don't second guess yourself. You are the person who knows what's best for your son, not the school board or principal or anyone else. You will do what's right.

 

[WorldWacky]

I feel for anyone who’s child is struggling with the start of the school year, especially because of how we ended in the spring. MANY teachers are feeling just as frustrated. We haven’t started school here yet. (NY) No one has given us any concrete answers as to how we are to implement hybrid and full virtual teaching. We don’t know if there will be separate teachers responsible for the different groups of students or if we’ll have to accommodate both. No one has answered us on WHEN and HOW we’re supposed to be teaching in the classroom AND posting online for the virtual students.

As a few of you stated earlier, it seems like all the higher-ups were just crossing their fingers and hoping we’d be in a better position with Covid so we wouldn’t have to worry about it. It’s all very frustrating.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

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).

Last year, from March-June, it was a struggle for DS, when they went to virtual mode through his high school. One teacher did no work for 4 weeks, then posted 4 chapters to be completed in 24 hours! Another teacher said since it was virtual, they would be doing double the work, and was pushing the kids to get through a math chapter a day, and berating the kids for wanting to take at least 2-3 days to do the work. His psychology teacher did nothing, just told them to read and answer the questions on the reading material in the books they were using online, but that they didn't need to turn anything in to her.

After the struggle with virtual school through his high school last year, we moved DS to an online only based school this year; at least for the first quarter. We'll reevaluate then, if he feels he needs to return to 'regular' school. I feel absolutely horrible, that he isn't getting his teenage 'fun high school' years, but with DH being immunocompromised, we have to be very very careful, and teenagers are anything but. DS is usually very good about things, but I can't see him keeping his mask on if no one else is, kwim?

 

[3boymthr]

We haven’t started yet. My son’s first day is September 16. I’m sorry it’s so frustrating and hard. If anything be grateful you have options. My son will be a senior this year. He goes to a vocational school. They are going hybrid so the kids can get their hands on shop work done. He HAS to go to this school to get the remaining required hours in to complete his certifications or the last three years have been a complete waste of his time. In addition, because academic time is condensed to every other week the state gave his school a waiver on the foreign language requirements so if he switches to another high school he won’t graduate this year. So homeschool option is not available for him. Neither is switching to the local regular high school which is going fully remote. Right now we’re being told probably two days every other week in school just for the vocational classes all academics will be online, only one grade at a time in the school and the kids will stay in their shops all day but there are still a lot of variables up in the air. All the what if’s are giving me insomnia.

 

[tzolkin]

He can complete classes at his own pace and potentially get us diploma sooner than it he stays at the local high school.

This is what we did with my daughter. It really wasn't COVID related, but that probably would have given us a push. She has been asking to homeschool for the last two years, but kept changing her mind. In our state, you register as a homeschool and then use the online school as your curriculum. The online school evaluated and transferred her credits and at the pace she's already been moving through the work she should absolutely be able to finish the remaining classes this year (she's a junior). We also have an appointment next week at the community college. They do a few different programs here where HS students can take classes for free. DD is trying to decide if she wants to complete a full-certificate program or if she just wants to take individual classes so she has a jump on credits for college.

So basically our decision to go ahead and pull her from the public school will allow her to finish HS a year earlier and get a year's worth of CC credits for free (because she will technically still be a homeschool high-schooler).

As for your "How is it going?" question for those in school... my son started back to school three weeks ago and it has been going well. They are doing alternating two days in person (M/Th & T/F) with Wednesday as an independent work day. The way his school is doing this is that he is actually "in class" on the days he is at home. The teacher is livestreaming the lesson and the kids both in person and at home are participating, asking questions, etc. This was working well until last week when the entire state started back (my son is attending a small "Early College HS" that started a few weeks earlier than the regular schools). Monday morning at 9:05, the entire system crashed. Wednesday when all kids were distance learning it went out again. We will see how it goes this week.

 

[aggiedog]

Just wanted to add that homeschooling does not mean they can only go to community college next. That's been mentioned as the next step a couple times. Plenty of homeschool kids get into universities, etc.

 

[sets14]

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.

