Austin parents, we have had a hard past few months and it doesn’t look like things are going to get much easier. After 4+ months of quarantine (to greater or lesser degrees), COVID rates in Texas are skyrocketing, and city, county, and state officials are considering a return to lockdown to prevent the ongoing spread. Having juggled online schooling, work, and childcare during the spring semester, it seems we will be back at it come fall. On July 14th, the City of Austin and Travis County enacted a joint order banning in-person classes for all schools through September 7th. What this means is that all students in the affected districts will shift to remote learning again, for at least the first three weeks of school, including students in the Austin Independent School District (AISD), Del Valle ISD, Eanes ISD, Lago Vista ISD, Lake Travis ISD, Manor ISD, Pflugerville ISD, and all other public school districts in the city limits and county of Travis. It is unclear what will happen beyond September 7th. If COVID has taught us anything, it is to not try to look too hard into the future as things are always changing. While I don’t want to be “gloom and doom”, it is important to acknowledge that this situation poses immense hardships for all parents, but particularly for working parents.

This post, therefore, is focused on rounding up a variety of alternative schooling options for the fall that parents can consider, whether temporarily (until in-person schooling starts again) or for the full fall semester and potentially longer. Options include a discussion of and resources on homeschooling; pod-type learning environments; nannies/tutors; small, private preschools or kindergarten programs; and YMCA child care for essential workers (a good option for the fall if your children are not yet of school age or if you need some summer childcare).

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