What is a learning pod?
Have you heard about pandemic learning pods? Other names are “quaranteams,” “COVID-19 pods,” and “microschools.”
Some parents are seeking an alternative to sending their children back to in-person school during the pandemic or doing online school in isolation. These parents may work full time or want some socialization for their kids, so homeschooling alone would not be ideal. They would like to “do school” and childcare together by forming a learning pod with a handful of other families who are minimizing their COVID-19 risks to the same degree. The parents may share the responsibility of supporting the kids’ online learning, share the teaching load if they prefer non-screen learning, or hire a tutor/teacher to do the supporting or teaching for them.
How to form a learning pod
So, how do parents find each other? Facebook groups are forming around the country. You could also type your city and the word “pod” in the Facebook search bar. For example, searching “Boulder pod” comes up with a private Facebook group (Boulder Valley School District Learning Pods) for parents seeking to form pods in Boulder, Colorado. Searching “San Francisco Pod” shows this group: Pandemic Pods – San Francisco. If nothing pops up for your city, you could form a closed Facebook group and let people know about it in the Facebook mom groups in your city. There is also a national site where people can search for or form local groups: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pandemicpodsf/
Things to consider while grouping families
One Facebook group forming learning pods in their area created a Google Form for parents to fill out. The administrator is using the answers to match families with each other. There are many things to consider when looking for other families with which to pod:
- What grades are your kids in?
- What schools do they attend?
- What area of town do you live in?
- Do any of your kids have special needs?
- How many children would you like in a pod?
- Will your child attend in-person school if they do an every-other-day model?
- How many days per week would you like to meet?
- How many hours per day would you like them to meet?
- Do you prefer that a parent or a paid tutor/teacher works with the students?
- Would you like them to supervise students as they use an online curriculum and provide support or would you prefer they create their own, more screen-free curriculum?
- What are you willing to pay a tutor/teacher per hour?
- Are you willing to teach?
- Are you willing to host?
- Are you willing to sponsor another child if the pod is paying a tutor/teacher?
- Do you need help with transportation?
- Can you provide transportation for others?
- Do you have experience working with children with special needs?
- Are you bilingual?
- Do you need to have school on evenings or weekends due to work schedules?
- If the location rotates from home to home, would you prefer that lunch and snacks be provided by the host or will your children bring their own?
- Would you prefer mixed age or single grade pods?
- How would you describe your social distancing practices (choose one):
1 – Very strict – we work from home, have groceries delivered, and don’t see anyone outside of our household
2 – Strict – We see a limited number of people, wear masks in public, shop for essentials in person
3 – Moderately Strict – We work outside the home. Our kids have attended camp/daycare, but we are otherwise limited in who we see and where we go
4 – Limited – We wear masks, but we see people socially and have been around some groups of 10+
As you can see, administrators of these Facebook groups have a big job forming matches between all the interested families.
Other things to consider
In addition to schooling logistics, once you have been placed in a learning pod, you will want to come to an agreement about these topics:
- Would you like STEM activities, literacy activities, arts, crafts, music, drama activities, cooking, and educational games?
- Are educational videos okay? Educational video games?
- Are trips (by car) to a public location okay, like trails, museums, and libraries?
- Would you like time free play built into the day? Can this include helmet activities like bikes and scooters? Can kids leave the immediate vicinity of the house without an adult? Can the kids interact with neighbor kids outside the pod (masked or unmasked)?
- If parents prefer not to be in charge of the kids’ learning time, how will they find a teacher?
- How will the pod deal with the event that someone is exposed to Coronavirus
Everyone should agree to address any issues openly and respectfully. Also, it’s okay to leave the pod and ask the administrator to reassign you if you don’t feel like it’s a good fit.
Finding a teacher or tutor
IIf parents prefer not to homeschool or supervise their kids’ online learning, how can they find a teacher or tutor to work with their pod? A quick Google search of your city and the word “tutor” should produce a list of experienced tutors in your area. For example, my business, Peak Tutoring, shows up when people type in “Colorado Springs tutor.” Teachers and tutors who already know about pandemic pods may have joined these closed Facebook groups in order to find work. Your school’s counseling department might have a list of tutors they refer to parents. Other places to search would be Wyzant.com, Tutors.com, Care.com, and Craigslist.org. You could also ask around at your kids’ schools to find out if any teachers aren’t returning this fall or ask on Nextdoor.com. Sadly, I read an article that said around ⅕ of all teachers may not return this fall due to COVID-19.
What will this year look like for you?
These are unprecedented times, and many creative parents are trying to keep their jobs while making sure their children are still safe, keeping up with school, and having opportunities to socialize a little. I’m interested to see the variety in schooling models not only within districts and private schools around the nation but within these micro-communities. Whatever approach your school or family chooses, I know it won’t be typical. Despite that, I wish you a great school year!
