Local Administrators Respond to School Closures

 

March 25, 2020



The school closure order implemented by Governor Steve Bullock late on Sunday, March 15, came as a surprise to administrators of K-12 schools in Blaine County, who had been told by the Office of Public Instruction (OPI) just four days previous to prepare a plan for continuing classes—as either take-home coursework or online options—in the event of a school closure because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Without any significant time to formulate such a plan, that order has put the area community’s in upheaval. While some school districts are scrambling to ensure that their teachers have solutions that will allow them to present online curricular instruction to their students, others are already up and running this week, with staff conducting online instruction.

Chinook Schools

According to Matt Molyneaux, Chinook High School (CHS) Principal, in the coming weeks, these solutions are going to look different in elementary grades K-3, than they will for grades 4-6 or even 7-12 instruction. In efforts to ensure that all teachers are familiar with the same online instructional programs, both buildings in the Chinook School District were providing in-service to the teachers during the early part of last week. These programs include learning online applications that allow real-time, virtual interaction with students, as well as tips for uploading assignments and tutorial videos.

“We want to be sure that the staff are feeling prepared and competent with this online process of education,” Molyneaux said.

Regarding a platform for delivering curriculum, Chinook school officials were initially looking into using Google Classroom. They planned to hold an early-out on March 19 for teacher training and teacher input. Unfortunately for those plans, cases of COVID-19 were discovered in Montana, and discussions for the safety of Montana’s residents led to a change of perspective about social distancing.

Social distancing is the public health practice of encouraging people to keep their physical distance from each other during disease outbreaks in order to slow the spread of infection. The purpose of social distancing is to reduce the spread of infectious disease and to lessen the impact on society and especially on the medical care system.

Evidence from previous outbreaks, such as the 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic and the 2014 Ebola outbreak, suggests that social distancing can effectively limit the spread of infections. Although social distancing is a societal effort to contain transmission of disease, it comes with significant costs and unintended consequences—some of which we are already beginning to experience.

Even though the risk level for Blaine County was in the low to moderate range in the Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidance materials, other school district officials in Montana, as well as officials at the Governor’s office, started to shift the focus to closing schools for all students in the state.

With that prospect on the horizon, Darin Hannum, Superintendent of Chinook School District, spent Sunday afternoon, March 15, sending out guidance for Monday from his office. However, by the time he walked home that evening, the Governor had ordered an immediate school closure for a two week period.

Hannum stated that the school had been in the planning process since the onset of the crisis, posting COVID-19 coronavirus information for parents and students on their website as early as March 2.

“We were in communication with Blaine County Health Department from the beginning,” Hannum said. Jana Hauer and the health department has done a fantastic job of educating us and assisting in our understanding of the CDC documents and steps. In addition, our leadership team started the planning process for some alternative learning immediately after OPI made their announcement to plan and prepare. At that time however, we thought we might have several weeks before we would be asked to implement alternative education platforms,” Hannum reported.

The call for immediate school closures has put a tremendous amount of pressure on parents and communities. “People are forced to choose between work and children, as well as trying to support their child’s academic needs,” Hannum said. “Although we have more questions than answers at this time, as far as the future of our students’ education this year, we anticipate the closure to be longer than two weeks.”

When teachers in Chinook reported to work on Monday, March 16, they began devising alternative education plans. By day’s end, the Chinook Schools website (http://chinookschools.org/) had a link: Chinook Online Learning Information for All Parents and Students. Several documents related to that link shared information about 7-12 Online Learning Instructions and Expectations, Material Checkout Procedures, Electronics Agreement, and Instructions for Vo-Ag Students.

Teachers at Meadowlark Elementary were equally productive and posted various notices on their school Facebook page. Meadowlark student supply pick-up will take place today, Wednesday, March 25. An online document on the school’s Facebook page lists procedures, assigned pick-up times, and information for securing student supplies.

Similarly, CHS has scheduled Thursday, March 26, as a materials pick up and check out day. Their goal is to provide all materials necessary for homeschool/online learning and to have those materials available at each student’s locker. By following a Material Check out Schedule—available on the school’s website—which designates time slots for groups of nine-twelve students to report to their lockers, students will discover texts, learning materials, band instruments, or other resources required to complete their coursework. Students needing a computer are also able to check-out one of the school’s lap tops, provided that they and their parents sign an Electronics Agreement.

