'Pandemic pod' is the fashionable term used to describe one of these arrangements where all group members agree to participate under well-defined and strictly enforced health rules.
[10] A University of California, San Francisco study states that schools can't open safely until COVID-19 transmission in a general population is under control.
These terms are used interchangeably and this makes it confusing for parents who are trying to figure out how to organize their lives this fall as most schools will only offer virtual instruction.
Learning pods take many forms, but they primarily offer the benefit of a smaller circle of students, which provides comfort from the coronavirus.
It also gives the feeling of a more formal schooling option, in which parents can return to work and students could be in a learning environment that's much closer to the traditional setting.
Micro schools can be as small as just one family hiring a teacher or a group of parents makes arrangements for all of their children together, splitting the costs of such endeavor.
The biggest advantage of micro schools is that parents have total control over their children's education, including the choice of teachers.
[24][25] Some parents created "school pods" of multiple families or hired tutors to instruct students by zoom.
This is the most economical solution for parents that are stuck without "brick and mortar" schools to send their kids during the week.