Veteran Retired Teachers Courted for Pandemic Pods
Veteran, Retired Teachers Courted for ‘Pandemic Pods’ Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.
"It quickly became clear there is a ton of demand for this,” Keller says. And the experience will be “totally different from standing at the front of a classroom.” The emergence of pandemic pods — a new way of schooling — is offering educators options and may be particularly attractive to older teachers. Some are coming out of retirement, while others have been laid off or are frustrated with remote learning. Some want to . Of the nation's 3.3 million full- and part-time public school teachers, nearly a third are 50 or older, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Julia Keller will be teaching students in a pandemic pod this year. Courtesy of Julia Keller These veteran teachers are being wooed, in some cases, by families seeking high-quality educational instruction and by companies offering to help families create pandemic pods. "Someone who has experience and is retired, I think they would have no problem being hired,” says Steve Eno, cofounder of Impact Connections, a learning pod network based in Maryland. “The supply of teachers is not enough to meet the demand." Entertainment $3 off popcorn and soft drink combos See more Entertainment offers > "Schools are trying to take an existing model and duct-tape it, and that's not an ideal situation for most kids,” says Tracy Thau Foster, a parent from Kansas City, Kansas, with two children, ages 9 and 5. “Pods are just the right solution for this cultural moment.” Foster is seeking to set up a pod with another family and is looking for an experienced teacher to lead the effort. Courtesy of Annie Peng Retired science teacher Annie Pang, 72, who lives near San Francisco, will soon spend part of her day teaching Cantonese to four second graders in one of their homes as part of a pandemic pod. The students attend a Cantonese immersion school and Pang, originally from Hong Kong, is a native speaker. The students will do two hours online every day with their school, and Pang will provide supplemental instruction. Pang, who retired in 2014, had been working as a substitute teacher for Swing Education, a company that matches subs with schools in need. More recently Swing pivoted to connect teachers with parents creating pandemic education pods. "This gives teachers another opportunity, without so much stress of dealing with the administration and a district,” Pang said.
Veteran Retired Teachers Courted for Pandemic Pods
Families seek experienced instructors for this new trend
Getty Images When teacher Julia Keller was at a charter school, she created a Facebook page to advertise her services as an educator. Calls, texts and emails flooded in from parents wanting her to lead their “pandemic pods." For Keller, 50, and other experienced educators, the rising trend of these small group pods, also known as micro-schools, presents an opportunity. Parents unhappy with K-12 offerings during this pandemic era are seeking educators to teach small groups of children, both in face-to-face settings and online. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Keller, of Pebble Beach, California, will be working with three families and anticipates developing a closer relationship with her elementary and middle-school age students, while replacing some of her lost income. She'll also be exposed to fewer students, with a"It quickly became clear there is a ton of demand for this,” Keller says. And the experience will be “totally different from standing at the front of a classroom.” The emergence of pandemic pods — a new way of schooling — is offering educators options and may be particularly attractive to older teachers. Some are coming out of retirement, while others have been laid off or are frustrated with remote learning. Some want to . Of the nation's 3.3 million full- and part-time public school teachers, nearly a third are 50 or older, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Julia Keller will be teaching students in a pandemic pod this year. Courtesy of Julia Keller These veteran teachers are being wooed, in some cases, by families seeking high-quality educational instruction and by companies offering to help families create pandemic pods. "Someone who has experience and is retired, I think they would have no problem being hired,” says Steve Eno, cofounder of Impact Connections, a learning pod network based in Maryland. “The supply of teachers is not enough to meet the demand." Entertainment $3 off popcorn and soft drink combos See more Entertainment offers > "Schools are trying to take an existing model and duct-tape it, and that's not an ideal situation for most kids,” says Tracy Thau Foster, a parent from Kansas City, Kansas, with two children, ages 9 and 5. “Pods are just the right solution for this cultural moment.” Foster is seeking to set up a pod with another family and is looking for an experienced teacher to lead the effort. Courtesy of Annie Peng Retired science teacher Annie Pang, 72, who lives near San Francisco, will soon spend part of her day teaching Cantonese to four second graders in one of their homes as part of a pandemic pod. The students attend a Cantonese immersion school and Pang, originally from Hong Kong, is a native speaker. The students will do two hours online every day with their school, and Pang will provide supplemental instruction. Pang, who retired in 2014, had been working as a substitute teacher for Swing Education, a company that matches subs with schools in need. More recently Swing pivoted to connect teachers with parents creating pandemic education pods. "This gives teachers another opportunity, without so much stress of dealing with the administration and a district,” Pang said.