When we first started planning to come back to school, we discussed having teachers dedicated to face-to-face instruction and a set of teachers for just remote or virtual learning. When we began to break down the logistics and develop a process, this plan did not work for us constantly districtwide. Staffing was a challenge. It was most difficult at the high school level with A days and B days, and specific subject areas. We looked at doing so at some of the lower grade levels, but staffing continued to make that difficult across grade levels.
In addition, the majority of our students chose virtual learning to start the school year. It takes almost everyone we have to support our virtual learners as well as in-person learners.
We are proactively seeking ways to provide some relief, which is why Friday, Dec. 18 became an asynchronous day districtwide. It is also the reason Jan. 29 and Feb. 1 were asynchronous for all virtual students. This was aligned with the end of the second 9-week grading period and the start of the third 9-week grading period to provide teachers with time to contact parents and welcome new students to the classroom.
In December, the Swivel and iPads that had been purchased arrived and were distributed to some campuses and the Instructional Technology Coordinators to demonstrate best practices with remote teaching, provide training for teachers and give teachers more mobility with virtual learning sessions.
The district will continue to evaluate other possibilities for relieving the stress of teaching in-person and virtual students simultaneously.
