Area schools are adjusting to a more sustainable remote work schedule after the state extended closures through May 4, as well as canceling standardized tests scheduled for the semester. Schools initially closed through April 3 on March 15.
“We have to have something sustainable, something everybody can manage,” South Meadow School principal Anne O’Bryant said, now that school won’t resume as usual this Monday. “We’re in 24/7 mode. Our teachers are being available to the kids from morning to night… for our own health we have to start cutting back,” she said.
Representatives from Mascenic, Wilton-Lyndeborough and Jaffrey-Rindge school districts echoed the sentiment.
“There’s complexity,” in homes, Mascenic superintendent Chris Martin said on Monday. Families might not have enough devices for all members of the household to work from home, or their internet capacity might not be able to handle the load. Some families are managing the coursework of two or three children in different grades, she said, and many teachers and staff members are working from home with kids of their own.
“Let’s just say that everybody is really busy,” she said. When Martin speaks to families through the school district’s call system, she says she doesn’t want coursework expectations to “leave lasting bruises” on family relationships or family time.
“I say you need to take a step back,” she said, and is working to set healthy work boundaries among SAU staff as well. “We could be answering emails all through the weekend,” she said.
“We’re trying to be as flexible as possible,” Jaffrey-Rindge Communications Coordinator Nicholas Handy said on Tuesday. Jaffrey-Rindge had already designated one weekly catch-up day with no classes for middle and high school students, and is now extending that to the elementary schools. Students can use the day to finish work and have individual sessions with teachers, and spend more time outdoors or with family, he said.
“Being online all day is not as healthy,” O’Bryant said, and that ConVal teachers are bringing up proposed schedules aimed at not overwhelming students and families. Options include classes every other day or just two or three per day, or no-screen-time days.
Standardized test requirements are suspended for the semester, as an extension of the state’s declaration of public emergency. The suspension includes SATs, which the Department of Education is working to reschedule for the summer or early fall.
Schools have continued to make adjustments over the last two weeks since students were initially sent home. South Meadow School gave out mobile hotspots to families without adequate home internet on Monday, and the Jaffrey-Rindge School District is currently surveying from students, faculty, and parents on the successes and challenges of remote learning so far.
“We have a lot of parents that are saying they’re happy with a lot of things we’re trying to do,” Handy said, but that every parent and student will have a unique experience.
The District has also expanded their school lunch program to include deliveries to homes in addition to the existing pick-up points in town in an effort to reach more families who might not be able to pick up lunches on Mondays and Wednesdays, Handy said. They are currently serving 350 students through the lunch program.
On Monday, the Mascenic preschool staff visited every single preschooler’s home, stood in the driveway and waved, Martin said.
“The little ones missed their teachers. That was above and beyond, from my perspective,” Martin said.
O’Bryant said she’s likely to transfer some of the lessons learned from remote learning whenever school resumes. Students’ disruptive behavior is frequently rooted in anxiety, she said, and seeing some students thrive with online learning makes the case for allowing those students to work by themselves in a lab rather than just getting kicked out of class. Online coursework could keep students from missing instruction during in- and out-of-school suspensions, she said.
“We could potentially never have snow days in the future,” she said. “Everyone loves it when you can slow down, but everyone hates it when… making it up in June.”