As the Coronavirus situation changes hour by hour, so do our thoughts about what’s to come in the months and years ahead. Indeed, as you read this, the situation surrounding the crisis will have already changed from the time this was written, perhaps even drastically.
That said, while we all have tremendous challenges right now, as businesses we seem to be tasked with innovating and preparing not so much for the right now, but for the “after-the-crisis” world – including the world of school admissions.
We would like to say we have the answers, but no one does. In fact, the questions themselves will change. Nevertheless, many questions have already popped into our heads and may be worth considering at the appropriate time:
- When students do return to school, how and when will 5th and 8th grade students move up, and how will promotional requirements be assessed?
- What will “final” course marks look like for the now asterisked “*School Year 2019-2020?”
- Will more or fewer students be left back, and how will that impact school enrollment projections and building capacity?
- Assuming state tests will be cancelled or postponed, will they play any role in applying to middle or high school moving forward? How will school admissions rubrics be adjusted accordingly?
- Will course marks play a larger or smaller role in school admissions?
- How will the city and schools themselves adapt to allow families better and easier access to school events and tours – including this spring? (We are calling for mandatory and standardized virtual tours from every school)
- What will the admissions process in the fall look like, even if school is back in session on time in September?
I suspect a seismic event such as the one we are all experiencing will precipitate change unlike any we have seen in recent years. We shall see what that change looks like. We will continue to revisit this list of ever-evolving questions, and we encourage others to do the same.
What are YOUR questions?