Even as some of the first schools open for the new school year, many public school districts across the country are still weighing their options for the fall. The constant uncertainty and reopening options — in-person, hybrid, remote — have left parents to figure out how they will manage another term of balancing work, caregiving and education. And according to Heather Hill, a professor of education at Harvard University, many areas haven’t taken the necessary steps to make learning accessible to all students remotely.
“In an ideal situation, yes, everyone would be safely back at school,” Dr. Hill said. “In the not-ideal-but-better-than-where-we’re-going situation, you would have a district that’s really stepping up” its remote schooling options.
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Some organizations are working to make one-on-one instruction available to kids for whom private tutoring might not be an option. Brown University in Providence, R.I., has begun piloting a program connecting undergraduate students with seniors at a nearby public high school for remote tutoring sessions; it will expand across the district this fall. “We really hope that it’s going to ease that burden, at least a little bit, for many families,” said Soljane Martinez, the education coordinator at the university’s Annenberg Institute for School Reform.
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