Many educators agree that all school districts in Michigan have unique needs during this uncertain time. | Stock photo
Many educators agree that all school districts in Michigan have unique needs during this uncertain time. | Stock photo
In the Friday Morning Podcast episode on June 25, Dennis Denno and Bill Ballenger spoke on the topic of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Education Task Force with Deanna Barash, assistant superintendent of Teaching and Learning for the West Bloomfield School District.
“We're really looking for some solid guidance next week from this task force about what we should be putting into place and how we make this work,” Barash told Friday Morning Podcast.
While it seems logical for the governor to issue a plan for how schools should handle the pandemic and return to school, it does beg the question of whether her solutions will work equally well in all schools throughout the state.
“I feel that, as a state, Michigan has some expectations and common understanding,” Barash said. “And certainly there are resources. And I hope that the task force has taken all those things as a consideration. I'm not a fan of one-size-fits-all simply because our communities are so different and our resources are there. But I still feel that there is kind of understanding about how we move forward.”
Barash said that while one-size-fits-all probably wouldn't work for all of the schools with differing individual needs, there are important questions being asked and solutions being discovered due to the state government getting involved.
She also said that she was frustrated by the federal government’s handling of the situation, especially in terms of its treatment of the education system.
“We need to know what the federal government's plan is going to be to make sure that schools can open safely and we can meet the financial needs of our families and our teachers,” Barash told Denno and Ballenger.
One challenge for schools has been a lack of necessary resources and tools for online schooling .While Barash’s school district had access to enough computers for their students, not all families had access to WiFi hot spots. In some cases, students required extra help getting access to the internet so they could complete their assignments.
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