Tag Archives: coronavirus

Let’s Talk About COVID-19 and Why Teachers Are Important During Times of Uncertainty

Instruction, Leadership, Professional Learning, School Improvement, Uncategorized, , ,

Let’s Talk About Sex COVID-19 and Why Is Sex Education Still Taboo in the U.S.? Teachers Are Important During Times of Uncertainty by Angela Holliday My dissertation topic is Let’s Talk About Sex! Why Is Sex Education Still Taboo in the U.S.? Considering what’s going on in the world however, it doesn’t really seem important right now. COVID-19 has caused job loss, supply shortage, fear, anger, hoarding, and death. With this grim picture though, there have also been acts of kindness, generosity, sharing, and dedication by many, including teachers. Therefore, I’d like to focus on the importance of teachers during times of uncertainty, and why we need them now more than ever. Ava Parker, President of Palm Beach State College, said at the 2017 LCAN Achieve Palm Beach County Florida Chamber Learners to Earners Summit “education is everybody’s business” and as such, I have made it mine.

I still remember the names of the teachers who made a difference in my life. Two teachers, Mr. Norde and Mr. Sweeney, were huge in helping me understand Algebra I. Mr. Norde and Mr. Sweeney left an indelible mark even though I’m sure I didn’t show my appreciation at the time. Their words of encouragement allowed me to believe I could do it. They found ways, where my parents had failed, to explain math problems in a way that made sense. I still appreciate their time and ingenuity to this day. A perfect example of this was when “a student who faced hardships told a researcher that the greatest thing a teacher can do is to care and to understand” (Zakrzewski, 2012). If not, “the kid will say, ‘Oh, they’re giving up on me, so I might as well give up on myself’ (Zakrzewski, 2012).”

I mention my teachers because in times of uncertainty or self-doubt, seeing a familiar face or hearing encouraging words from a teacher, even if virtually, can offer stability and encouragement. The students need their teachers to be the faces and voices they knew in school. The students need their teachers to have expectations of them while also understanding things are different now. The students need their teachers to push them but also to pause when they see them struggling. The students need their teachers to laugh with them but also to allow them time for silence when there’s nothing left to give. Recently, a student asked their teacher if she thought they’d see one another in August. She was honest and said she didn’t know, but she couldn’t wait for the day she sees them again.

What does education look like moving forward? In their article, 3 Ways the Coronavirus Pandemic Could Reshape Education, Gloria Tam and Gloria El-Azar examined how education changed very quickly, with its first change being how millions around the world are educated. The old, lecture-based approach to education was ushered out by COVID-19 which became a catalyst for educational institutions around the globe to search for “innovative solutions in a relatively short period of time” (Tam et. al, 2020). Second, the rapid change prompted much needed innovation to the educational system. Within the past few weeks, there have been a multitude of stakeholders coming “together to utilize digital platforms as a temporary solution to the crisis” (Tam et. al, 2020). Lastly and probably the most unfortunate change, with the digital divide, the equality gap could widen. In Palm Beach County alone, the school district needed as many as 11,000 laptops for students to learn at home during the coronavirus pandemic (Palmbeachpost.com, 2020).

Time takes time and we will wait to see what changes continue to take place in education.

Parker, Ava (2017). Local College Access Networks Achieve Palm Beach County. Florida Chamber Learners to Earners Summit, 2017. Retrieved from: http://floridacollegeaccess.org/local-college-access-networks/

Isger, Sona (2020, March 3). Coronavirus Florida: 11,000 Laptops Sought for PBC Students to Study from Home. Palm Beach Post, 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/20200323/coronavirus-florida-11000-laptops-sought-for-pbc-students-to-study-from-home

Tam, Gloria & El-Azar, D. (2020, March 13). 3 Ways the Coronavirus Pandemic Could Reshape Education. World Economic Forum, 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/3-ways-coronavirus-is-reshaping-education-and-what-changes-might-be-here-to-stay/

