Hundreds of teachers and administrators in the Gettysburg Area School District (GASD) are working together to tweak the ongoing remote learning technology, curriculum, and grading systems, while collaborating on plans for the fall semester.
Speaking about the unexpected move to virtual learning that started over one weekend in March, GASD Instructional Technology Director Ann Baum said “It’s kept us busy. We’ve been fortunate to have three instructional coaches who help provide professional development for the teachers. They’ve been essential.”
Baum said the district had researched what had worked for schools in other parts of the world as they developed their program on the fly. “We tried to keep it simple for students, parents, and caregivers,” said Baum. “We kept in mind that a caregiver could be a fifth grade sibling. Mom and dad might not be around.”
Baum said most of the programs were asynchronous. “You don’t have to be there at a given time. If there are three kids and only one laptop in the family, kids can still share the device,” said Baum.
Technology
Baum said the initial technological issues have largely been worked out. “Internet hotspots were on delay because everyone in the world wanted them. That took 3 or 4 weeks. Students picked them up with the lunch program when we finally got them.”
In terms of devices, Baum said high school children were already on a one-child/one-device ratio. Middle school children were also one-to-one, but their devices were in the school.
“We did a survey and if they didn’t have a device at home they got one,” said Baum.
Baum said the Chromebooks for elementary children were shared across classrooms on a computer cart. “It’s not a 1-1 situation yet for everyone. But each elementary family has a device and connectivity,” said Baum. “It’s a work in progress.”
In terms of curriculum software, a learning management system for sharing material, collecting submissions, and recording grades was only in place for secondary students.
“We’ve seen the value of creating a learning platform for K-5. It’s a very flexible way for kids to demonstrate what they’ve learned,” said Baum.
Curricula
Baum said the virtual curricula were developed by teams of educators working together, especially at the elementary level.
“A humongous global educator group has come together on Facebook,” said Baum. It’s called the Global Education Network. The sharing out there has been phenomenal.”
Baum said for the first two or three weeks the district focused on material that was review or enrichment. “There was no new content the first couple of weeks,” said Baum.
Baum said teachers used Zoom sessions in the beginning to allow students to ask questions and keep the student-school relationship going.
After the first weeks, teachers from all grades in all three elementary schools came together to create a curriculum. “It was a different approach for building lessons,” said Baum.
“We used the grade-level department heads and we made teams. The teams met and determined what needed to be done. It was excellent we had department heads in place,” said Baum.
Baum said the district was focusing on the “mental wellness” of the GASD staff. “We asked them to divide and conquer the work,” said Baum.
Baum said the curriculum was clearly not the same as it would have been had the regular classroom session continued. “There’s no way we could have created the equivalent of what we would have been doing given the timing and not having an [online] approach in place. We’re doing emergency remote learning on the fly,” said Baum.
Grading
Baum said grading is different by grade levels but it always assumes children will pass their courses. Baum said the third marking period which students had already completed was used as a standard.
“We looked at a lot of different ideas. We looked at pass/fail but we didn’t like that,” said Baum.
“The situation is beyond our control. There could be families where both parents are essential workers. You can’t penalize students,” said Baum.
In the end the district went to a Pass/Incomplete system, although the specifics are somewhat different in each grade level.
Baum said some people thought the system didn’t provide enough incentive to do the work, but that teachers and administrators did not know every family’s circumstances. “We’ve had a mixture of feedback,” said Baum.
The students see a video from their school principal video every week. “This helps keep the relationship and wellness at the forefront,” said Baum.
Baum said the surveys GASD has administered showed that although some thought there was too much and some thought there was too little, “the majority of parents felt the amount of work was just right.”
“We created time guidelines for different grade levels and most parents said children were spending about that much time.” “Parents felt communication was very good. That was excellent.”
“We are constantly evaluating things and adjusting week to week based on feedback,” said Baum.
Going Forward
Baum said no decisions had yet been made about the fall. “We’re doing a lot of research. We’re looking at schools that are back in session and we’re waiting to hear from the state for guidance.”
Baum said teams at different levels in the district were collaborating through the Lincoln Intermediate Unit (LIU), which includes all 25 school districts in Adams, Franklin, and York counties as well as two tech schools and about 100 non-public schools.
“The LIU helps districts collaborate with the state. It’s a great resource for us. They went into action,” said Baum.
“Were working on different scenarios including the possibility that only some kids come back in the fall or that it’s rotated,” said Baum.
“Were very fortunate to be in a region where the intermediate union is so strong,” said Baum. “Once we have more guidance we’ll all work together as a district to figure out what our next steps are.”
“We’re super fortunate in Gettysburg to have such a great community. It’s amazing what we’ve been able to do,” said Baum.
Charles (Chuck) Stangor is Gettysburg Connection's Owner, Publisher, and Editor in Chief. I would like to hear from you. Please contact me at cstangor@gettysburgconnection.org.