While the COVID-19 pandemic continues in the United States, many school districts are announcing their back-to-school plans. Their plans for students include hybrid and/or all virtual learning. These models place a huge burden on parents, particularly those with younger children. These parents must now function as teachers as well as caregivers when children are home during the workday. Many parents, myself included, have been scrambling to form “pods” as a solution to schooling and childcare. I am sharing everything working parents needs to know about pandemic learning pods: what are pods, how to find a pod, how to find a caregiver, and some other considerations for pod formation.
What is a Pod?
A “pod” actually refers to a group of dolphins. During the COVID-19 pandemic, families and students are getting together to form a social circle called a “pod.” Generally, pandemic learning pods include 4 to 6 children.
In practice, a “pod” can mean different things. Some families are using their pod as a fancy nanny share. Roughly 2 to 4 families may share a single caregiver on virtual school days. This caregiver serves as an educational facilitator and/or provides childcare.
Here are the Different Types of Pods:
1. Remote Learning Pods
Pandemic learning pods meet with an educational facilitator for either fully virtual schooling or during the virtual days in a hybrid virtual/in-person schedule. The caregiver is expected to aid in virtual schooling and provide childcare. The children have opportunities for both socialization and learning.
There are many variations of this type of pod. Some parents form co-ops and rotate parents who will each take a day to facilitate learning and childcare. In some cases, college students or recent college graduates step in to aid in learning and childcare. Parents with prior teaching experience may accept other children into their home to supplement teaching and socialization for their own children. A pod may hire a certified teacher/tutor so that children receive additional instruction in person following the virtual curriculum. Hours can range from a few hours each day to care during a full day.
2. Social Pods
Some parents are using pods solely for socialization purposes. While education takes place in their homes, parents form a play group with several other children to informally meet. This type of pod addresses a challenge of the virtual learning environment: the lack of social interaction for children.
3. Nanny Share
A nanny share can be appropriate for younger children, such as infants through preschool. The focus of these pods may be just on childcare rather than education. In this case, nanny sharing is the primary objective of the pod. There may be some light learning incorporated, but this pod is primarily play and care focused.
4. Microschools
When parents decide not to follow their school district’s curriculum, they form microschools. Parents un-enroll their children from the school district and engage with other parents to hire an in-person teacher. This teacher would teach an independent curriculum. Depending on the number of children, this type of teaching may require a license. I will not focus on microschools here because I want to focus on supporting our school districts. The funding for our school districts depends partly on the number of children enrolled. In fact, parents can consider staying enrolled in the virtual curriculum of their school district while pursuing this microschools option so that their school district maintains funding.
How to Find Pod Partners
Parents can find pod partners through networking. Professional networking for job opportunities is a topic we have covered extensively, and similar principles apply for pod formation.
Some Ideas for Pod Networking:
- Parents are looking to their children’s friends, classmates and teammates. This is often because these are children of the same age and in similar grades. Parents from the same daycare are forming pandemic learning pods for their kindergarteners who were joining the same elementary school. Neighbors with similar-aged children are discussing how they can help each other and share childcare resources.
- Facebook groups are playing a major role in pod formation. “Pandemic pods-Main” is a good resource that has subgroups for different counties/areas, such as the one for Bucks County in PA. There are also independently formed groups, such as the one for Montgomery County, also in PA. Local PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) groups or parents of groups for different schools are great resources for finding similar-aged children. I created a Kindergarten Facebook group for my school district to allow for hyperlocal sharing. The group has a private spreadsheet for parents to look for other parents with similar needs.
- Some agencies facilitate teacher matching and pod formation. Note that these agencies can be much more expensive than finding someone on your own. In the Philadelphia area, one such agency is The Pupil Pod.
What are Important Considerations for Pod Partners?
The most important considerations for a pod partner are that the children are in the same grade, have similar childcare needs and live within the same school district. What does having similar childcare needs mean? These are important factors like the hours, budget and type of caregiver desired. If hiring a caregiver, splitting the cost is what makes pod formation more affordable. A secondary consideration may be that parents want to form pandemic learning pods with those in the same elementary school within the districts that have multiple elementary schools. In my son’s pod, we wanted to have a balanced number of boys and girls.
There are also special considerations in terms of IEP (Individualized Educational Program) and the educational needs of the children. Parents may want to have children with similar educational needs in the same pod to ensure that those needs are addressed. For example, I have a friend whose son is deaf, and she wants ASL (American Sign Language) incorporated into the learning curriculum.
Pod families should also be on a similar page in terms of COVID19 precautions. In our pod, we require each family and caregiver to follow CDC, PA and county guidelines. Some families may have additional requirements. In fact, I have seen families request for no younger siblings in daycare because they are concerned about an increased risk of exposure.