Zakrzewski, Vicki. (2012, September 18). Four Ways Teachers Can Show They Care: Research Suggests Caring Relationships with Teachers Help Students Do Better in School and Act More Kindly Toward Others. Greater Good Magazine Science Center at UC Berkeley, 2012. Retrieved from: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/caring_teacher_student_relationship

Leading Online through COVID-19

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I am now finishing my third full year as an Assistant Principal in the fifth largest high school (3,000 students in grades 9-12) in Palm Beach County, Florida. To say that the past several weeks have been unexpected would be an understatement. I joined the team at Palm Beach Central High School in May 2017, so while I’m finishing my third full year, this graduating class is the first group of students who have known me for all four years of high school. I was just beginning to gear up to plan my fourth Bronco graduation ceremony; a highly anticipated event that has now been canceled (or at least postponed).

The week of March 9th, now seems like a distant memory, a time when COVID-19 seemed like a far-off threat and local impacts were unlikely. Then, on March 11th, at the direction of our school district, we held an emergency faculty meeting to discuss increased cleaning protocols and to collect questions from concerned staff members…about the Coronavirus.  This was the first sign that our school district was preparing for the worst. When we received word on Friday, March 13, that schools would be closed the following week, honestly, I was slightly relieved; I was in dire need of a break and was really looking forward to my Spring Break trip to London that was 7 days away. As we sat in the Principal’s Conference Room and watched the superintendent of schools present the details of the closure, I, in my typical fashion, I masked anxiety with humor.  The trip to London never came.

Given what we now know about the spread of the Coronavirus, and what has been learned from previous, less pervasive pandemics, school closures have proven to be a key component in the battle against virus spread. Cauchemez et al. (2009) refers to school closure as a highly effective non-pharmaceutical intervention for controlling viral pandemics. The general science behind this concept is that children are thought to be “vectors of transmission,” and the high rates of contacts that occur in schools can increase transmission.  What we now know about Coronavirus suggests that not only are young people “vectors of transmission,” but they are also often asymptomatic, unintentionally spreading the virus to others (US Department, 2020, p. 425).

Less than a week after closing schools for two weeks, Florida’s governor announced that the closure would be extended an additional two weeks, through April 14th, and that’s the moment that a professional shift occurred – we were no longer on an extended spring break – this was a crisis impacting 3000 students, 200+ staff members, and countless other stakeholders. Leadership was needed.

This was something that had never been planned for, but the best minds in our School District had been working overtime coming up with a framework for schooling to move forward through Remote Learning.  A Framework. Not necessarily a plan. But it gave us something to work with.

Our framework for Remote Learning involved a few phases:

  • Determine the need
    • Our school district pushed out a home technology survey to determine the needs of our community.
  • Device Distribution to students & Staff
    • For five days (over 11 hours) we provided opportunities for those in need of technology to pick up a device in a drive-through setting.
  • Formulate and effectively communicate an instructional continuity plan for our school
    • Given the fluidity of the situation, we worked slowly, yet deliberately to create a plan that considered the needs of both students and staff members.
  • Teachers establish an online presence
    • Google Classroom is our district-wide eLearning platform.  As a school, with input from our “Teaching with Technology Trailblazers” who already used Google Classroom, we determined that every teacher would create a Google Classroom for each section/period that they teach.
  • Teachers “Go Live” on Tuesday, March 31, 2020
    • Teachers used a combination of Live lessons via Google Meet, Google Classroom for assignments, and various 3rd party supplemental instructional such tools as NearPod, IXL, and ReadingPlus.
  • Systems, Systems, Systems
    • The need for systems in a time when we’re all doing a job that is both familiar yet foreign,  created a need for systems to address the constantly changing needs of our situation.

In a time when what is happening in the world around us so so far our of our control, I found a great deal of peace, and eventually pride, in working with a team of administrators that would create a plan for 3000 students and 200+ staff to successfully reconnect and reengage in education.  This is unlike anything most educators have experienced before, but I believe it says a great deal about our profession, and our value to society, that even in the face of crisis, we persist.

