@1 i'm an SPS parent and reached out to our school principal this summer about orchestrating learning pods like you suggest. my concern was the obvious one -- organic learning pods will be about cliques and access to resources. also, i'd done nanny share arrangements in the past, and knew how difficult it was to coordinate schedules with parents (let alone employ a person ... tax documents, social security !?). families new to this are in for a ride.

the principal replied that the school couldn't possibly orchestrate pods in peoples' homes for liability reasons (e.g. is everyone's house safe?). so here we are.

from which I took away, there needs to be some legislative protection for the schools in order for anything useful to happen. basically, all of our institutions need to coordinate in some way for a decent result -- school, work, government, social groups.

i'm feeling optimistic.

The Teachers Union put themselves before their students.

Very mixed feelings.

I have been tracking at least one local Facebook page for parents who want a nano school. A few have said they want to sponsor a low-income child but couldn’t figure out how to find someone to fill that spot.

I can certainly understand the parents’ frustration. However, many of them were also unhappy with what rolled out in the spring. The district has to make sure teachers get the professional development to take on remote teaching AND make sure every student has a device and internet access. (And that’s a device for every child in the district, not one per family.)

Asking principals to coordinate pods groups is too much to ask. And, the liability issue is huge as I think some parents will find out.