It’s Been a Rough Start to the School Year in Indiana

If you needed some motivation to homeschool, look no further than these two stories coming out of Gary and Michigan City, Indiana.

Newsweek reports:

Michigan City Area Schools (MCAS) in Indiana canceled in-person classes on Tuesday after staff discovered that someone stole crucial parts of 21 school buses, the school district told Newsweek in a statement Wednesday.

The article continues:

Just days into the new school year, the theft forced students into remote learning and kept them at home. The disruption created logistical challenges for the district, with families scrambling for child care and teachers rushing to set up virtual lesson plans and class activities. The district in northwestern Indiana has about 5,000 students.

I like how the theft was timed with the start of the school year. As such, I believe we should be looking for suspects in the K-12 age range.

But wait! There is more!

MSN reports:

 A shortage of licensed educators has led the Gary Community School District to temporarily bring in virtual teachers — a move that’s drawing both praise and criticism. Teachers from the company Proximity are helping with the shortage experienced by the district and others across the country.

More than 4,000 students are in the district, but only a small percentage will be instructed by a virtual teacher.

As of Thursday, a little less than 13 virtual teachers were teaching subjects throughout the district. District officials said as more and more teachers get their teaching credentials and licenses in order, they will replace those virtual instructors – who are aided by a teaching assistant – in the classroom.

“Each classroom where there’s a virtual teacher has a facilitator,” said Cynthia Treadwell, chief academic officer for the Gary Community School Corporation. “That facilitator has gone through a day’s worth of training with Proximity, and in that training, they learned very specifically what their role would be and supporting the virtual teacher while she is online.”

Dr. Yvonne Stokes, the school district’s superintendent, emphasized that Gary schools are still hiring.

Kudos to the school for pivoting, but it’s also a pretty sad situation. I’ve had one online course while in college, and while the teacher did what she could, it was not quite the same as having an in-person instructor, especially when you’re a kid/teenager.

But with crime as bad as it is, I can’t say I am shocked teachers aren’t flocking to teach in Scary Gary. The stats don’t lie.

Gary’s 11.8 VCR includes Indiana’s highest murder rate (29.1 per 100,000), with a 42.7 PCR. Abandoned properties facilitate drug crimes, while demolitions reduce blight-related offenses by 19%. Meth seizures increased 23% year-over-year.

Well, that was depressing.

Happy learning, everyone.