Educators Continue Training in Distance Learning

Distance learning has wrapped up for our students, but our staff is still hard at work and has a lot to accomplish in the next two weeks. Teachers need to come in and do the usual end of the year tasks such as entering student feedback, cleaning their classrooms, and organizing and cataloging inventory. In addition to this, educators will be taking part in numerous small group and virtual discussions and trainings to prepare for whatever form next fall will take. 

The first priority will be placed on reviewing the curriculum and determining which topics were not adequately covered due to this spring’s disruptions. Grade level teams and departments will meet to identify which topics need to be covered in the next grade or course level in the fall in order to help students prepare for the next phase of learning. 

All PreK -2nd teachers will be receiving further training in Seesaw which will be the distance learning platform for those grade levels across the district. Third grade through 12th-grade teachers will be mastering Google Classroom.  Some professional development will be targeted at identifying issues that arose this spring and coming up with plans to resolve those issues should further distance learning be required. Teams and departments will also be identifying which topics could be taught remotely in the eventuality of further closures in the fall.

All teachers are also being asked to prepare remote teaching lesson plans for next fall. This will allow us to have everything in place should a second closure occur. If everything goes as we hope, and we are able to hold all classes in person during the next school year, those lessons will simply be taught in the classroom. 

“We have learned a lot this spring,” said Superintendent Carl Gartley,  “from the importance of schedules even in remote learning, to making sure everyone has the technology they need, to how we grade and hold students responsible for doing their work. I think our staff has done an amazing job this spring, but if we are using remote learning in the fall, things will look different.”