I keep using the phrase "educational malpractice" to describe my district. As a teacher, I have been beyond frustrated at the lack of planning, lack of communication, lack of input from teachers. Our district changed our online management system for high schools two weeks before we started...we trained all last year in google- tools, classroom, etc, I even did my google certification as encouraged and then boom, nope not using any of that.....it is beyond irresponsible and unfair to students and staff. We have been out since March, it is inexcusable that it took until Aug. 1 to get a plan and to be told we were shifting.....

OP, I am so sorry your child is going through this. It isn't right and it isn't fair and the school, teachers, and administration needs to be held responsible for not living up to their own promises and expectations.

 

[nkereina]

I don't have kids, but I have several friends who are teachers and friends who are parents. I'm pretty surprised at how ALL of the school districts vary. Its true they've had months to prepare, but most districts here in NY seem like they did not. Perhaps they truly anticipated being back in school by the Fall or perhaps they were waiting for guidance from our Governor. I definitely feel for people feeling the effects of it. It only adds to the stress.

You and your son have to make the decisions that are best for him, but out of curiosity, how long has school been in session for him? Apologies if I missed it. School has not started here yet, but I know they will need time to work out kinks. Everyone, including teachers, need to develop a cadence. If its been less than a month, I might try to give some grace and start asking questions of teachers/administrators before making such a big decision like withdrawing and enrolling elsewhere. Unless he's a senior (again, sorry if I missed the age), its also important to remember that the pandemic will be over someday. Might not be this year or next year, but at some point, kids will most likely be back in school in some capacity. Will he want to be at the new school then? Will he be missing the sports, extracurriculars, and old friends?

I agree with the PP who said, for the older kids, this is a good taste of the real world. Its not uncommon for college kids to take online courses even in "normal" times, so this is good prep for that. And as someone who does project management now working from home, having that experience of dealing with different personality types, different work styles, and even the different platforms helps build skills of change management, adaptability, diligence, organization, even patience. I have no doubt its frustrating, but its a good learning experience in preparation for life after high school at the very least.

 

[LiteBrite]

Just wanted to add that homeschooling does not mean they can only go to community college next. That's been mentioned as the next step a couple times. Plenty of homeschool kids get into universities, etc.

Yes, this is very true. My DD was homeschooled all 12 years and went straight into university (and went on to a Master's degree).

 

[quandrea]

Yes, this is very true. My DD was homeschooled all 12 years and went straight into university (and went on to a Master's degree).

This is my daughter’s plan. Homeschooled all the way save for eighteen months in bricks and mortar.

 

[tzolkin]

Just wanted to add that homeschooling does not mean they can only go to community college next. That's been mentioned as the next step a couple times. Plenty of homeschool kids get into universities, etc.

I was not meaning to imply that with my post. In our county, high schoolers (both public school and homeschooled) are allowed to take classes at the community college for free. That was what I was referring to, not that CC is the only option or automatic "next step" for homeschoolers. I was specifically referring to while they are still in HS. Our state universities all accept transfer credits from community college, so this is a cheap way to jump start their college education. And, even if the CC credits did not transfer, it's a good way for homeschooled kids to take some in-person classes if they want to try that as well.

My younger siblings were all homeschooled and they went on to earn degrees at prestigious private universities.

 

[mefordis]

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).

I withdrew my HS student and she is sooo much happier already. PM me if you want to know the school. It's all online, well respected, accredited.

 

[Hikergirl]

I just got an email from our district asking parents to pick hybrid or commit to all online for the first quarter by Aug 27th.
How the heck can we commit when we don't even know the plans the school/teachers have made for online instruction? Schedules don't even come out until Sept 3, a full week after we have to commit to an unknown. It's ridiculous.
I am so glad that this is my last child in this school district, they are truly abysmal and the COVID crisis has really shown it.

 

[gotomu212]

I feel for anyone who’s child is struggling with the start of the school year, especially because of how we ended in the spring. MANY teachers are feeling just as frustrated. We haven’t started school here yet. (NY) No one has given us any concrete answers as to how we are to implement hybrid and full virtual teaching. We don’t know if there will be separate teachers responsible for the different groups of students or if we’ll have to accommodate both. No one has answered us on WHEN and HOW we’re supposed to be teaching in the classroom AND posting online for the virtual students.