How to Find Pod Teachers?
Similar to finding pod partners, networking is also key to finding teachers. Local Facebook groups representing neighborhoods or those that connect parents with caregivers (such as Babysitters Club of the Mainline and other Babysitting sites) are resources for finding pod teachers. Babysitters, nannies and/or teachers may post for positions in these groups.
You may find that someone in your area asks about a pod teacher. You can use the responses to the inquiry and possibly connect with that same person as a pod partner. I found out that another parent and I were interested in the same educational facilitator, so we joined together in a pod. It's far better to join together rather than compete for care, especially in this current COVID-19 pandemic environment. College students and recent college graduates offer their services in our local babysitting pages. One thing to also consider is that there are many Facebook groups for moms. There is a lot of networking in these groups, so even dads may want to see if they can join those groups if they are the ones responsible for identifying caregivers.
Many teachers or substitute teachers are looking to teach pods because they do not want to change from classroom to classroom, especially in hybrid or in-person school districts. If you know a school teacher or someone associated with a school, such as a neighbor, colleague, friend or former child’s teacher, ask if the names/contact information of people looking to teach pods can be shared.
The local college or university’s education department may be another option. However, I think they may be inundated with requests at the moment.
Agencies are the most expensive option. Within the Philadelphia area, here are some resources: Philadelphia Nanny Network, The Pupil Pod, and Mainline Tutoring Collaborative.
What Does a Pandemic Learning Pod cost?
In my market research, I found rates starting from $25/hr for recent college graduates with nannying experience. The rates range up to as much as $100/hr for 4 children to hire a certified teacher through an agency. The participating families can split the costs. I have also come across a variety of rates, such as from $30/hr total or the combinations of $20/hr for the first child and $10/hr for each additional child. As more schools opt to be virtual and as teachers/caregivers are limited, I imagine costs will go up with the increasing demand.
Other Considerations for Pandemic Learning Pods
Legal and Tax Considerations:
There are legal and tax considerations for pods and nanny sharing. Each participant in the pod, including the caregiver, needs to be on the same page on how these are handled. I am not an expert but will refer to other resources for more information in terms of liability and taxes. Nanny payroll companies can assist. Additionally, there are limits to the number of children that can gather before an in-house daycare license is needed. If someone is injured while at a residence hosting the learning pod, there may be liability concerns.
Many teachers or occupational therapists are forming their own businesses or LLCs (limited liability companies). This is very helpful to parents because the LLCs will file the taxes without withholding from parents.
Location of the Pod:
Perhaps, one of the biggest considerations is where the pod learning can be held? Will parents rotate homes or keep meeting at one house? If at the same house, would the other families pitch in for cleaning? I have seen pods budget each week for snacks, teaching supplies and a cleaning service for the pod house. Having the pod meet at one house helps the children adapt to a routine. Moreover, families do not need to transport school supplies from house to house. This is particularly important for the younger age groups, as they will have more supplies for learning centers, little tables/desks and various teaching tools.
Diversity and Equity:
I recognize that hybrid and virtual schooling can exacerbate socio-economic inequalities. Parents in lower income households may have less education themselves, may not be able to read/speak English, may have to work essential jobs, and may not have internet access, in addition to a long list of other considerations. Indeed, while pandemic learning pods may be a solution for some working parents, these pods can also be inequitable depending on the lack of diverse social circles. Therefore, I think it is important to keep in mind how to make education and pod formation more equitable.
Because some families’ social groups may not be diverse, it may take extra effort to find children to match into your pod that are not from the same socio-economic background. Ideally, it would be nice to have the school district release contact information for each classroom ahead of the school year so that parents can start making pod connections. Pod families should also consider subsidizing the cost of a child for their pod if the child may not otherwise be able to afford such an arrangement.
Final Words About Pandemic Learning Pods
This is truly a very interesting time. Although I was initially disappointed that my son’s kindergarten year would not be as we imagined, I have truly never felt more supported by my community.
The local kindergarten Facebook page that I created for my school district has given me a lot of hope. Through this and other networks, I have met people such as my new pod partners that I know will be my friends for life. I only established this page one week ago and only hosted one virtual meet-up. I will try to schedule weekly virtual meet-ups/happy hours for my fellow Kinder parents, so we can work together to solve life’s challenges. Actually, I have also seen parents step up and offer their humble homes for pod sharing. Parents who are former teachers are offering affordable solutions. Parents who are home with their kid(s) anyway are accepting additional children to provide for our community.
So my final advice about pandemic learning pods is this: Connect with your local community, and together you can do great things!