CONTINUOUS LEARNING - Part Three

Editor's Note: this is the final part of a three-part series.

On March 17, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly ordered the closure of all schools in the state in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, the coronavirus.
On March 19, Kansas Education Secretary Dr. Randy Watson released his guidelines for Continuous Learning, an online program for schoolchildren to continue receiving education.
For the first time in Kansas history, public schoolteachers and schoolchildren would finish their academic school year via internet learning.
USD 333 implemented plans that had been in development for several years, and took the district online. Everyone involved, from the administrative staff to teachers and students, had begun an untried phase of education.
Overall, the transformation has gone well, helped in large part by USD 333's prior planning for just such a contingency, and the ability of its technology team to connect the district's teachers and students online.
There have been problems - there are always glitches when a new endeavor is undertaken. But when issues arise they are dealt with, and new strategies are being formed that will improve the foundation for the future.
"The situation has shown us just how amazing our educators are," said Sara Niehues, the Assistant Director of Special Education, the Learning Cooperative of North Central Kansas (LCNCK). "We have asked them to basically redesign our education model as we know it, in about two weeks. This was no easy task, yet they dove right in and did what was best for kids. I think that is exactly why, even in the midst of the growing pains and mountains of federally mandated paperwork, we have seen teachers building relationships with students and families like never before; embracing an opportunity to try something new, and coming together as a group to support one another."
Niehues had concerns about being able to reach, and connect with, the students in need via Continuous Learning. "We are looking at our systems and procedures and finding that this situation is pushing us to provide special education services and supports in a way we never thought possible. It will also change how we look at our service delivery and procedures in the future. This has been a great opportunity for staff to think outside of the box. We have entered into uncharted waters, but if any group can weather the storm, it is educators."
Derek Holmes is the principal at Concordia Elementary School (CES), and completing his 27th year in education. "Never would I have expected to change the way we would need to educate students in just a matter of weeks," he said. "This COVID-19 pandemic is a mind shift in education for all of us."
When Governor Kelly made the decision to close all Kansas schools, the district went into action, adapting Education Secretary Dr. Watson's 78-page Continuous Learning guidelines to fit USD 333. "We began to mold that into what we thought is best for Concordia students. Many long hours of hard work from our administration and leadership teams began. After putting together a rough draft plan, administration met with District and Building Leadership teams to get their feedback and finalize plans. We then met with our CES staff to roll out the plan before sending that plan out to parents and students."
Holmes said that as the teams went through the process, they focused on adjusting what was needed to turn the situation into a positive learning experience. "We have now just completed the 3rd week of our Crisis Learning Plan. Our main goal during this time is to continue to strengthen staff/student relationships and engage students and families in the learning process."
Holmes is realistic and forward-thinking in the goals of Continuous Learning at CES. "What students learn is far more valuable, especially at an early age, than what letter grade they receive. Although grades are important, most likely in twenty years no student is going to remember what grade they received in any subject as an elementary student. But they will remember how teachers and parents, along with community members, made a positive impact on their life. This pandemic and shift in education is new to all of us, so we have continuously talked about giving grace and keeping an open mind in this process."
Building an online education program is one thing; implementing it was another. There were problems that the district needed to correct. "The first few weeks we adjusted several parts of our plan to assist our students, teachers and staff to continue to be successful. Through surveys, staff meetings and student input we have been able to adjust some aspects to help everyone be more successful."
Holmes is impressed by the dedication and amount of time that teachers are committing to the process to ensure a quality education for all the children. "We know our staff has always been devoted to helping each child succeed, and they continue with that same passion today. Our teachers are going above and beyond to adapt and find the best ways to connect and inspire each student."
Holmes has high praise for the administrative staff who implemented the online learning program in just a matter of days, and continue to commit their full effort to the process. “I believe that many things in life often happen for a reason. I believe in my heart that we will all grow and learn throughout this process and be stronger for it. Mr. Breese, along with many others, have provided great leadership throughout this process. I am extremely proud of our students, staff, parents and community members for uniting together with a positive attitude during these difficult times.”
Projection models released by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimate that the virus will peak in the United States in May. The hope is that stay-at-home restrictions can be eased, and workers can return to their jobs and begin to rebuild an economy that was knocked to its knees.
There is cautious optimism, but also a warning for what may still come. Although so much of the COVID-19 research is preliminary, and a vaccine is estimated to be about a year away, researchers and immunologists caution that we may see a "second-wave resurgence" of the virus in the fall and/or winter of 2020.
What does this mean for school systems, who are scheduled to resume classes in the fall of 2020?
USD 333 administration has already held preliminary discussions about what will happen if students can't return to classrooms in the fall, or if school is again disrupted by another outbreak of the virus and online education once again becomes a reality.
"I've been pretty staunch with our board that we are going to run our calendar out to May 22," said USD 333 Superintendent of Schools Quentin Breese. "We really need to figure out how to make this system work. Nobody has a crystal ball, but there is a high likelihood that we could start the fall semester this same way. We definitely don't want to be scrambling in July because we didn't prepare now. This isn't just a 'survive the next four weeks, or five to eight weeks' type of thing. What is education for Concordia going to look like in the future?"
If there is a resumption of the normal routine heading into the fall school term, Breese believes there are some things that will be learned from the Continuous Learning experience that will build a better tomorrow.
"I think the information we're going to gain from this will be very beneficial," Breese said. "Trish (McDaniel), Kelly (Struebing), JoDee Rothfuss and Stacy Larsen are the best tech team you could possibly have. On gauging success, we have to have data to show how many of the devices (Chromebooks) are being used throughout the day."
During the first week of online learning, there were up to 450 devices logged in throughout the day.
"When we have over a third or a quarter of our devices always on, that tells us they are being used, which is good," Breese said.
Another success for the district is knowing that they have every student accounted for. For the small percentage of students who are not logging in, their teachers are making contact via emails or phone calls, or reaching out directly to their parents.
"I think our successes are something to be really proud of," Breese said, "Because I think our staff, especially at the secondary level, are keeping track of our students better than they have when we were in session."
Continuous Learning: a new phase of education for USD 333 schoolchildren. Perhaps, even, a marker for an evolved type of public education to come. Whatever the future may hold, USD 333 is preparing to meet the challenges.