Working Parents Don’t Have to Panic Over Part-Time School

In the last few weeks, a number of school districts have started to announce their reopening plans and, honestly, some parents have started to panic. Deb Perlman put it well in the New York Times: Some of these plans seem to imply you cannot have both a child and a job. In particular, a number of districts —including New York City — have announced plans to reduce class size by bringing kids to school in part-time cohorts. Say, two days a week. Or, only mornings. Or only two weeks a month.

We can rail against this as unfair, impractical, insane for parents. But after we are done yelling, the reality remains. If the adults in the household work, and kids are in school only two days a week, you need a solution. So, what can you do? Here are a few ideas.