The ConVal School District is canceling April vacation in favor of continuing remote learning. Superintendent Dr. Kimberly Rizzo Saunders announced the decision in an email to families on Wednesday after polling parents, staff, administrators and School Board members.
“More than two-thirds of parents who responded to the survey opted for this option, as did a large number of staff. Doing this will result in us ending the school year a week early,” she said. Vacation was scheduled for April 27 to May 1. The District is waiting on information from the state before setting the final date of the school year.
Rizzo Saunders shared themes and highlights from a survey on remote learning Sunday night. In a video presentation, she walked through the input the District received from about 500 parents about what was working, and what still needed improvement. Schools across the state are closed through May 4 per emergency order. Respondents comprised of families of students in grades K-12.
97 percent of parents thought the school had been communicating effectively, and 92 percent of parents thought their students were either engaged or highly engaged with the online material, Rizzo Saunders said, and noted that the high levels of student engagement were a testament to parents at home with their kids in addition to teachers’ efforts.
Some parents reported having a limited number of devices in the home, or insufficient bandwidth for the whole family to get work done. Some mentioned difficulties with motivating their children, handling their children’s stress, uncertainty, and inability to see their peers, Rizzo Saunders said.
Parents praised aspects of remote learning, including students’ ability to organize the timing and pace of completing schoolwork, Rizzo Saunders said. Many parents reported their kids were sleeping in later, she said.
Respondents were split about the workload. Some parents praised clear expectations and an appropriate amount of work, and others said there was too little work, or too much work – and there were some concerns about students having too much screentime, Rizzo Saunders said. She announced that the District would be implementing “flex days” every Friday, starting April 10. The day is intended to allow students to catch up on work or do one on one enrichment with teachers and staff, and for staff to do outreach and collaborate with one another.
Rizzo Saunders noted requests from parents for tutorials for using technologies like Zoom and Google Classroom, additional information on where to access class resources, and more opportunities for emotional and behavioral support, student social interaction, physical resources, and additional live classes.
ConVal families are almost all connected to adequate technology, Rizzo Saunders said. 91.9 percent of families said they had adequate access to the internet, 97.1 percent of children had a device that could access digital resources, and 98.8 percent could access videos. Respondents included the families of students below grade 5, who were not necessarily issued their own Chromebook when schools closed. The District sent 100 hotspots to families in the District last week in order to mitigate some of the lingering internet access problems, Rizzo Saunders said.
“Please know how grateful we are for the support, encouragement, and kindness you have shared with staff, teachers, and administrators. Your kind words continue to be uplifting,” Rizzo Saunders said.