Working Parents Face Difficult Decisions This Fall

For working parents, fall is typically a return to normal routines and a relief from the financial burdens of childcare.  This year, parents are facing a much more complex situation. The lack of consistency across the country, and even across states has meant that each district has had to develop its own plan for reopening.  Some offer only virtual, some hybrid, some full day, and others a combination of all of the options. Parents are in the difficult position of having to choose between supporting their family financially and protecting their health. Many parents are feeling the stress.

In a recent interview, Amanda Hickerson, a mental health therapist from Smithfield, Va. summed up the situation. “We are all in the same boat, and I think everyone’s doing the best they can. But this is all new, and trying to determine what’s best for you and your family, it’s really hard,” she said. “It’s also hard to know what the next turn is going to be and in terms of work, I can’t move forward. So, I’m feeling just stuck and very frustrated.”

Hickerson is far from alone. A recent Washington Post-Schar School nationwide poll found that 50 percent of working parents said it would be “harder” or “impossible” to do their jobs if their children’s schools provide only online instruction this fall.

But, what’s the alternative? With COVID cases around the country continuing to rise and increased concern about children’s role in spreading the disease, there are no easy choices.

For some parents, the reduced class size and limited in-person contact of hybrid school seems like a good balance between safety and socialization. In fact, when asked about their preference for fall school openings, 48 percent of working parents said they prefer a mix of in-person and online instruction.  But, some doctors think that the hybrid option may be even more dangerous because of the likelihood that kids will be in other childcare situations on the off-days of school, thereby increasing the amount of people they come in contact with.

What does that mean for working parents?  Is 100 % virtual instruction the only safe option? And if that’s the case, who will be monitoring the kids while they learn? Without government assistance, the cost of hiring private help is almost impossible…. which means that working parents are turning to daycares to fill in the gap. 

While many experts think that daycares are relatively safe for young children, parents still have concerns about the cost and the quality of educational assistance their kids will get. 

For Ashley Zeufeldt, a single mother of a first-grader and a preschooler, daycare is far from ideal.

 “A day care can only do so much. They’re not certified to really educate kids, and it’s almost impossible to provide the attentiveness they need,” said Zeufeldt. “I would have rather had my kids in a school with circle time and reading rather than just having to be on their iPad all day.”

With no ideal in-person school options, some families are working together to create learning pods. Pods are small groups of students (typically three to 10 children) who learn together outside the classroom, but still in person. Pods have become so popular that new groups have been created all around the country to share resources and post calls for tutors and pod-mates. While no situation is without concerns, many parents feel that learning pods have the potential to provide kids with the structure and socializing of school, while greatly reducing their exposure to COVID.

Although the benefits of learning pods are appealing, the cost can be prohibitive. Instructors typically charge anywhere from $30 an hour per child to $100 or more, generating concerns that the trend could make public education even more segregated and unequal.

Some families have found ways to work around the cost by avoiding tutors and taking turns monitoring the children’s learning themselves. But, for parents who need to work full-time, even this can feel impossible.

Fortunately, school systems around the country have stepped in. Some Massachusetts, California,  and Colorado school districts are hoping to provide in-person instruction for their most vulnerable students. 

Meanwhile,San Francisco is planning to transform recreation facilities, libraries and community centers into “learning hubs,” where as many as 6,000 students can go daily to complete their online schoolwork. In Indianapolis, homeless students will have access to similar learning hubs around the city. And, New York recently announced a plan to offer free child care for up to 50,000 students a day.

While these measures aren’t enough to solve the problem for all working families, they are an important step in addressing the deep inequalities that the pandemic has exposed.