JMCSS parents react to sudden switch to distance learning

JACKSON, Tenn. — At Thursday night’s school board meeting, Jackson-Madison County decided to call off in-person instruction, and instead, switch to distance learning.

“In the end, I think we all understand that this was going to happen sooner or later,” said Jenci Spradlin, parent of a JMCSS student.

There was immediate confusion about the options available to parents.

JMCSS clarified early Friday morning that parents who initially chose the in-person option will have the choice of either picking up materials from the school, or accessing them online.

Some families anticipated a change, but not this quickly.

“Even if they had to roll back, we figured a couple of weeks or a month face-to-face in front a teacher would give him a good start to the school year,” Spradlin said.

For Beth Parnell, she has a son in elementary school. She can’t leave him home alone, and she works full time. Now, she’s trying to assess her options.

“Initially, anxiety and confusion about how we are going to make it work,” Parnell said. “We have a lot of concern to make sure that he is still getting a full education.”

A couple hours after interviewing Parnell, JMCSS released another update — this one stating that some schools will allow “small cohorts” of students to attend in person — but it’s not clear which schools will offer the option.

Parents say that they wish there was some more clarification provided.

“We do feel like there was a lot of confusion caused by the announcement coming before it had been communicated to parents and to the educators,” Parnell said.

Despite the sudden switch, some do think it is the right call, but they also realize that many families are put in a tough bind.

“We’ll get through this, and we’ll get stronger,” Spradlin said. “But it’s going to be tough.”