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Hello World...

I, like many of you, am struggling with some of the new realities that we are all currently facing. It can at times be very scary, especially given the ever-changing narrative going on in the world around us. Adults are finding themselves without answers and in remarkably different roles than they expected. However, through all of this craziness you can locate countless rainbows through the rain, it just requires you to take a minute to notice them. Once you do, you'll see that, while things are different, the world is actually far more "normal" than it appears. For example, I find it refreshing to look out my window and see my community walking, riding bikes and playing sports with each other (though it looks like that activity is relegated to siblings for the time being). I see scientists, authors, celebrities, politicians and people from all over the world crowdsourcing their education and sharing resources to benefit others. Online you can find a myriad of people sharing their talents to put a smile on the face of their neighbors, whether on a balcony or from their front yard. There is good out there and all it requires is for us to take a breathe and look around to notice it...

This website will serve as a resource to the Roslyn community where I will share insight, resources and advice on how we can weather the storm together. Like all storms, this will pass and be behind us eventually. Hopefully, the information shared will make it slightly easier to endure and help us to be prepared for the return to normalcy.

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Checking in from the Wasserman Home School for Exceptional Youth

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Checking in from the Wasserman Home School for Exceptional Youth

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Let me start with a little context about me and my family. I am fortunate to have 2 wonderful boys, ages 8 and 11 respectively, and an amazing wife with over 10 years’ experience as an educator. Full transparency…we are both feeling pretty overwhelmed with how to educate and entertain our children through all of this. Emails are coming in furiously from all directions and there are countless websites and tools that each teacher is utilizing. Not to mention trying to find the time to give them our attention while keeping up with all of our obligations to our respective districts. That being said, we are doing our absolute best, which is all that anyone can ask of a parent at this time. What I have discovered is that there are some wonderful resources and advice out there to help make your lives a little saner.

Let’s approach this predicament from two sides, first the Academic and then the Social.

Academic

Set a schedule, but be willing to make changes – Children, especially younger ones, rely on routine. They have had one for months and now may find themselves with way too much disorganized time. A schedule will help give them purpose throughout the day and parents an opportunity to balance their time better. However, flexibility will be the key to any schedule’s success. Here is a blog article titled, “Create Your Own Parent-of-Small-Kids Routine (20 Tips),” that I think could apply to parenting older-aged kids as well.

Lose the sweatpants – This is a hard one, because who doesn’t want to be comfortable at home. However, if they are too comfortable, they may not be in the best mindset to focus on different tasks. Try to follow the same exact hygiene routine (shower, brushing teeth, etc.) that you set when they were leaving the house to attend school.

Have patience, don’t share your frustration – Kids take their lead from us as parents. If we say, “Math is stupid,” they will mirror that sentiment (I had to learn that one the hard way). If you find yourself getting frustrated or anxious from being overwhelmed, you will very likely project those emotions without realizing it. These are completely normal and understandable feelings! However, sometimes you need to take a breath and walk away if you find your emotions getting the best of you. Have your child read a book or change their activity to help them regain their confidence. Any learning is still learning at the end of the day. If they don’t want to read, then maybe try reading with them. Your excitement is also likely to be infectious, sometimes even more than your frustration.

If you feel yourself becoming too overwhelmed – try some mindfulness activities (they really work):

Ocean Breath

Rainforest Breath

Mountain Breath

Pick your battles – We are all in much closer quarters these days and our children are breathing down our necks. Fighting over schoolwork will only make things more difficult on everyone. If your child doesn’t want to work, have a conversation with them when the time is right. See if there is an opportunity to reason with them. It may be coming from a place of inadequacy or simply because they want to play games or be on TikTok (we’ll come back to that). Help them to understand that this is their obligation and you will support them. Sometimes consequence is called for and other times rewards are. Parenting isn’t black and white, especially in these circumstances. Parents need to work in tandem to decide which is the best method for getting to the end result.

Social

In a time of social distancing, how can you possibly keep a child entertained enough so that you can have some sanity?

Get creative – Have you ever heard of Frisbee Soccer? Well, it didn’t exist until my kids and I created it the other day. There are plenty of activities that you can do or even create to keep everyone entertained. One of my neighbors recently wrote out a scavenger hunt between their family members. They make a list of items and walk around the neighborhood taking pictures (from a distance) to satisfy each item. The winning team gets to pick their dessert.

