This whole concept is nice and all but impractical for the majority of families. Most of us aren't credentialed in education and have a nice big backyard in Atherton to host several kids. I heard her talk a few weeks ago and thought it was way too much work to set up as much as I would love to do this for my kids.

@Olivia, if helpful, here's a setup in my yard, and we live in a mobile home park, our yard is smaller than most people's townhome/condo patios, video link: Web Link (though none of these setups work can work with fires going on)

I wish the article focus less on those paying for private teachers, a model not scalable or helpful for most. However, the idea of parents who are working from home or unemployed helping their fellow community members by opening their home to one or two other children to follow district distance learning together, so that other family may continue their livelihood is a promising solution to pursue.

Small stable pods of 1-2 in free co-ops (that in Canada they are calling "double bubbles") can be as safe as daycares, and have the further benefit of building community between neighbors, and providing children needed socialization and peer support for distance learning.

Anything we do to lean into community-based problem solving builds dividends in civic togetherness once this crisis is over.

Little known fact - Attending Kindergarten is NOT REQUIRED in California. So, if you have a kindergartener and the online all-day thing isn't working for you, you don't need to do it. This means:
1) You don't need to find a credentialed kindergarten teacher or
2) Your kid can go to one of the preschools/day cares that are operating in-person (they might learn more than staring at a computer screen).
Next year, you kid would go to 1st grade based on their birthday, just like all the other kids.

I think it's a great initiative! My friends and I also make some activities to help children with online education in the current situation. We write content for the Freebooksummary platform, for example, character analysis of identities in the works of W.D. Valgardson. Actually, I think that Web Link can really be helpful for students. We should support children at this time.

It is essential that learning organizations continue to study what other schools do. Evergreen School District (San Jose) has launched district organized pods and independent study: "as part of Virtual Pathways, we are offering Pods4Learning, a new parent-led and district-supported homeschooling experience for TK and kindergarten students. Students learn standards-based curriculum with a group of up to five students in a virtual environment- ensuring social and emotional engagement with their peers. Two hours each week, parents and students receive personalized coaching from a credentialed teacher. Weekly learning success packets, supporting materials, along with an iPad, are also included in this program." Web Link
This same district also has a project-based middle school: bulldogtech.org