Hybrid learning raises many questions for Minnesota schools and families

Minnesota schools and families are struggling with a growing list of questions, and few answers, as they try to plan for a school year that could be a mix of in-person classes and distance learning.

Eight weeks remain until the start of a new academic year, but it's still unclear how it will begin. By the last week of July, state officials will tell schools whether they can reopen, if they should stick with distance learning, or if they should attempt something even more complicated: a "hybrid" model that combines in-person classes, online instruction, and a long list of rules meant to limit the spread of COVID-19.

The hybrid model is an effort to serve students' academic, emotional and social needs by reuniting them with teachers and peers. After months of isolation and lessons delivered on computer screens, school leaders and parents say those needs are real, and urgent. But reopening schools while also enforcing strict capacity limits and social distancing requirements means many students will have to rotate in and out of buildings on schedules that do not line up with those of working parents.

https://www.startribune.com/hybrid-learning-raises-many-questions-for-minnesota-schools-and-families/571730492/