We’ve lived in SF for almost 9 years when the pandemic hit. Our daughter was in 8th grade at an elite private school. They transitioned to a Zoom classroom within 2 weeks. Her public school friends had nothing for months. The days on Zoom were long, and while she felt the level of education declined, we were thankful for the continuing of her education and social relationship with friends…even through her birthday.
Through the pandemic and our overall experiences in SF, we decided to move to Texas. After navigating draconian restrictions for months on our lives and selling of our condo, we finally arrived in Austin in July. What a relief!
We were overwhelmed with the preparedness of the Texas schools (LTISD) to methodically bring us into the system. Immediately, we received information on remote learning with school provided tech, options for internet services (if needed), Google Meetings with her academic advisors and special needs advisors, and an overall, super organized, well-thought out plan for having in-person and remote learning/teaching for students and teachers as well as safety, social distancing, and sanitation protocols to keep everyone safe. She is in a low contact sport, sailing, but here as well, the coaches really protect everyone! The communication has just been over the top excellent.
We’re almost in February now, and all I can say is how pleased we are.
I have many friends who are educators in primary schools across the east coast. As I relayed our experiences and the preparation of the LTISD, they absolutely cannot believe it. They felt like their school systems were just waiting for someone to come in and fix it rather than the school boards stepping up over the spring and summer to prepare and inform.
We are thankful to be in Texas.