Thinking about forming a ‘learning pod’? Here’s how Whatcom parents can plan for safety
“Pods” are emerging as K-12 public schools start the school year with distance learning, and the Whatcom County Health Department is providing guidance to parents on how to safely gather their students for home-schooling.
Called “learning pods,” “pandemic pods” and “micro-schools,” they are small groups formed by families so their children can be taught together at someone’s home by a parent or by hired teachers and tutors. Parents are forming them over health concerns, because they’re turning away from their schools’ distance learning, want to supplement online learning, worried about their children’s social isolation or need child care so they can work, according to news reports.
There’s also concern that their emergence further widens the gaps between families who can afford such educational efforts and those who can’t, and what that means for student achievement.
“If you’ll be participating in a learning pod, we encourage you to think about how you can share resources with families and children whose circumstances might make it harder for them to participate,” the Whatcom County Health Department says in a recent blog post about the topic. “We are all weathering the same storm, but we’re not all in the same boat.”
The national trend is showing up in Whatcom County, where parents have posted on social networks such as Reddit and Nextdoor about their plans to form pods.
The health department posted the blog because the community is interested, officials said.
“It did not come as a parent request, but we know this is a topic on the minds of many parents,” Marie Duckworth, Whatcom Unified Command spokesperson, told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
The unified command is the multi-governmental agency that’s directing local pandemic response.
Here’s what parents forming pods should do to protect their family’s health during the pandemic, according to the blog post.
Health tips for before
▪ Limit the size of each pod to five children.
“When you add together the teacher and all of the kids’ family members, a seemingly small pod ends up including dozens of people. The more people in it, the greater the risk for coronavirus exposure,” the health department says.
▪ Be clear about the precautions each family in the pod will take. That could include deciding whether to quarantine for 14 days before school begins and, outside of that, agreeing on what level of socializing or activities that each family considers safe.
“Ideally, families in learning pods shouldn’t be socializing with people outside the pod unless they wear masks and maintain physical distance,” the blog states.
▪ What will you do if a student or family member starts having symptoms of COVID-19, or is in a high-risk situation? You should have a plan for that, which could include all families quarantining for 14 days and holding classes remotely during that time, the health department says.
Health tips for each day
Once the pod is up and going:
▪ Do daily health checks for each child and adult involved in the pod.
▪ Allow plenty of breaks so students can wash their hands. Make sure soap and water are available.
▪ Decide who will clean the space. Make sure that all high-touch areas are sanitized regularly.
▪ Encourage everyone going into the home to wear a mask and maintain physical distancing of at least 6 feet.
▪ The home that’s hosting the pod should have proper indoor ventilation with HEPA filters.
▪ Each child should have a set of school supplies that only they will use.
▪ Food, snacks or drinks shouldn’t be shared.
▪ Spend as much time outside as possible.
