Post-Pandemic: How Will They Teach?

On March 27, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stimulus Act of 2020 (the "CARES Act"). What is the Act's purpose and who does it benefit? According to The National Law Review,

"Title I of the CARES Act establishes, among other things, the Paycheck Protection Program (the "Paycheck Program") providing for up to $349,000,000,000 in forgivable loans to business concerns which are backed by the United States Small Business Administration (the "SBA"). The Paycheck Program is a short-term program for the "Covered Period" from February 15, 2020, until June 30, 2020, and loans are capped at the lesser of 2.5x a borrower’s LTM average monthly payroll or $10,000,000 per borrower."

Shortly after that, we began to hear stories about businesses that received loans and didn't appear on the surface as the kind of company that should receive a loan. According to the Washington-Post, " Some large hotel and restaurant chains received loans meant for Main Street businesses, prompting calls for changes." So did several private K-12 schools, according to the Los Angeles Times. The reason why the media criticizes private schools for accepting CARES loans seems to be the optics. As UCLA education professor Tyrone Howard said, “That’s not a good look... There’s just something that’s not equitable about that.” Apparently, the private schools are being criticized because they have endowments. The popular thinking seems to be that if

It's late spring, early summer. If you are the head or owner of a private K-12 school, you are coping with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. It never seems to end, does it?

Your academic year 2019-2020 was going so well until everything stopped in March. You sent students home. You sent teachers home. In a matter of hours, your in-person classroom instruction became online instruction. Your old way of doing things was predictable and full of cherished traditions that made your school what it was. Your brand had dozens of metrics that proved to potential families that your school was worth the fees you charged. Your mission to educate the whole child that depended on personal interaction and watchful supervision was rarely questioned. Your brand and your mission have not changed. But the way you deliver them has most definitely changed.

So, how does a school like yours survive the aftermath of this terrible pandemic? By living in the moment with a cautious, clear vision of the future.

In this video, a doctor explains what COVID-19 is.

Step 1. Convene a planning committee to plan for the academic year

Keep your committee small but representative. Your administrative staff, faculty, board members, and parents are experienced, devoted people who care about the school. Their job is to develop a road map for the immediate future. Management of the day-to-day

Parents turn to private K-12 education for all kinds of reasons, from overall quality of curricula and individualized teaching strategies to location and religious affiliation. Now they may be adding another motivation to the list: overcrowded classrooms and public school bus rides just seem more dangerous in the age of coronavirus.

If you’re home-schooling your kids right now, the day they return to classes may seem like a distant dream. (How’s your blood pressure?) But September will come—with or without online classes. Chances are you’re making decisions right now that will affect at least a year of your child’s future. Chief among them may be how you will continue to finance your child’s private school education.

In 2020, the average cost of K-12 private school tuition reached $11,012. Depending on where you live and whether you have elementary-, middle-, or high school-age kids, your mileage may vary. But across the country, student loan debt has been increasing steadily along with the rising cost of education. K-12 loans aren’t subsidized by the federal government like higher-education loans. Still, many parents clearly believe that private school education is worth the investment. The question moms and dads should be asking themselves is, “How can I be sure I’m investing wisely?”

School Stability

The global coronavirus pandemic has injected uncertainty into every sector of the economy. That’s true at the micro-level, as many parents join the fast-expanding ranks of unemployed workers. It’s also true for private schools,

The COVID-19 closed schools nationwide in the spring of 2020. One day schools were open. The next day they were closed indefinitely as state governors issues stay at home orders. Then schools scrambled to replace familiar face-to-face classroom instruction with online learning. Sports and extracurricular activities became distant memories. Plans for summer school and camps went out the window. Graduations, end of year traditions such as school plays and assemblies are virtual occasions in 2020. It's all so different, so scary, and so unsettling. Yet, you and I know that life must go on.

Dr. Reinhold Niehbur's Serenity Prayer comes to mind as a spiritual anchor for these troubled times:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

courage to change the things I can,

and wisdom to know the difference.

I cite this prayer because it expresses the attitude each of us must bring to bear on the situation which faces us in our daily lives. Our children's education is a critical concern. That's why we elected to send our kids to private school in the first place. However, this COVID-19 virus is controlling everything. And it will continue to do so indefinitely until we have vaccines to protect us.

This short video displays The Serenity Prayer.

With that in mind, here are five things you need to do when you are a parent with children