As a few of you stated earlier, it seems like all the higher-ups were just crossing their fingers and hoping we’d be in a better position with Covid so we wouldn’t have to worry about it. It’s all very frustrating.

I keep using the phrase "educational malpractice" to describe my district. As a teacher, I have been beyond frustrated at the lack of planning, lack of communication, lack of input from teachers. Our district changed our online management system for high schools two weeks before we started...we trained all last year in google- tools, classroom, etc, I even did my google certification as encouraged and then boom, nope not using any of that.....it is beyond irresponsible and unfair to students and staff. We have been out since March, it is inexcusable that it took until Aug. 1 to get a plan and to be told we were shifting.....

OP, I am so sorry your child is going through this. It isn't right and it isn't fair and the school, teachers, and administration needs to be held responsible for not living up to their own promises and expectations.

I am so outraged on teacher‘s behalf. My sister and sister-in-law are teachers and they’ve been yanked around all summer. My sister is a national award winning teacher and kept trying all summer to reach out and start the planning-any planning— but got nowhere. Two weeks out they were sprung with completely unworkable plans and zero preparation for teacher safety. When it all goes badly, it will be the teachers who hear the parent complaints and are struggling to try and provide the best education possible.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

My kids' rural district is hugely unprepared for the coming year, and there has been zero communication from them. The kids start next week and they still haven't sent out any information about what the school day is going to look like, how bussing, drop off and pickup are going to work; the kids that chose to go to the district's cyber school don't even know what classes they are taking or how to log in. it is a MESS!

I sympathize with you, OP, I so badly wanted to withdraw my senior and enroll him in a public cyber school but he insisted he wanted to graduate from his home school so here we are.

 

[momz]

UPDATE: The decision has been made. We were invited to enroll in the online school and I am in the process of getting his documents together to upload to the new school. Tomorrow I will withdraw him from his current school. I spoke with the advisor at the new school and it sounds so much better than where he is now. I hope that it lives up to the hype.

At the new school he will have to meet with his advisor once a week. He is expected to do 4 hours of work daily. If he is not keeping up with that pace, his advisor will intervene. I LOVE this aspect and it was the final bit of information that pushed to make this decision.

At his current school, there is nobody looking over his progress, nobody making sure he is doing what is assigned. Sure, he has an advisor, but that guy has 600 students to keep up with. Basically all he does for my son is choose his classes for each semester. So, at this online school, the fact that he will be checking in with his advisor weekly will, hopefully, keep him accountable.

Plus, as others were saying, he may graduate early.

I hate to say it, but my faith in the public school system is gone. I was already unhappy even before COVID. But, now, even more so. It's a shame. It's not really the fault of the teachers. It is a systemic problem. Schools are too big and they are providing so much more than just education. They have lost track of education being their primary focus. I wish we could go back to neighborhood schools. Smaller buildings where the teachers actually know the kids.

 

[momz]

I keep using the phrase "educational malpractice" to describe my district. As a teacher, I have been beyond frustrated at the lack of planning, lack of communication, lack of input from teachers. Our district changed our online management system for high schools two weeks before we started...we trained all last year in google- tools, classroom, etc, I even did my google certification as encouraged and then boom, nope not using any of that.....it is beyond irresponsible and unfair to students and staff. We have been out since March, it is inexcusable that it took until Aug. 1 to get a plan and to be told we were shifting.....

OP, I am so sorry your child is going through this. It isn't right and it isn't fair and the school, teachers, and administration needs to be held responsible for not living up to their own promises and expectations.

"Educational malpractice" is exactly the right description for what we are experiencing. We were having conversations about leaving our local high school even before COVID started. DS was not on board with that. But it was all about being with his friends. He was not thriving at school. Now that COVID has changed everything, he's not in class with his friends anyway. I hope and pray that he sees this a a chance for a fresh start. He's one of those kids that is very smart, his test scores are through the roof. But his grade are awful. He doesn't engage in school. He just sits and waits for it to be over. I hope he embraces this opportunity.

 

[Hikergirl]

OP so glad to hear you found an option that works better for your ds. Good luck to him!

I wonder if this will be a turning point and the start of more and more families choosing online programs over their local public schools in the future.