Three Months In, Teachers Discuss Workload, Student Compliance, Holiday Concerns

Along with hundreds of traditional school districts in Arkansas, there are also two dozen public-enrollment charter districts, which are classified as free experimental learning environments. According to new enrollment data, while traditional districts in Arkansas have lost over 6,000 students due to the pandemic, charter school districts are surging in enrollment.

As COVID-19 continues to disrupt education, high school students applying for college are facing more challenges. While many universities are dropping mandatory standardized test scores for admissions, students may still need them to apply for scholarships or receive financial aid.

This month, the Siloam Springs School District has had to transition to virtual learning at two of its schools for two weeks because of COVID-19. According to Superintendent Jody Wiggins, the virus was spreading among staff at Northside Elementary, which shut down on Nov. 2, and among students at the Intermediate School, which shut down on Nov. 9.

Ozark Mountain Farm and Forest School, established two years ago in Northwest Arkansas, provides preschoolers a playful head start in ecology, sustainability and cooperative self-reliance. We tour the school campus, with founder Alaina Davidson, to learn about her novel preschool. 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic was detected in the U.S., the share of women in the workforce has fallen to levels not seen since 1988. Data shows women not only lost the most jobs since the start of the outbreak, but they are also exhausted from performing most of the childcare and household responsibilities, so some are choosing to leave their jobs.