Schools struggle to find ways to educate kids when COVID-19 leaves no good choices
The first question at last Monday’s Olympia School Board meeting was from a parent pleading for paper lesson packets for her young child, who doesn’t know how to type on a computer. Her wish was granted, as it will be for all parents of the youngest elementary students.
Online learning is limiting in so many ways, and that makes this is a very, very tough time for parents, children, teens, childcare providers and teachers. We know teachers have been stretched to learn an entirely new skill set for online teaching, and they’ve not received nearly the public recognition they deserve for that.
But since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic – and especially this summer – it’s also been an especially tough time for the school superintendents, school boards, and others school administrators to make decisions, plan, and adapt. Earlier this summer, they made enormous efforts to prepare for safe, socially distanced in-school learning for two days a week, only to be advised against it as the case counts in Thurston County rose again. Now they’ve had to pivot again.
Earlier in the summer, the planning for part-time in-person learning was intense. For instance, North Thurston Public Schools — the county’s largest school district with more than 15,000 students — bought face shields, tens of thousands of masks, including a thousand transparent ones for instruction where seeing the teacher’s mouth is critical, such as teaching kids who are learning English. They installed plexiglass dividers, beefed up cleaning regimens, retrofitted HVAC systems with more effective filters, and marked floors with social distancing guides. They figured out how to get kids on and off school buses safely, with minimal contact. They planned socially distanced lunch periods and hallway passing. They mapped out complex hybrid schedules for students and teachers.
Then they were advised by health officials to keep kids home – maybe until November, but perhaps longer.
They also spent the summer organizing professional development for teachers in how to make online instruction more engaging and consistent. They planned distribution of Chromebooks to K-5 students who need them. (Students in sixth grade and beyond already have them.) They created a Spanish phone line for families with questions, increased interpreter services, and planned to provide hotspots for families that need internet access.
They are still struggling over sports, in tandem with the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, which sets (and resets) schedules.
Tumwater and Olympia school leaders have been tackling all the same issues.
All three districts also worked to create stronger partnerships with volunteers, staff and nonprofits to provide families with information about child care, help with groceries and other basic needs, and resources to promote family wellness and reduce anxiety.
Not surprisingly, our school districts also still face big unsolved challenges. The current guidelines allow for limited in-person contact with groups of five students at a time. This is a subject of bargaining with teachers’ unions. The in-person time will be used with the youngest students — those the Olympia School District describes as “furthest from educational justice.” This includes kids who are homeless or in unstable housing, English language learners, and students with disabilities. Figuring out how to meet the needs of these groups of students is vital, because the failure to do so will result in all those kids moving even further from educational justice — a devastating consequence that can affect them for their whole lives.
Yet in spite of these high-consequence challenges, none of the three districts’ leaders are complaining – at least not in public. North Thurston’s communications director, Courtney Schrieve, said that after consulting with Superintendent Deb Clemens, their message is “We really don’t want or need a sympathy editorial. Just let people know how hard our staff is working to make this happen, and change, and happen. It’s a journey.”
Still, it’s hard to imagine that the school board members and superintendents have not experienced some sleepless nights. They are taking plenty of heat from frustrated parents. And as Olympia Superintendent Patrick Murphy said, they have been “living in a world of what ifs” for many long months. They are feeling the pressure of trying to meet the educational, social and emotional needs of thousands of students whose development is being harmed by prolonged isolation from each other and their teachers.
Our school districts’ leaders are being held accountable for problems none of them could have imagined as 2020 began. In the last election for school board members, no one would have dreamed of asking how candidates would respond to a pandemic that would require prolonged school closures. Nor would anyone have thought to ask job applicants for school superintendent such a question.
So while we are always in favor of holding public officials accountable, in this circumstance it seems reasonable to offer them some appreciation. We hope readers will join us in offering gratitude for their efforts to find solutions where there are few good options.