Franklin Township Community School System (FTCSC) prides itself on having an excellent reputation; consistently being recognized as having numerous 4-star schools. Our administrators and teachers are among the best in the state and have tirelessly worked to provide our students with excellent educations as well as opportunities to best position our children for success after graduation. Admittedly, the onset of COVID-19 has been a challenge for all school systems. Spring brought confusion and chaos. Thankfully, summer gave administrators the necessary time to develop alternatives for the many possibilities that a return to school might bring. One such option was the hybrid option that allows for two cohorts of students at Franklin Central Junior High and Franklin Central High School to attend in person two days a week and receive online instruction the other days.

After 5 weeks of participating in this option, it has become clear to many parents in the community that this is option is not working for our students. Among the chief concerns is the limited amount of instruction that students are receiving, and the excessive amount of time work is taking to complete. In a typical day, it is not uncommon for students to spend in excess of 10 hours working on schoolwork, often much more.  Included in this time is time spent attempting to teach themselves lessons through watching videos, utilizing google slides, reading textbooks (when available), or asking for assistance from family and friends.  Parents who can afford it are clamoring to find tutors to assist while others either cannot afford the cost or cannot find a tutor with availability.

Students are experiencing unprecedented levels of anxiety and stress. They are concerned not only with their current results but how this is impacting their GPAs and long term, their college and scholarship potential. Students and parents of younger students are worried about how the lack of instruction will impact their child’s success in upper level classes that build upon developing solid foundations in the classes they are taking now. Students are missing assignments and deadlines due to unclear instructions, consistency and communication are lacking, use of canvas is inconsistent and challenging, and parents are struggling with working full time and attempting to find ways to lend support.

After much discussion with families experiencing these similar and related challenges, I am starting this petition to request an emergency and immediate meeting of the FTCSC School Board and administrative staff with concerned parents to discuss potential opportunities for improvement within this model.

Some opportunities for improvement include, but are not limited to the following:

• Student participation through Zoom or other electronic means during days they are not in-person
• Consistent use of technology to ensure students can easily find their assignments and understand their responsibilities
• Communication to parents through one portal or media to post all assignments to assist with support
• Flexibility among teachers regarding due dates
• Opportunities to improve existing scores due to limited instruction and deadline confusion

There are other schools successfully utilizing all or a combination of these methods to improve the effectiveness of their hybrid model with much success. While nothing will ever replace the benefits of  100% in person instruction, we owe it to our children to ensure the system they are working with is the best that we can provide right now.

As time is of the essence, it is my desire that this meeting would occur within the week to allow leaders the opportunity to listen to the voice of the community they serve. If an in-person meeting cannot be accommodated, a virtual meeting can be set up quickly and inexpensively to ensure adequate social distancing protocols are met. We all have one common goal and that is to ensure we are giving tomorrows leaders the best possible opportunities to succeed. As parents, we are committed to collaborating to providing the resources and tools to make this a success. Let us work together to ensure that we can achieve this.  Thank you!

#WeAreFlashes