In Molyneaux’s estimation, Chinook should be online as a K-12 district by Monday, March 30. “Within the next couple of days, on both the school’s website and Facebook page, we will be posting another document that lists staff online hours where they will be available to answer immediate questions with email or to possibly link with students in online or face-to-face conversations. I suggest that parents remain patient with the process, encourage their children to complete their online work, and look on the social media websites for current information, as we will be continually posting in these areas. Also, please rest assured that our school staff is working hard as a team to provide quality online learning solutions for our youth. I couldn’t be more pleased with the effort of all staff that I work with in the school community,” Molyneaux said.

Because of the social distancing order put in place, staff around the state in many districts have been in their buildings working to prepare education programs for students. However, most districts have plans to move teachers out of their buildings once they have acquired the necessary tools and plans to educate their students.

“During this social distancing period, I would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding,” Hannum said. “None of us were ready for the chaos we are experiencing, but I believe we have the right people in place in our community to rise above the chaos and to overcome the challenge we are presented with,” he concluded.

As the world continues to change, it forces us all to adapt to new ways of living, working, learning, and forging relationships.

“From the time of the Governor’s announcement, our staff has worked diligently to prepare alternative home-based instruction for our students. Our staff has designed unit plans and prepared packets of learning materials to be sent home, as well as instructions for using Google classroom and videos to deliver curriculum. We are very proud of their hard work,” Hannum stated.

For parents who wish to support their children’s education during this time, Hannum shares three suggestions: 1) Establish dedicated time for children to complete their academic work; 2) Invite children to demonstrate what they are working on as far as assignments and lessons; 3) Encourage children to contact their teachers and to ask for assistance when needed.

Chinook School Librarian, Kelsey Harry also encourages all students and parents to check out their online library catalog. “You can search for books in either the Meadowlark or high school libraries, and if you find something you want, send an email to me at harryk@chinookschools.org or to your teacher, who will pass the information along to me. I will find a way to get books to you, even if I have to deliver them to your door myself,” Harry emphasized.

Harlem Schools

Beginning the week of March 16, Harlem School District launched the delivery of 6,000 meals per week. With the assistance of aides, the district bus drivers travel established bus routes mid-morning to hand out two meals daily for each student. To serve students who live in town, the district added three additional stops in Harlem. They make deliveries all the way out to the People’s Creek landing and to distant East Valley stops in order to serve their students.

Doreen Warren, Superintendent of Harlem School District, reported that food insecurity was the first thing the school district wished to address. “Mostly adults are waiting for the meals, and they are practicing social distancing at all times. Older students who pick up food are also following social distancing guidelines and waiting their turns. We are very proud of this district-community effort. This week has been mostly ‘grab and go’ items, but next week we plan to deliver one hot meal daily. I thank our Transportation Director, Mr. Robert Bear, and our head cooks, Ms. Angie Horswill and Sandi Egland, for their mighty efforts,” Warren said.

On Friday morning, March 20, Warren participated in a conference call with OPI. All superintendents were on the line at once in an efficient way for OPI to distribute information and to answer questions from school superintendents.

“We are gearing up for distance learning, which will begin next week. The first order of business will be when the teachers survey their students as to their distance learning preferences—either online or paper and pencil. The elementary principals, Mrs. Seymour and Ms. Bigby, are assuming that Kindergarten through third grade will receive paper and pencil packets. Once our teachers have surveyed all of our students, distance learning will begin. The paper and pencil packets will be delivered along with meals starting next week,” Warren reported.

According to Warren, every staff member will document all interactions with their students so that all outreach efforts with student are well-documented. In addition, the process of teachers and para-professionals working in their respective buildings will occur on a rotation basis so as to meet social distancing guidelines.

Likewise, staff meetings will occur in cafeterias with one or two staff members per table, and the meetings will be repeated until the entire staff has the information that needs to be shared.

“We are being very cautious with everyone’s safety,” Warren explained.

The district’s Special Education Director, Shiloh Seymour is ensuring that long distance learning efforts serve the needs of Harlem’s special education population.

“We are also using this time to deep clean and sanitize our buildings so that we will be ready whenever school resumes,” Warren added. “These circumstances are certainly new to all of us, and we are pulling together as a district to engage our students. The Hi-Line superintendents have been in regular contact with one another, and that network is a wonderful source of support.”

