In 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…
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…
When 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…
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…
On 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…
One 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…
Dear 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…
Yesterday, unfortunately, Emily Oster’s latest essay “Your Unvaccinated Kid Is Like a Vaccinated Grandma” was published in The Atlantic. The subtitle declared, “Parents should bet on vacations with their kids this summer.“ I’ll explain why this essay being published is so unfortunate after I properly introduce you to the author.
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Yesterday I was talking to some Abrome Learners when one of them mentioned that Texas Governor Greg Abbott was about to make an announcement of some sort. I immediately thought to myself, “bad news.” Not because I knew the content of what he was going to say, but because he…
Central Texas schools operating as sites of infection
Last week, Dr. Mark Escott of Austin Public Health shared some shocking Covid-19 positivity rates in school-age children. The positivity rates for elementary, middle, and high school students were 19.8%, 27.1%, and 20.2%, respectively; all of which were greater than the 17.8%…
