KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The first Knox County School's parent focus-group meeting for Mary Terry was Friday, June 12. She said they just had a phone meeting. Then, the group met again later in the month.
She said some of the biggest takeaways from the meetings are topics like access and barriers for ESL students. They also discussed how traumatic time away from school has been for children.
But a big part of it was finding ways to include input from parents who weren't a part of the group.
"The first thing I asked was can I get a list of questions now because I want to go to my fence, I want to go to my neighbor my Facebook page and post these questions," Terry said.
Tanika Harper is one parent who shared her own thoughts with members of the group. She has a daughter and runs an after school program for students in the school system.
"My fear is sending my child to a school where I feel like, for her age group, it's going to difficult to social distance," Harper said.
Harper signed her child up for the virtual school option for that reason, a choice she says not everyone can make.
"I know that poses some challenges," she said.
It is these kinds of barriers both Terry and Harper said they hope to get more clarity and details on as the school year approaches. But also they also want an emphasis on input from families and community partners, and for the district for work on communicating more.
"I think that they will need to be clear about the methods that have gone into and that continue to go into the decision the superintendent makes," Terry said.
On Wednesday the community task force is set to share its insights with the Knox County Board of Education. On July 15, Superintendent Bob Thomas is expected to present more details of the plan.