Schools continue to teach with online learning during pandemic

By Rich Rosentreter

Chromebook laptops sit in the L.P. Quinn Elementary School library two weeks ago as they were prepared to be delivered throughout the school district. (Photo provided)

The Tupper Lake School District may have been forced to close its school buildings due to the COVID-19 pandemic but its mission of teaching local youths continues thanks to the efforts of teachers and staff using modern technology.

District Superintendent Seth McGowan spoke to the Free Press last week to provide details of the teaching initiative that was spearheaded last week with the distribution Chromebooks to students in the district, which was the easy part, according to the man at the helm.

“The teachers have distributed material to the kids,” he said, adding that students have been provided with introductions to the process and some lessons that include things the kids have done in school already as far as using the technology. “We’re starting to get track of which kids are connecting and which kids are not. Teachers are trying to connect with the kids either by video conference or phone calls. The kids seem to love that kind of connection.”

Mr. McGowan pointed out that one of the things that the district has learned, especially with the younger kids, is that they simply do not know how to talk on the phone.

“Parents will give them the phone and say it’s the teacher and they say ‘hi’ and then there is silence. It’s hard to get them to say anything else. So we’re trying to overcome that. That’s just a generational gap,” he said. “But all else is good. The teachers are working through the materials that they sent home. It’s going to be time soon to reload and relaunch.”

Mr. McGowan said teachers have been busy gathering additional teaching materials and the district is still learning how to complete that task of successfully teaching online.

“The initial material that was sent out to the kids was just the initial launch of the online learning plan, which was geared to last one or two weeks. Now it’s time to regroup, reassess and continue,” he said, adding that teachers have been working to prepare the next round of materials for their classes. “They have been allowed to reenter the buildings on a one-at-a-time basis to retrieve whatever they need to continue moving the learning forward. Some students are working exclusively online with their teachers and materials will arrive digitally. Others will receive packets similar to what was delivered two weeks ago. I expect those deliveries to be made toward the middle of the week.”

Mr. McGowan said that parents and students should never be shy about contacting your teachers. “This can be done via email, and teachers can also now check their school voicemail remotely. Phone extensions and email addresses can be found on our website by clicking on “Staff Directory” lower on the right panel. Ongoing communications is more important now than ever,” he said. “Please continue to do your best, and be in regular contact with your teacher. If you have not yet for some reason, please do so immediately.”

He addressed students who are slated to graduate in June, making that announcement via a post on the school’s Facebook page.

“I want to reassure the senior class that if you are on track to graduate in June, and continue to do the quality work we have seen throughout your career, you will receive a diploma from us regardless of the schedule for the next few months. That is my promise,” he wrote.

The parents

Mr. McGowan stressed that during the online learning process, it is important for parents to understand that they really should not feel like their child’s teacher.

“They shouldn’t feel like they are obligated to play that role. The teacher should be their school teacher,” he said. “Even though the buildings are closed the education process has not stopped, and that is the job of the teacher – to make sure that that keeps going. The parents can play however much of an active role as they want. They can sit side-by-side and help them do the work if they choose. They should feel free to do that as parents.”

Mr. McGowan said that some parents may get stressed trying to take on the teacher’s role.

“I would hate for the parents who don’t necessarily understand the material, especially with the math, to feel frustrated with that work, he said, adding that parents could simply have their child reach out and ask the teacher any questions regarding any specific lessons they are having a hard time understanding. “I don’t want parents to feel frustrated by the work that is coming home.”

With the older students in higher grades, there may not be as many issues, as for them things haven’t changed a whole lot in most cases, Mr. McGowan said, as their teachers already have Google classrooms set up. He said the students who may need the most help adapting are students in the primary grades such as in the L.P Quinn Elementary School.

“The one thing I would ask is that the parents check though ClassDojo and other things they might check during the school year, that’s because teachers are posting stuff there that I think is going unnoticed. But the parents can help their kids check into those spots. There’s a lot of information that goes through there for those primary grades,” he said.

One thing parents should not forget is that they still have school resources available to them, such as connecting to their children’s teachers.

“Parents should also feel free to contact their child’s teacher if they feel the need to do so, perhaps for clarifications as to expectations or other things related to coursework,” the superintendent said. “This is a time in which enhanced communication is necessary, especially between the parents and the kids, especially with the younger kids, but also throughout the entire district. Whatever the reason, don’t be shy about communicating with your child’s teacher directly.”