If it’s free, it’s for me – There are so many free resources that are out there right now. One of my favorite websites, Common Sense Media, has compiled a large list of free activities and online events for kids of all ages. Famous author, Mo Willems, runs drawing lessons through the Kennedy Center, called Lunch Doodles. Jarrett Lerner, another famous children’s author, offers wonderful comic book-related activities. Amazon has even released hundreds of free shows and videos for kids to watch. I’ll definitely share more as they come up.

Stay Active – Kids have a lot of energy and it needs to get out of them one way or the other. Make sure that everyone in your house participates in some form of physical activity each day. On top of it physiologically contributing to feeling better…it may also tire them out :)

For the younger kids, PopSugar has compiled some Youtube videos that promote movement.

For the older kids (and adults), here is a link to over 125 free streaming workouts to try.

Limit Social Media – There is certainly a place and time for children to use social media, but now is not a time for kids to have free-reign one every device they own. I am not opposed to using TikTok or playing Fortnite with moderation and parent oversight. However, you need to parent technology and set boundaries now more than ever. Otherwise it will be extremely hard to go back.

Virtual Social Gatherings – From a social/emotional perspective, kids need to have access to their friends. Try setting up a time in the day or evening to use Zoom, Facetime or any of the other technology out to allow your kids to interact with their friends, either one-on-one or in a group. Last night, my son played Pictionary while using Zoom. While it is not exactly the same as being together in person, it will help them to feel the social connections that they have in their world. Here is an article with more ideas on how to arrange virtual playdates and activities.

As difficult as it may be to look at the bright side, there most certainly is one to be found. Right now, each family has a wonderful opportunity to come closer together and appreciate each other in ways that our busy lives haven’t always allowed. Whether it be family dinners, playing games with each other or simply going for a walk around the block, these are times together that you will never get back…enjoy them!!

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This is going to be a lengthy one, so hang in there…

I think one of the areas in education that holds the most questions marks for me is what the landscape of college admissions is going to look like over the next year. My heart goes out to seniors who were relying on the now cancelled accepted student programs and spring campus visits that would have helped make decisions easier. Much like K-12 schools, colleges and universities are scrambling to rethink their business model so that they, too, can survive and come out of the other side with a full class of freshman and many interested prospects. And, how about our Juniors who were about to enter into this process and had all the time in the world to prepare, research, take all forms of standardized testing, revisit conversations with their counselors and benefit from all the wonderful support offered to them???

Breathe a little easier, because while I don’t have all of the answers (sorry), I have compiled a list of resources and information that I think will allow everyone to work through this time and be prepared for all of the next steps…

Seniors

If families have been through this process before, then May 1st is a date that has been at the forefront of their minds as it is widely known as National College Decision Day. This means that all final decisions must be made by selecting and depositing at the one college a senior chooses to attend. Many colleges, if not the vast majority soon enough, have been extending their deadlines to June 1st with some going even further than that. NACAC, the National Association of College Admission Counseling, has created a centralized resource that is frequently updated to reflect each college’s updated plans. I would imagine that the colleges are emailing students directly, but if your inbox is anything like mine, your email is getting slammed with every company’s response and plan to combat the Coronavirus. Here is a direct link:

https://www.nacacnet.org/news--publications/newsroom/college-admission-status-coronavirus/

As of the time of writing, 454 colleges are listed along with additional details outlining who to contact with questions, whether campus visits are still permitted and much more.

By now, if you cannot visit a campus, how can a senior student that is unsure of their decision possibly determine where they should spend the next 4 years of their lives? I would recommend starting with a family conversation over what factors are the most important. The answers could range from academic programs, to size/location, and of course, the social life.

Academic Programs – I would start by researching the academic program to consider what 4 years of classes would look like. The information is certainly there, but it may be easier to find on some websites versus others. As an example, here is a link to University of Miami’s Business Analytic 4-year sequence - http://bulletin.miami.edu/undergraduate-academic-programs/business/management-science/management-science-bsba/#planofstudytext. Students are attending college to study and they need to know what their courses and opportunities will look like.

Campus visit – While visiting a school is likely not going to be an option, the next best thing is virtually being on campus. Many schools have their own virtual tours, with some being better than others. You can often find them on the “Visit” section of the website or through third party websites such as YouVisit, CampusTours, YOUniversity and CampusReel. Here is a list of hundreds of college virtual visit options. In addition, I have found that looking at Google Maps in the satellite view will help with seeing a little bit of a bigger picture regarding the campus layout and surrounding area. In some cases, you can do a street view to see your surroundings. Don’t get me wrong, this is definitely not the same as stepping foot on campus, but it may be the next best thing for the time being.

