密歇根新闻广播 学校,学生,家长希望明确学年

 

On a radio interview with WWJ-AM Friday morning, Governor Gretchen Whitmer said that it would be "very unlikely" that students would be returning to Michigan schools before the end of the 2019-2020 school year.

"We are working diligently¹ to come up with a plan to meet the needs of our kids. I think anyone who is watching what is happening globally with this pandemic knows it is probably very unlikely they're going to get back in school before the end of the year," Whitmer told WWJ-AM. "I haven't made that call yet because I want to make sure we've got a plan to meet the needs of our kids and that is what we are working on."

Original post: March 27 at 7:32 a.m.

School officials will have to make some tough decisions very soon about the rest of the school year.

One of them is whether to send layoff² notices to teachers and other school staff who aren’t working. That would save money for later, in case the school year is extended to make up for days lost due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

School officials have sent a letter to Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Legislature. They’re asking the state to provide some certainty to parents, school staff, and students.

The situation is unprecedented³. The answers are not obvious.

There’s been pressure growing on Governor Whitmer to simply declare the school year over. She says it’s not that simple. Whitmer says she’s willing and able to call a hiatus to classes in an emergency, but she either can’t or she won’t make the decision right now to call an end to the school year.

"One of the things that is very clear is that while the powers of the executive office are immense, especially in times like these, I cannot unilaterally address the issue around the education of our kids," she said.

Education groups are trying to figure out – well, if not the best option, the one that’s the least-worst. They’ve been holding phone conferences to discuss what might happen.

Peter Spadafore is with the Michigan Association of School Administrators⁴. He says the hope is students will be back in school on April 14. That’s when Whitmer’s executive order that shut down schools expires.

“But we should be planning for the long term if that is not possible. So, hopefully we can put together solid plans that we don’t need to use.”

The possibilities range from simply canceling the rest of the school year to a staggered calendar for holding classes into what would have been the summer break.

Spadafore says there are problems with every option. For example, funding is an issue. People who aren’t working during the crisis aren’t paying income taxes. Many retailers⁵ are closed. That affects sales tax revenue that goes to schools.

“We’re looking at the potential that the statewide shutdown of most of the economy will have a huge impact on revenue, so we’re not even sure the money would be there to extend the school year,” Spadafore said.

Some districts are considering layoff notices so money for teacher and staff salaries can be held on case the school year is extended. As school officials are trying to plan around the unknowable, so are families.

I met up with Sonja and Greg Greenfield and their three daughters at a park in Ann Arbor⁶.

Sonja Greenfield says they’re trying to work around the situation. Her three girls have been in touch with teachers and they’ve been doing lessons online.

“Probably my biggest question is whether this will count toward their school – will they make special arrangements because this is a special circumstance,” she said.

Greg Greenfield says he understands there are a multitude of serious issues being dealt with during this health crisis. And he says the Greenfield family can deal with whatever decisions are made in Lansing about their schools, but decisions would be helpful.

"The biggest thing we want to know right now is what the long-term ramifications⁷ of this is going to be and if we can just go ahead and make plans for them not to be going back.”

That answer does not appear to be coming soon. Lawmakers canceled a session day scheduled for this week, and there’s nothing else on the calendar before April 7 at the earliest.

1 diligently   

ad.industriously;carefully

参考例句：

• He applied himself diligently to learning French. 他孜孜不倦地学法语。
• He had studied diligently at college. 他在大学里勤奋学习。

2 layoff   

n.临时解雇，操作停止，活动停止期间，失业期

参考例句：

• Finally, prepare an explanation about what led to your layoff.最后，要准备好一套说辞来解释你被解雇的原因。
• Workers were re-employed after the layoff.在暂时解雇不久后工人们又被再度雇用了。

3 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

4 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

5 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

6 arbor   

n.凉亭；树木

参考例句：

• They sat in the arbor and chatted over tea.他们坐在凉亭里，边喝茶边聊天。
• You may have heard of Arbor Day at school.你可能在学校里听过植树节。

7 ramifications   

n.结果，后果( ramification的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These changes are bound to have widespread social ramifications. 这些变化注定会造成许多难以预料的社会后果。
• What are the ramifications of our decision to join the union? 我们决定加入工会会引起哪些后果呢？ 来自《简明英汉词典》