KENNEBUNK, Maine – As school districts consider whether to increase the number of days students can attend school in person, local families are sharing how the hybrid model of instruction has affected them.
Some say the hybrid approach has worked well since the school year began in September. Others consider the model insufficient to meet students' academic, social and emotional needs.
Brandon Schiebel, 9, goes to Sea Road School four days a week, but that doesn't mean he's always in his classroom with his teacher or his peers.
Brandon gets in-class instruction Mondays and Tuesdays, and he learns from home on Wednesdays, but on Thursdays and Fridays he learns remotely – not from home, but from the Sea Road School gymnasium. There, employees of the Kennebunk Recreation Department supervise him and other children, helping them set up their computers for their Zoom classes and making sure they keep on schedule.