LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. — It’s another school day in the kitchen for Danielle Wasson and her 10th grade daughter.
"It’s definitely a journey. We’re learning together," Wasson said.
She’s homeschooling her high school student.
"It makes us stronger together through something we have very little control over and it’s our way of maintaining our stability in this home," Wasson said.
She said she didn’t want to take any chances with an all-virtual platform approved by the Lee's Summit R-7 School District for fourth through 12th grade. She said she’s hearing from a lot of frustrated parents.
"Parents are struggling, they’re drowning in the responsibility that has been put in their lap. They’re trying to maintain jobs, they’re trying to work from home and home school, triage IT issues that the children are having with their Chromebooks," Wasson said.
She feels for teachers who are navigating unfamiliar terrain.
"Actually, I have several friends that are teachers in a virtual classroom setting as we speak. They’re very frustrated, they’re struggling as well. They’re doing the best they can with the resources they’ve been given," she said.
Wasson said the pandemic has been a turning point for her, and others.
"I am finished with public education as it stands now. I believe that as a result of COVID-19, we have discovered a lot of oversight in how we structure our education system and our curriculum," she explained.
Wasson hopes homeschooling isn’t a three-year journey.
"We’d like to get her into private school. It was a situation that we were unprepared to make financially in such a short period of time," she said.
So in the meantime, the mother is trying her best.
"I believe education is the absolute most important foundation we can give our children," Wasson said.
It’s been an emotional experience for her and her parental peers.
"These kids are getting so shorted. They’re going to be the ones responsible for taking care of us," she said.
41 Action News reached out to Lee's Summit leadership, who issued the following statements on the following topics:
Technology/technical issues: "As a 1:1 technology district we have distributed nearly 18,000 technology devices to our students and more than 3,000 additional devices to our staff. We currently have 900 open technology tickets for troubleshooting and devices issues. Since the spring, a technology help desk has been formed to address technical issues that our students and staff experience at home, and our dedicated team will continue to address the 4.2 percent of our school population that are having technical issues during this time."
COVID-19 Timeline: "Superintendent Dr. David Buck has expressed his commitment to returning to in-person instruction as soon as significant community transmission decreases in Jackson County. The district shared with our families in August that Dr. Buck meets with the Health Department weekly so that the district can pivot to a hybrid model for grades 4-12 when public health data indicates the risk of widespread transmission in our buildings is not so significant. If and when that happens, the district is prepared to pivot to a hybrid model for our upper grades within a week's time."
Absences: "Our teachers and building leaders take attendance during virtual learning. It's important to ensure that students are engaged with their learning and are doing well from a health and well-being standpoint. This data also helps our buildings know what students might need additional support. However, in a virtual environment, absences are not reported to the state and there are no punitive actions related to marked absences."