References

Cauchemez, S., Ferguson, N. M., Wachtel, C., Tegnell, A., Saour, G., Duncan, B., & Nicoll, A. (2009). Closure of schools during an influenza pandemic. The Lancet infectious diseases, 9(8), 473-481.

US Department of Health and Human Services/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020, April). Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Children — United States, February 12–April 2, 2020 (Report No. Vol. 69 No. 14) (S. Bialek, R. Gierke, M. Hughes, L. A. McNamara, T. Pilishvili, & T. Skoff, Authors). Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Distance Learning Creates Distance

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Are we creating a new achievement gap with distance learning as a response to the Coronavirus pandemic?

Our world is experiencing unprecedented times as we face the repercussions of the Coronavirus pandemic. Schools have closed their front doors and districts have scrambled to offer access to distance learning as an alternative to traditional methods of education. In a matter of weeks we have abandoned the familiar frameworks of our system. Exams at the state level and accelerated course level, including AICE and IB, have been canceled leaving questions about how we will measure student achievement and determine promotion to the next grade level. As educators, our previous focus had been closing the achievement gap and increasing equity and access for all students. With new norms like social distancing and a mandatory six foot gap between individuals, we must ask ourselves: How will distance learning create distance between students, teachers, and administrators? Are we creating a new achievement gap? What can we do about it?

In less than a week, many school districts created meal distribution plans, technology equipment allocations, teacher training for online learning, and predicted answers for anticipated problems. While this race to ensure educational continuity is admirable, the hurried nature of these solutions has not given educators the chance to consider the long-term implications of these decisions. The article The Biggest Distance-Learning Experiment In History: Week One notes the following inequalities, “Just over half of the nation’s public school children are from families considered low-income, and an estimated 12 million lack broadband Internet access at home” (Kamenetz, 2020). Even if we arm students with laptops and Internet access, even if we provide accommodations and online support, even if we do the best we can… our disadvantaged students will continue to fall behind. The achievement gap is perpetuated and widened by failing to address several key areas:

  1. Monitoring: Not only for on-task performance but also to check for accuracy, fluency, and address misconceptions.
  2. Differentiated Instruction: Supporting different learning styles, learning disabilities, and lower level students.
  3. Meeting Diverse Needs: Cultural, personal, emotional, and educational needs through activities, discussions, and content.
  4. Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT): Include culture and background and motivating students to take ownership in their learning.  
  5. Relationship Building: Increased trust, sense of belonging, and engagement in learning, decreases likelihood in dropping out.

Distance learning has most notably gained popularity in post-secondary education. The flexible format allows students to complete coursework despite barriers that may hinder them to enroll in a traditional course (i.e. work hours, family obligations). Even with its increased availability, studies have shown that it is not a perfect alternative for face-to-face courses. Concerns exist regarding student attention span, decreased rigor of coursework, and lack of accountability. Additionally, studies at the post-secondary level such as one from George Mason University have similar findings regarding disadvantaged students, “Students in online education, and in particular underprepared and disadvantaged students, underperform and on average, experience poor outcomes” (Newton, 2019).

This is not an argument against distance learning as a response to the Coronavirus pandemic. This is a call to act for educators everywhere. During unprecedented times, we have been asked to pivot and respond the best we can. Being aware of the achievement gap this new system creates is the first step to finding a way to narrow it. Once the infrastructure is up and running, we can begin focusing on the achievement of all students by focusing on the key areas this system leaves to be desired. In the days and weeks to come, taking note of the struggles will help find solutions in the future.

Kamenetz, A. (2020). The biggest distance-learning experiment in history: Week one. Houston Public Media. Retrieved from https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/npr/2020/03/26/821921575/the-biggest-distance-learning-experiment-in-history-week-one/

Newton, D. (2019). What if online education simply doesn’t work? F Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereknewton/2019/05/29/what-if-online-education-simply-doesnt-work/#3ce389516764