Gwinnett County Public Schools and School Board,

Four weeks into digital learning and after numerous conversations with teachers and administrators it has become clear that the current challenges of Digital Learning Days are those that the county has created. After four weeks of feeling like I was failing as a parent, I reached out to other parents and teachers to see how they were doing. My feelings of failure quickly turned to those of frustration and anger as I realized each one was feeling almost exactly the same way, and their frustrations manifested in the same things mine were. 

Here are issues that can and should be addressed immediately:

-the response to the current situation. There has not been a clear unified response to where our school district finds itself, and what the plan is moving forward. This is especially confusing and frustrating when our surrounding counties have laid out clear and fair plans for moving forward that benefit the kids, parents, and teachers.

-the expectation of using eclass. It is a cumbersome and antiquated platform, and staff (through no fault of their own) have not been properly trained in how to use it efficiently. Give teachers the flexibility to use more straightforward platforms. Along those lines, we trust our teachers, and you should too. They don't need you checking in on them to make sure they are working. Stop making us and them check into eclass daily. 

-the workload requirement. It's not practical or feasible in a time of crisis. For elementary school aged children the material given is not something they can complete on their own and requires lots of parental assistance, which many parents are not in a situation to be able to give. Middle school and high school work load is higher than it should be as well. Work should be flexible during this time. We should have the freedom to work ahead, or do all of one subject on one day. There is also concern of the workload for teachers. We are further exasperating and burning out our educators. 

-testing. The fact that middle school and high school students are expected to complete finals, and deal with tests in the interim is absolutely ludicrous and does nothing for mental or emotional well being. If the GADOE saw fit to do away with required testing during this time, our county should do so as well.

Attempts to reach out to the county by normal communication methods are not acknowledged, so I'm hoping this will be. Your district looks forward to hearing, and more importantly, seeing the results of your response to this matter.