PinnedClose school doors through February: going remote or going outdoors are the only two responsible optionsIn early March with an eye on the quickly rising Covid-19 case count and death toll in northern Italy; educators, administrators, and politicians were debating what schools should do to help stem the inevitable tide of infections coming to the United States; as well as to protect students, teachers, and…Covid 1910 min readCovid 1910 min read
Published in Age of Awareness·Sep 2Our AY 2022–23 pandemic plan — AbromeThis is a brief overview of the layers of protection that we are applying at Abrome for the 2022–23 academic year. Abrome has been able to remain COVID free for the past three years of pandemic schooling. The success we have had in protecting each other and local communities from…Pandemic Schooling4 min readPandemic Schooling4 min read
Published in Age of Awareness·Aug 16Covid: three pandemic years in — looking backMost schools in central Texas reopen this week, and the overwhelming majority of them will have no meaningful COVID protections in place, much less a multilayered approach that would drastically reduce the risk of spread of COVID within their school communities. Needless to say, they will have no meaningful Monkeypox…Pandemic Schooling9 min readPandemic Schooling9 min read
Published in Age of Awareness·Jan 24Your local school is failing your community by not being remoteIt is 10:45 a.m. on Monday, January 24th, and the Abrome Facilitators and Learners just finished our first meeting of the week. Yes, unlike (presumably) all the schools in Central Texas, we are remote and have been since winter break. Well, sort of for all the schools in Central Texas…Remote Schooling7 min readRemote Schooling7 min read
Published in Age of Awareness·Aug 10, 2021Should we celebrate mask mandates in school? Yes and no.In Texas the current debate about school reopenings revolves almost entirely around one issue — whether to mandate mask wearing or not. The problem with this hyperfocus on mask mandates is that it allows schools to remain sites of infection during this delta wave of the pandemic even if the…Covid 193 min readCovid 193 min read
Published in Age of Awareness·Jun 23, 2021Do not let go of your time outdoors when the pandemic endsWhen Abrome went outdoors this year in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we were not sure how the Learners would respond to the heat, the cold, the rain, the bugs, and the physical activity. Because we are a Self-Directed Education community that elevates free play as a wonderful use of…Nature2 min readNature2 min read
Published in Age of Awareness·Jun 11, 2021Are my kids ruining their lives choosing trade school over college?I received an email from a parent I did not know expressing fear over their kids opting out of college to pursue trade careers. This parent has two master’s degrees and their partner graduated from one of the top three law schools in the country. They value higher education and…Trade School5 min readTrade School5 min read
Published in Age of Awareness·Apr 30, 2021Texas school board election proves there is no such thing as non-partisan electionsOn Tuesday, I drove out to the Bee Cave City Hall for the last day of early voting. I have voted early multiple times at that location over the past seven years for a variety of races up to congressional and presidential, but I’ve never shown up for a local…Austin10 min readAustin10 min read
Mar 30, 2021One year into “pandemic schooling”; let’s never return to normalOne year ago today, on March 30, 2020, we ‘returned’ remotely after an extended three-week spring break that allowed us time to better understand the threat of the burgeoning Covid-19 pandemic. Given the rapid spread of the disease; concerns of medical systems being overwhelmed; the ballooning number of heartbreaking stories…Return To Normal3 min readReturn To Normal3 min read
Mar 28, 2021Updated foreward to contingency planning documentDear Abrome Learners and families, We published the first version of this contingency planning document on June 9, 2020. This document outlined our plan for how we could more safely be together during the pandemic, and allowed our community to have more certainty about what the 2020–2021 academic year would…Covid 193 min readCovid 193 min read
