August 26, 2020
Welcome back!
For many of you, it’s the beginning of back-to-school week. While this week may not be normal or ideal, we know the bumpy road ahead will be navigated by the best experts in the land – you!
These times are anything but normal, or is this the new normal? Companies slated to have employees return to their offices, (and see everyone’s new hairdo) have opted to postpone catching up on gossip at the water cooler until sometime in 2021. As we get acclimated to the COVID way of doing things, we may never see corporate America return to the concrete jungle of the past. Businesses are seeing that a Zoom meeting is just as efficient as a meeting in the corner conference room.
What does that mean for education? As this new way of teaching becomes more habit forming, will students prefer learning partially or completely online? We know that face to face instruction will always be needed, but knowledge is being delivered in a new way…even in the classroom. Schools have been reconfigured with remote learning platforms and the phrase “devices for everyone” has really caught on. Will there be a need to return to the old ways of teaching once we are on the other side of COVID-19? Probably not. At least, not entirely.
We don’t recommend holding onto how things use to be, for we may never go back. Some say flexibility in education is long overdue, and whether you agree or not, you can’t hold back progress. We have time warped into the future and the return button is broken.
So, as we have been busy here at KEYTA addressing your COVID and back to school concerns, a lot has been happening. Here are some highlights:
- The PA Departments of Education and Health released recommendations and procedures on how to respond to COVID-19 case(s) in schools.
- PIAA announced on August 21 that fall sports will go on with the season officially beginning August 24. Don’t rush to get your cow bells out, there will still be no spectators to root on these athletes.
- The PA Department of Health issued guidance requiring students to wear masks at all times, except when eating or drinking, taking 10-minute face-covering breaks, or when an activity that makes mask-wearing unsafe.
- Legislation was introduced in the PA House of Representative that caps cyber school enrollment during this health crisis and limits enrollment to students who were enrolled in the cyber charter school as of July 1.
- ZOOM, the widely used virtual meeting platform, crashed on August 24 impacting schools and clients worldwide.
BIG NEWS: We are hitting the road again and meeting with members and their colleagues interested in hearing more about KEYTA. Feel free to contact us to arrange a recruitment meeting. We will adhere to social distancing measures and not force attendees to squeeze into an oversized booth at your favorite bistro. Now is not the time to be without the protection and peace of mind that KEYTA’s membership offers. We are also ready to hold a ZOOM meeting (they have fixed the bug that caused the Aug. 24 crash) for those who are more comfortable meeting us virtually. Call 717-763-1168 or email info@keyta.org to set up a meeting or get materials mailed to you to share.
As always, stay safe, stay healthy, and we are here to assist with your back to school questions or concerns.
Have a great school year!
Carol Yeagy
Executive Director
