Remote teaching and the distribution of food to those children in need took center stage March 26 during the board of education meeting.
The meeting, which was a conference call among all members, cast light on how teachers would continue to instruct their students after the announcement by Gov. Larry Hogan (R) that all schools in the state would be closed until at least April 24, had the board discussing the best ways for remote teaching.
Superintendent of Schools Daniel Curry said teachers “in virtually every grade level and subject area” trained with district supervisors Monday and Tuesday on the Schoology platform before reconnecting with their students today.
“We have heard from some parents that not everyone will be able to match the schedule that we will put out and we are not expecting children to be on the computer for six hours to duplicate the school day,” he said, “We will be thankful if they can get in a couple of hours a day, and we also hope they can work on fitness and health and reading and writing.”
But Curry acknowledged that computer work might not be for all students.
“We know that the more we depend on technology for some children, the more we will widen the access gap,” he said, “and when we are aware of those who just can’t do it any other way, we are prepared to make paper packages and materials to be delivered to the home.”
Board member Tracy McGuire asked what would happen to those students in the fine arts programs.
“We are asking all teachers of all subjects to do what they can distance-wise,” Curry responded. “Fine arts, I can envision a lot of things being done remotely. First of all every subject has its academic content so there is still academic work to be done, and it’s still possible to give assignments to children in choir or band. Visual arts might be a matter of both the visual side and working on projects. And in the [Career and Technology Academy] there are certainly some issues there but certainly every class has content that must be mastered. Let me also point out that we are buying the rights to certain online curriculum.”
McGuire also wondered how online work would be graded.
“That’s a good question, and we don’t have a clear answer for anyone on that,” Curry admitted. “We’ve talked with supervisors, and we might need some help from the [Maryland State Department of Education] regarding credits for seniors and whether there need be waivers for bridge projects community and service projects.”
Board President Bill Phalen asked if Curry knew how long the school year might be extended.
“Certainly we have made clear to the state superintendent that first of all we all want to know about these [first] 10 days,” Curry said, referring to the break that state first mandated. “And it would help to have a clear understanding even if we do online learning through the rest of the year. But the MSDE has not addressed that issue yet, and it would be theirs to address.”
Board member Dawn Balinski asked whether Curry thought teachers would be able to handle classes from their own homes. “All teachers have been issued laptops. We know that some of our staff live in areas where there is no cable,” Curry said, “and many of them already have hotspots and equipment to help them out.”
Curry added the county has purchased additional hotspots to help teachers and students.
“I would encourage you to continue assessing the needs, especially of staff members who have health concerns and are in a high-risk category to ensure they are accommodated as much as possible,” board member Pamela Cousins said. “Especially with the budget, we want to retain our employees, and we also want them to remain positive and have trust in the system that we care about them as well as an employee.”
“I understand [your thoughts], and we are trying to reach that balance of understanding that we provide a service that is essential to the community,” Curry said. “We don’t want our children to fall behind and can we do that at the same time we take every possible precaution for everyone’s safety.”
There were free food distribution centers available to those students in need last week, which distributed 288 meals on March 18, 332 on March 23 and 462 two days later.
“Do you know how 462 meals compare to our normal free and reduced program?” Balinski asked.
“Our percentage of free and reduced meals is 20%, so that’s about 3,000 students,” Curry said, “so we are certainly not reaching everyone.”
On Monday, the board sent out a press release stating there would be more meals planned for the future.Distribution centers will be set up from 11 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday at three locations: The Elks Lodge, 1015 Dares Beach Road in Prince Frederick; White Sands Clubhouse, 8285 Sycamore Road in Lusby and Chesapeake Ranch Estates Clubhouse, 476 Clubhouse Drive in Lusby.
Curry said he is awaiting approval to operate a location in the northern end of the county.
The Emergency School Closure Feeding Program, which is available for ages 2 to 18, will be open through April 24.
The centers are being run by local food banks, particularly End Hunger.
“We are also trying to devise a plan where every school has a designated contact whose job is to identify children who can use food,” Curry said. “I can tell you that as we roll on, we anticipate that every school will be regularly keeping count of those families that use food, then school resource officers will deliver them.”
Twitter: @CalRecMICHAEL
