Saturday, March 21, 2020

SOLSC '20 Day Twenty-one: We have a plan

The district sent an email to staff and parents yesterday; we now have a plan to move forward.  To make learning opportunities equitable for our confirmed two-week furlough, there will be suggested activities posted on the district website and packets handed out to families picking up breakfast and lunch at designated meal sites.  This makes me feel better; I work at a higher-SES campus with technology available in almost every home, but my Title I roots are fully aware of the many schools in which this is not a reality.

Teachers will also be given a scheduled time to go to their schools and gather materials to plan further out, should the need arise.  This also makes me feel better.  I am ready to go with activities for my upper grades.  We have our end-of-year Google Form library survey to complete, traditionally done when I'm away at my annual conference (which was supposed to be this coming week).  The next lessons on internet safety can be completed through games--Google's Interland for my fourth and fifth graders, and Common Sense Media's Digital Passport Game for my third graders.  For my younger students, however, my lessons are interactive read-alouds...and I'm a paper-and-pencil planner for those, can't remember what I wrote down for the next three weeks.  So I'm happy that we'll be able to get into the building at some point to retrieve what we need.

I'm not a worrier by nature, but I'm aware of what we are losing these next two weeks, what may be lost if the time out is extended further. Practical library activities like inventory, receiving book shipments, handling financial details are difficult, if not impossible, to do from home.  Interactive read-alouds (if allowed by publishers) lose the interaction piece if they are simply screencasted; I will have to look into doing Zoom meetings or Google hangouts, again aware of students without access to that technology, children in my own neighborhood.  Access to books for all is a growing concern with the closure of public libraries...and the threat of COVID-19 lurking on book covers and pages.

For now, I'm making lists of what to do during my brief time on campus, and what to bring home.  I can catalog the piles of unprocessed books sitting in my office.  I can figure out ways to work around face-to-face lessons with and without technology.  I can finally get around to completing the professional reading I planned to do this year, and write about what I've learned.  Time off is really time gained for learning and creative problem-solving.  I have a plan, and that makes me feel better.

9 comments:

  1. Making lists is a wise way to go. (I should probably do more list making!) It helps give you some control when the world seems to be unraveling around us.

    I appreciate that you are keeping the kids without tech in mind. I feel frustrated when people say, "Oh, you can get free internet here or go to ____ to find a hotspot." It doesn't take into consideration that many families cannot afford more than one device and then there's the issue of how that device is used among family members. The digital divide is great.

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    1. Thank you for echoing that concern, Stacey. We do have device loans in place with portable wifi hotspots, but I'm not sure if that adequately covers those on the other side of the divide. It will be interesting to see how we're directed to "behave" after the two weeks; will I be allowed to make use of the online resources, will I need to double-plan for offline activities? Though internet safety/ digital citizenship lessons are moot without access...

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  2. Having a plan can really help. We are about a week ahead of you and our teachers sent out the first round of learning plans late yesterday for this coming week. So much work but really really gratifying and I am excited we can connect with families hopefully and try for a routine in the coming week. Good luck to you.

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    1. Thanks, Lisa! For once, I'm glad we are behind the curve due to our Spring Break, so we can learn from others, which is what I'm sure our Teaching & Learning folks at central office have been doing this last week.

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  3. Sounds as though your district has taken the time to think through their response to the virus. Such a fantastic idea to make resources available w/ breakfast. Also love that they’re making building access available. Is it possible for you to get some time alone in your library for inventory since no one else will be there? Even though not ideal, I know students will value those in-screen read aloud. Kids “see” screens differently than do adults who grew up w/ out them so much.

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    1. I am happy with their response too, Glenda. I'm hoping my assistant and I will get a bit more time, to at least complete inventory in the library. If she is afforded more time on campus, we can have teachers gather their barcoded items for her to inventory as well. It may all work out in the end!

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  4. "Time off is really time gained for learning and creative problem-solving. I have a plan, and that makes me feel better."

    This is similar to the perspective I am taking. Working in informal education, I am using this time to read, think, create, plan, develop, and prepare for when we are able to resume regular programming.

    Thank you for sharing and I wish you the best!

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  5. Knowing next steps is comforting, isn't it? You've inspired me to write a post about what I would grab if I could go into my classroom again for even 5 minutes. Maybe it will get published!

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  6. I am glad you can make plans for moving forward and that the needs of kids - and families - have been taken into consideration. This takes a load off of you and your teachers, while, yes, it is hard to plan beyond. Here, with a huge district and many multi-track schools, we cannot "make time up" and in the name of equity, we don't know if or when we will return. We are "teleworking" from home daily and documenting our hours for two weeks, even though teachers aren't creating digital lesson plans (the district has an online resource for families; we can offer our regular supplemental resources).A bit challenging... and our spring break isn't for two weeks yet. At least you will be well-prepared for your planning and what to get when you return briefly to campus; we had one day early this week to go claim personal items, but at that time, no one anticipated an indefinite stay. I expect another opportunity will come. I want my hand wipes! Another colleague asked if we can distribute the school's toilet paper (I think she was kidding. Sort of.)

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