Schools prepare for at-home learning
Photo courtesy of Ashlee Grandstrand
Aleena Grandstrand, 7, and brother Bryce, 6, of South Strabane Township, learn how to make hand sanitizer as part of an at-home science project, as schools have been closed since March 13 due to coronavirus.
Courtesy of Robin Krofcheck
Rebbecca Krofcheck, a seventh-grader from Amwell Township who attends John F. Kennedy Catholic School in Washington, works from home on a computer, as schools have been closed since March 13 due to coronavirus.
Local school districts had already started planning “distance learning” programs for students when state officials on Monday extended the school closures until April 6.
Washington, Canon-McMillan and Trinity school districts plan to roll out their online programs next week.
“We’ve been providing tools and resources for our families last week and this week,” said Washington Superintendent James Konrad. “We’re just trying to keep things as normal as possible in this challenging time.”
He said most of their high school students have Chromebooks or online access, so they’re mostly needing to provide for grades three through eight. They’re being used for Google classrooms and video chats, as well as completing and submitting assignments.
“We will continue to provide technology as long as we can,” he said.
Students in kindergarten through second grade were given packets of work to complete, and they will receive more, Konrad said.
“The superintendents across the county have met on a daily basis through Zoom (video conferencing), and we’re trying to coordinate our efforts countywide,” Konrad said. “We’re sharing different ideas and strategies, and we will continue to try to be a united front.”
Trinity sent a letter to parents and guardians Friday informing them that online learning will begin March 30. In the notice signed by the administration, it states that they will be available by phone and email during business hours to answer any questions.
“Additional details of what this will look like and how this will be implemented will be sent to parents soon,” the letter states.
Trinity’s administration told parents they should encourage children to work on activities prepared and “made available by their teacher.”
Canon-McMillan sent out similar letters to parents, emphasizing that these are “unprecedented times.” In a letter to the district posted Friday, the administration states that they plan to begin online instruction through Schoology, a digital learning platform, to all students or printed materials for students who don’t have access to a computer.
In a letter to high school parents, Canon-McMillan’s high school principals said if students don’t have access to a computer, they can request to use a district Chromebook.
“We realize how difficult this situation is for all members of our community,” the letter states.
For Canon-Mac high schoolers, the school day will run from 9:45 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. They will be expected to participate in classroom discussions, sessions, assignments or completed printed packets, the letter states. They will be graded and earn course credit, so if they don’t do the work, they could fail the class.
“We acknowledge that this plan will not be perfect,” the letter states. “Therefore, we are asking you to be patient as we roll out this initiative next week. The staff will be reviewing this process daily as we continually seek to improve this experience for both students and teachers.”
The letter also said special education case managers and counselors will be reaching out to help students and parents with the transition to online learning and to monitor progress.
At John F. Kennedy Catholic School, distance learning began Monday, according to a parent, Robin Krofcheck, of Amwell. Her daughter, Rebbecca, is in seventh-grade at JFK, and has to log in to class between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. to get credit for that day.
“These lessons now are picking up where we left off,” she said. “The isolation’s been a little boring for her. Given the situation, I think it’s going to work.”
Robin said that since the technology and resources are available, maintaining some type of learning environment is much better than being “stagnant” with “busy work.”
“I don’t want my kid doing 10 hours a day of homework, but I appreciate them being challenged,” she said. “We have to remember that homeschooling and cyberschooling has been around for a very long time.”
Online holdups
For other districts, like Bethlehem-Center, online learning poses other problems, especially for Beth Caltuna, who lives “out in the sticks,” of West Bethlehem Township.
“Unfortunately, we can’t do the online,” she said. “A lot of kids don’t have the laptops or the internet connection.”
In a letter to parents Sunday, Beth-Center’s Superintendent Chris Sefcheck wrote that students won’t be using flexible instructional days this week and that the district has been in communication with regional superintendents, Intermediate Unit 1, and other sources to try to find the best way forward.
“The administration will continue working diligently to develop sound plans and steps for our families in the district. “Currently, without digital resources we do not have the capabilities to develop and run a pure online option for our students and teachers.”
Sefcheck said that if the district tried to go completely digital, they’d be relying on families having access to computers and internet, and many of them do not.
“Additionally, the development and delivery of equivalent packets to families that do not have adequate resources could prove difficult,” he said in the letter. “In order to prepare and implement a successful plan, we need to think strategically and with vision so that we are able to meet all students’ needs in a fair and consistent way.”
Caltuna’s two children, Kennedy, 12 and Logan, 10, were given take-home work packets March 13, and by March 14, Kennedy had hers completed.
“She really loves school,” Caltuna said.
Though Caltuna’s been teaching them life skills like cooking, she worries her children will fall behind academically.
“I really don’t want them to fall behind,” she said. “I just wish that we did have the capabilities of either setting up online, or even if they had information they could mail to us so the kids could still be learning.”
Teachers’ perspective
In his letter, Sefcheck said the teachers of the district are finding innovative ways to keep in touch with students and to plan for an uncertain future. He said the teachers will be “the backbone of success for all of us.”
Teachers across the county have been reaching out to their students in an attempt to maintain connections and continue education.
Tiffani Titler, a fifth-grade teacher in Washington’s district, said she sent her students home on March 13 with a couple packets of work to do at home.
“Just in case we weren’t here on Monday, I instructed them to go online,” Titler said. “Thank goodness we had already started online programs with Google classroom.”
Titler said teachers across the county “took it upon themselves” to reach out to other districts, to start conversations about how to best continue education.
“As a teacher, I wanted to keep them working,” she said.
She’s been giving assignments and grading them, but not recording them for course credit.
“We are expecting them to work to keep them involved,” she said.
On Monday, Titler’s students are expected to begin distance learning. Her expectation is to have students log on and participate in online class. There are so many other concerns for Titler, like the wellness and safety of her students, along with how the school shutdown will impact their academics. But for now, this is a start.
“This is all new for all of us,” she said. “I just want the learning to continue. I worry about students, if they’re receiving the meals we’re delivering. But I know that our students are resilient, their parents are resilient, and we’ll get through this.”