Mr. McGowan said although students are not physically in school, they still have school obligations.

“The buildings are closed but students are still accountable to do the work that’s being put out. These are not snow days or vacation, there is still work to be done.”

Faculty

It’s not just the students who are learning how to deal with the new educational format as the teachers are learning how to work in the new system as well – and Mr. McGowan praised them for their efforts.

“I think they are learning new stuff every day, whether it’s communications of this type that they’ve never done before, or it’s how a particular system works. They discover something new in Google Classroom or Zoom conferencing, something like that. There’s a whole variety of levels that I think our staff is getting used to and they’re really rising to the challenge,” he said. “The teachers really genuinely want to do the very best that they can under these circumstances, but it’s a whole new world for them right now. A lot of them have been using some of these tools already, but nobody has been using these tools exclusively like they are now and that’s a big difference.”

He said that teachers can also seek support to learn how to do things they want to do but don’t know how to do, whether it be technology or simply how to communicate. He added that teachers also feel a level of stress during these times, and not being able to connect with all of their students adds to the stress.

“This is the most important stuff that they do. They’re teachers and want to make sure they do it right. I’m not surprised at how they are stressed,” he said. “I think a lot of the stress is because they can’t get a hold of certain kids. There may be one or two kids that have not been able to reach and I know there are some teachers who are very concerned about that, just because they’re not normally out of touch with their kids for that long. They are to a certain extent worried as to what might be happening to them. They don’t know what the future holds. They don’t know if they’re going back to school or not. There are so many things that are unknown, and I think that is human nature to focus on that.”

He said one bright spot was a recent online faculty meeting.

“Everybody was pretty cheerful to see each other, even though it wasn’t in person,” he said, adding that one of the bonds that unite teachers is being together, both with each other and their students.

“Teachers by their nature like that. It’s a humanistic industry that we work so for them to be isolated not just from the students but from each other. It’s a very collaborative effort we have here in the district. So I’m sure there’s an element of loneliness and solitude through the whole thing, he said.

Despite all the hardships of making the online teaching method work, the sense of duty is strong within the ranks.

“That’s a testament of our staff, and that goes for everybody the food staff, to drivers, to teachers.

It’s really a testament to their desire to do their very best for the kids,” Mr. McGowan said.

Timeline and a lesson

Currently, the date of April 29 has been set for the school year to resume as normal, but Mr. McGowan said although he doesn’t know for sure, that date is subject to change.

“I really have no way of knowing for sure,” he said, adding that any definitive notification of potential school re-openings would come from the authorities “It’s pretty much out of our hands at this point.”

That said, even if a date to reopen was announced, Mr. McGowan said he would understand any parents who felt apprehensive about allowing their children to go back to school.

“I would certainly not be a proponent of opening the schools back up again if there was a shred of a chance that any harm or illness would come to a kid as a result of coming to school,” he said.

There has been plenty of learning in the midst of this pandemic crisis, whether it’s the students learning how to study at home using technology, parents learning how to help their children learn or teachers learning how to teach without the benefit of being in a classroom. But even the school’s administration has learned a valuable lesson – such as the ability people have to accomplish things during a crisis.

“The lesson I learned from my vantage point is people are far more capable than I give them credit for. Not just how people rise to the occasion, but exceed the things that need to be done and take matters into their own hands and make decisions - and that is when you see people’s best side. That’s when you see what people are really made of - when there’s a time of crisis,” Mr. McGowan said. “And my lesson, not just as a human being but as a district leader is, that I don’t appreciate that enough and that is certainly a lesson to me - I’m just stunned every day by things people have done. And I didn’t order it. People are just going above and beyond. Throughout my career I have not appreciated that enough, but I certainly do now.”

And his message to the academic community in Tupper Lake: “People should keep on doing what they do well, students should make sure they get their work done and be in touch with their teachers,” he said. “If a student hasn’t heard form their teach yet, something is off because the teachers have made an effort to connect with all of their lids. So for whatever reason, they should try to connect with their teachers. Parents should not stress. Their responsibility is to be a parent and our responsibility is to teach the kids in this new paradigm.”