Social Life – This is actually one of the hardest things to measure as what I may find fun could absolutely differ from the next person. I’d recommend starting in the “Student Life” section of a college’s website to see what clubs, activities and opportunities are available. Look into the calendar of events and though it may be blank right now, you can probably go further back in time to see what they offered their students. If current student opinions are helpful, then I would recommend looking at the college section of Niche.com. Niche surveyed current students at thousands of colleges and created grades for a variety of categories ranging from Academics to Diversity to Campus and even Party scene. While I would not use it as the end all, be all, I know many students who have found the information very helpful.

The one thing I would absolutely advise against would be double depositing. It is not helpful for anyone, other than the one family doing it. It doesn’t give colleges an accurate idea of who they can expect for the following year, in turn, giving the waitlisted students further uncertainty. My gut tells me (and I could be completely wrong) that colleges will go to the waitlist more this year as students may be less inclined to consider traveling for school and international students may not be permitted into the country for a little while.

With decisions coming out shortly, that will give families about 2-3 months to decide, unless things change again. There is still plenty of time as long as steps are taken in the interim.

Juniors

While Junior students have more time to work with, there are much more moving parts involved and many of components that are out of your hands.

Standardized testing – This is one of the hardest pieces as many students were relying on the March, April and May exams. With all of them now cancelled, both the ACT and SAT are scrambling to meet the needs with less time to offer exams. My first piece of advice is to register for any available exams that you wish to take as soon as possible. Test centers are going to fill up fast, if they haven’t already. At Roslyn, we are going to try to offer the exam to accommodate our student’s need. However, until we know when we will be returning to school, it is hard for me to give you exact dates at this time. However, if you register for a location, whether it be locally or in New Jersey, I can often have our own students moved to Roslyn so don’t panic, but you have to be registered first.

o   All of the following information is subject to change which is why I am linking directly to the company’s websites. I do believe (again, my own speculation) that both the SAT and ACT will add additional dates on the calendar rather than overwhelm test sites with all of the students scrambling to make up missed administrations. I am also hoping that colleges will be far more sensitive to what everyone is going through and possibly move towards test optional policies. Tufts, Boston University and Case Western have already committed to this move and I am hearing that more are in the pipeline, so fingers crossed that this trend continues!!

o   ACT – The ACT has already cancelled the April administration. That means that their next test dates are June 13 and July 18 (not offered in NY). The 2020-21 dates that are already scheduled are September 12, October 24 and December 12.

o   SAT – The College Board has already cancelled the March and May administration. As of now, June 6 is still an option and it is possible that the School Day administration scheduled for April 28th may run. However, I am not very hopeful. The 2020-21 dates that are already scheduled are August 29, October 3, November 7 and December 5. There is a very interesting conversation happening online between college and high school counselors recommending that any colleges that requires the subject test drop the requirement for next year. MIT has already waived the requirement, so hopefully the remaining schools will follow suit.

Teacher recommendations – Thankfully, we have plenty of time to work out and request teacher recommendations.

Junior Year Grades – This is probably the biggest question mark that I really don’t have an answer to. My suggestion would be to not focus on it for now until we get more details from the high school administration. I know that a student’s GPA is on everyone’s mind, but everyone is in the same boat and it will require some thoughtful and sensitive consideration on the school side to ensure that this is treated fairly.

What can you do now?

Work on your college list – Begin researching schools and programs by utilizing the resources that are currently available. The Roslyn School District has moved away from using Naviance and will be utilizing Maia Learning moving forward. Maia has a great school search feature here is a link to a video on how to use it. I will be posting more videos on Maia Learning shortly. You can can also find virtual tours on the “Visit” section of a college’s website or through third party websites such as YouVisit, CampusTours, YOUniversity and CampusReel. Additionally, here is a list of virtual college programs that you can participate in. Here is another one.

Study for the SAT/ACT – Every Roslyn student has access to free online SAT and ACT test prep through Method Test Prep. To access it log into Castle Learning and click on the link “Method Test Prep – Online SAT/ACT Preparation.”

Write a draft of your college essay – The Common App has announced that they will use the same essay prompts for next year. I could write a much larger post on the college essay process. However, one of the best resources that exists out there is The College Essay Guy. I’ve followed him for years and geek out whenever he presents at a conference as his insight is spot-on and his tools are practical and really easy to use.

Most importantly, breathe – Every Junior in the country is in the same boat and colleges know that. Your counselors and counselors from all over the country will be advocating for fairness and sensitivity on your behalf. Right now, not many people have answers, but everyone knows that this will require the college admissions landscape to change for the Class of 2021. How it will change remains to be seen.