The K-12 Working Parents Remote Learning Working Group charge is to:
- Inventory local locations/sites, staffing, and funds for child care;
- Monitor state regulations as they relate to child care and learning, as well as identifying any needed state level advocacy at this time;
- Assess needs by surveying working parents to identify critical issue areas;
- Communicate and collaboratively work with the school district to construct needed solutions and interventions;
- Liaise with the parallel county level working group;
- Provide and regularly update a resource page for working parents: https://bit.ly/NPK12WorkingParents
In early August, we posted this form on social media (with some distribution via e-mail) in order to identify the particular issues for working parents in our own community associated with K-12 schools going fully remote, in local parents’ own words. Here’s what working parents in the NPCSD told us:
- A majority of working parents in the NPSCD say they have new child care needs and costs, including about seven in ten Duzine parents, two-thirds of Lenape households, as well as over half of single parents, dual income households, essential workers, teachers, and working parents with children who need Special Education.
- Over one third of working parents told us they now will have serious financial challenges in order to pay for child care or learning help for their children with about one in four of these working parents saying they will have to quit their jobs, pause their careers, and/or work or earn less to meet these new needs.
- Across schools, about three in four working parents told us that they cannot successfully work and attend to their children’s remote schooling and this is especially challenging for essential workers, teachers, and parents of students with special needs.
- Working parents told us they need more information to plan for the fall; with more options compared with the spring, along with predictability, structure, and clear student accountability to plan and set expectations.
- About one in ten households cited technology challenges relating to hardware and/or connectivity; one in five working parents of children with special needs cited this need.
- Several parents also said their children needed more engagement and live interaction compared to last spring.
- Working parents voiced concerns about the lack of socialization, screen time with 100% learning, mental health issues due to social isolation, and the need for more outside recreation and activities.
- About one in ten parents are troubled about the need to leave their children home alone, including one in five middle school and high school parents, as well as one in five single parents.
- Many working parents expressed empathy and/or a desire to help those who are worse off than themselves
Click here for the detailed report of findings.
The K-12 Working Parents Remote Learning Working Group:
Deputy Mayor (Village of New Paltz), KT Tobin
Town Supervisor (Town of New Paltz), Neil Bettez
Village Trustee (Village of New Paltz), Michele Zipp
Jim Tinger and John House, New Paltz Youth Program
Melissa Rock, SUNY New Paltz Professor and Parent
Nina Personina, Parent
Arielle Chiger, NPUT President
Aimme Hemminger, MS PTA
Dianna Smith, SUNY New Paltz Campus Pastor and Food Pantry Director
Theresa Fall, Parent