What will 'remote learning' look like for South Bend-area schools?
Allie Kirkman South Bend Tribune
Teachers and parents are preparing for an "unprecedented" time, as school districts across the South Bend area are shifting to remote learning plans as a precaution against the potential spread of the coronavirus.
South Bend, School City of Mishawaka, Penn-Harris-Madison and the Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend are closing all school buildings for at least the next two weeks. Students will take part in online learning during that time.
"One step and one day at a time," said Matt Emery, principal of Tarkington Elementary School. "This is all new and unprecedented."
All South Bend schools were in session on Monday, giving students and staff a chance to review and prepare for extended e-learning. Teachers answered questions and reviewed lesson plans and expectations with students.
South Bend kindergarten through second-grade students were sent home with workbooks, packets and books to read as supplemental resources to e-learning during the weeks of closure. Chromebooks were provided to third- through 12-grade students.
E-learning is new for many school districts. What it will look for each school, each grade and each student is different.
Virtual teaching platforms, such as Zoom, Canvas and Google Classroom, are being used to simulate an in-person classroom through live class discussions, video presentations and recorded class lectures.
At South Bend, Susan Devetski, the district's chief academic officer, said all K-12 students and teachers have completed e-learning training and will use Google Classroom over the next few weeks for instruction.
Lessons, which will continue to cover all core academic subjects, will be posted online by 9 a.m. every day, and students will be given three days to complete assignments. All lessons will contain instruction, which might be a live video-chat with students and/or a recording of the teacher demonstrating the process needed to solve a problem.
Attendance will be based on a student's completion of a Google form or other polling software. Tarkington fourth grade teacher Kim Lundgren, for example, will ask her students to answer a simple attendance question every day like "What's 2+2?" for roll call.
If a student isn't active online, Devetski said. teachers will call parents to see what help they need. Families can also call the schools, which will be staffed, if they have questions.
All students are expected to receive instruction via e-learning, Devetski said, but teachers and principals are working individually with families who don't have internet access or devices at home. Students without those resources are given take-home packets aligned to Indiana Academic Standards.
"Teachers will be on the front line for families," Devetski said.
Buses with Wi-Fi will be parked throughout the city for families who don't have access at home. Some will also be in the neighborhoods close to the seven school buildings serving free on-the-go meals Monday through Friday. Those include the Brown Community Learning Center and Coquillard, Madison, Muessel, Monroe, Harrison and Lincoln elementary schools.
Michelle Johnson, a kindergarten teacher at Tarkington, said she appreciates the opportunity to come to the school Monday, where she was able to work through some of the online challenges with her students and colleagues.
"When I teach kids how to write for the first time, or if I am the first person who has ever told them, 'You have to hold your pencil like this,' they have to try it like 20 times before they get it right," Johnson said. "So, I can relate with the kids right now. This is a different way of teaching, and I have to just be patient with the process."
Many parents urged leaders of the local school districts to close buildings last week. And now that they have, some families have questions about the logistics of online learning and how their daily routines will be affected.
Sarah Soule said her fourth- and sixth-graders who attend School City of Mishawaka don't have a computer or tablet at home to complete e-learning assignments.
All Mishawaka students are required to take part in e-learning instruction and daily lessons, but only middle and high school students have been given Chromebooks to take home. Elementary students were given textbooks and practice and problem-solving workbooks, and all of their work will be completed using paper/pencil.
"We only have one phone and it's shattered, so if this is the way it's going to be now, then how will I assure my children will be able to get their work done?" Soule said. "They have to try and read things through the cracks and share the phone time. … Mishawaka has never done e-learning days, so I never thought to prepare for this."
For the next two weeks, School City of Mishawaka students will have no school on Mondays, Tuesdays or Fridays. Wednesdays and Thursdays will be "remote" learning days in which students will do schoolwork from home.
Wayne Barker, Mishawaka superintendent, said in a letter to families that e-learning had been set to begin next school year.
"We are asking for your understanding and flexibility as we deploy our first Remote Learning procedures," he wrote in the letter.
During remote learning days, students will receive directions and lesson materials via mishawakaschools.com by 9 a.m. Before accessing learning materials, students will have to fill out an attendance form on each day to record participation.
The district has laid out lesson plans for teachers that align with student workload expectations and time commitment.
Kindergarten through sixth-grade students will participate in 20 to 30 minutes in both reading and math for each remote learning day. Seventh- and eighth-grade students will engage in 20 to 30 minutes in both English and language arts and mathematics and 15 to 20 minutes for all other courses. Ninth- through 12-grade students are expected to participate for 45 minutes in all courses regularly scheduled on each White and Maroon day.
Sarah Hickle, the district's assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said students who are not provided Chromebooks and don't have devices or Wi-Fi at home will not be penalized for missed e-learning instruction.
Students will just need to complete the paper assignments given for remote learning work, she said, which will all be collected by teachers when students return to school.
Hickle said families can call the schools, which will be staffed, to request additional materials or help. She said teachers are also flexible and can give students extra time to complete or review work once they return to school.
"A lot of families have barriers, more especially now considering the circumstances," Hickle said. "We are trying to be as flexible as we can because we don't want any of our students or parents to struggle."
E-learning for Penn-Harris-Madison students will begin on Tuesday. Online learning will take place Tuesday through Friday and Mondays will be recess days for students to allow for teacher prep.
Teachers will post lessons for students and parents to access every day for online learning, according to the district's website. The district is working to provide a Chromebook to families who do not have a home device.
It's currently unclear how extended e-learning will look at every grade level in P-H-M. Schools were closed to students Monday, but teachers were required to come to work to help district officials prepare.
"It is the overall goal for the four days per week of e-learning to be focused one week at a time," Superintendent Jerry Thacker said Monday in a letter to parents. "It is our objective to provide quality over quantity. We want to keep our students actively engaged in learning during this unique educational opportunity."
Most Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend schools will begin online lessons Wednesday, but spokeswoman Jennifer Simerman said some have already started e-learning.
"We have 43 schools spread out over 14 counties within the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, each one of them unique," Simerman said in an email. "The Catholic Schools office has a technology website to help schools with various modes for instruction."