Turner Public Schools

On March 19, Superintendent of Turner Public School (TPS), Tony Warren drafted a letter to the Turner community, calling these “unprecedented and historic times.” He not only extended hopes that Turner community would be blessed with continued health and wellness in the days to come but shared an update on how the outbreak of COVID-19 has altered operations at TPS.

Upon the school closure order, students began receiving detailed communications from teachers as it relates to their content areas. “Our staff quickly came together to have discussions and begin preparations to address this unexpected disruption in our normal operations,” Warren said. “If the shutdown is extended past Monday, March 30, TPS will be moving exclusively to remote/digital learning. Many classrooms will be working with Google Classroom and Web Ex. Additionally, the district is purchasing additional technology to ensure that each student has the tools they need to learn on a digital platform.”

Web Ex is a web conferencing application that enables teachers to teach remotely with real time video conferencing, high quality audio, messaging, and screen sharing on any device.

Warren went on to explain that “at this time, we do not know how long remote/digital learning will be in effect, but we are prepared to do so for weeks or months as necessary. Additionally, there are no more athletics or co-curricular activities happening for the time being. All of our school events are also on hold until further notice.”

About his staff, Warren explained, “Our teachers have faced this challenge with a level of professionalism and dedication to our students that is truly inspiring. The remote/digital learning experience is due to their leadership and willingness to provide the most positive experience possible in the face of such widespread and potentially long-term phase of digital learning. We are very fortunate to have their commitment leading this effort.”

His letter went on to ask that the community keep all Montana students in their thoughts and prayers during this ever-evolving crisis. “In addition to the challenges of providing academic programming during a pandemic, there is an emotional toll affecting all of us. However, we are in this together, and we move forward from a place of both reality and hope that we will resume our traditional TPS experience as soon as it is smart to do so,” Warren wrote.

Zurich Elementary School

Zurich School Administrator Colleen Overcast reported that Zurich Elementary School does not currently have any students who require one-on-one aid under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), that any students with Individualized Education Plans are receiving accommodations in the classrooms, and that none of their students are dependent on school lunch for their daily meals. Therefore, the small rural school does not have the added layer of planning for some of the issues that larger schools are having to deal with regarding meal delivery or providing support under the provisions of IDEA.

Overcast met with her fellow teachers in Zurich on Tuesday, March 17, from 9:00-1:00 to compile two weeks’ worth of lesson plans and work. Parents retrieved these materials late Tuesday afternoon.

“True to form for our little school, we contacted every family to determine their access to and beliefs about internet use. Then, we used that information to form a plan for the future,” Overcast stated.

Although Zurich does not have Google classroom school-wide, the school district retains paid subscriptions to several online platforms that teachers use to supplement various curriculum areas.

One of those, MobyMax is an online suite of learning solutions designed to provide K-8 teachers with Common Core State Standards-aligned content, assessments, and enrichment activities for multiple topics and subject areas. According to Overcast, MobyMax covers 27 subject areas, including science, social studies, math, phonics, and spelling. It helps struggling learners quickly catch up to grade level and closes learning gaps by providing differentiated learning in all K-8 subjects.

The school also uses digital curriculum resources from other education technology companies dedicated to expanding subject area literacies. These include Learning A-Z, Discovery Education, and World Book.

“We’re asking parents to mirror the school structure—implementing a working schedule and giving their children frequent breaks. We want to keep their learning structured and busy. After all, we’re building a plan for a place we’ve never been. This is all an adjustment for sure, but if we care about kids, are we not going to make the process as meaningful as we can?” Overcast asked.

Zurich teachers will meet again to design lesson plans for another two week period. Because they are a small group, they are maintaining social distancing guidelines, and all of their contact with students is through phone and email.

“Sanitizing as we go, our mission is to keep our building free of people, to stay on calendar, and to be finished with the school year by Memorial Day. I believe there is information out there that we have yet to know and that the school closures will extend beyond two weeks,” Overcast concluded.

Even though schools may not be conducting in-person learning on campus, they are not closing. Educators across Blaine County are committed to working diligently so that their students will receive a quality educational experience remotely. All of the administrators interviewed for this article mentioned the role that parents play as partners in education, and several expressed appreciation for parental support and the efforts exerted in bridging the gap between home and school.

 
 

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