Districts explore ways to implement remote learning
A local committee dedicated to remote learning. Individualized student courses and programs. Shared online classes for systems facing dire teacher shortages.
Across the state, local and regional school districts have started to explore what recent education department remote learning guidance may mean for them. The standards, specific to high schools, were presented to educators at a webinar this week, and pave the way for the pandemic-era modality to become a permanent option as soon as this summer.
While some educators told Hearst Connecticut Media they plan to wait for more guidance, others are seizing the opportunity to re-imagine education. Any remote offerings would be optional for local officials to implement, with school board authorization.
“This really gives us an opportunity to explore other ways to reach kids that right now we may not be reaching 100 percent,” said Superintendent Michael Testani in Bridgeport.
“We’ve had some discussions early on with the high school principals,” he said. “Now that we have a framework, we’re going to start convening some more formal discussions about how this could work, where we want to pilot things before we roll it out more systemically.”
Testani clarified the version of remote learning the district would consider is less of a fallback response to a health crisis, and more of a way to help students be more successful. He said he could partner with other districts to offer classes, or share talent across Bridgeport as it faces severe staffing shortages. Multiple high schools, for example, could share a certified physics teacher, he theorized.
“This is not remote learning as we saw during the pandemic,” Testani said. “It’s not a way not to go into school — but really there’s a rationale, an intentional goal as to why you’re implementing the remote learning.”
School officials in Middletown suggested they were interested in how schools can become more personalized and student-centered, using the new modality.
“If we were to identify a silver lining of the COVID-19 pandemic, Middletown Public Schools believes it would be that it pushed us to imagine and implement new and innovative ways to educate our youth,” said Jessica Lavorgna, the school district’s director of communications.
Lavorgna said the school district is forming a committee to establish what remote courses could look like for the high school. Implementation would depend on Middletown Board of Education authorization.
In neighboring Portland, school officials are similarly studying the state guidelines and beginning initial discussions about how the standards could open the door to hybrid and fully online learning opportunities for its oldest students.
“This has the potential to help enrich our programming and individualize student programming,” said Superintendent Charles Britton of Portland Public Schools. “We don’t have any firm plans yet, but we are excited about the prospects of designing courses using the framework.”
In West Haven, Superintendent Neil Cavallaro said the school district currently is not looking into a fully remote option for most students, with exceptions for students with disabilities. But he could see other situations where the modality could be beneficial.
“I believe in the near future it may become necessary to set up remote classes and partner with neighboring districts, especially in areas where there are teacher shortages and under the right circumstances,” Cavallaro said.
The superintendent said students could take classes remotely as part of their daily schedules while in school buildings. Teachers could be stationed anywhere and teach classes live with mandatory attendance. There should be resources within the school buildings where students can go for additional assistance or questions outside class hours.
“Something like this would certainly open up opportunities for students,” he said.
West Haven also offers some online courses for students, mainly for credit recovery, Cavallaro said.
Other schools have been slower to adopt the standards, opting instead to wait and see what other information may be coming from the state.
“Right now, there are more questions than answers,” said Greg Shugrue, head of school at The Gilbert School in Winsted, a privately endowed secondary school that serves as the public high school for Winchester and Hartland. “On its surface there looks like many attractive ideas and options to explore but quite frankly we are waiting on more guidance from the CSDE (Connecticut State Department of Education).”
“It is possible that we would be able to provide more information later in the school year once we receive more guidance from the CSDE,” said Judy Palmer, the superintendent of Regional 7 school district in Winsted, including Norfolk, New Hartford, Barkhamsted and Colebrook.