Meeting the Needs of All Students When We Return to Learn-Part Three

If you have read the first two parts to this series, I understand if you are overwhelmed, anxious, and even frustrated. Truth be told, we all are. While the cliches are becoming automatic responses, it is fitting to once again state the obvious: there is no blueprint with which to do this work. It has never happened before. Over and over again I have continued to make comments about the historic nature of the times we now find ourselves. I think today it is important to make another often overlooked point: we are incredibly resilient! There is absolutely no doubt our students and teachers will rise to this challenge and we will be able to make up for lost learning. 

Before we get into the meat of today’s article, I first want to point you to the Return to Learn section of our website which has gone live today and encourage you to bookmark it, as it will be further updated throughout the course of this summer. This page contains a repository of the resources we have been using in our planning. Here you will find a plethora of documents that hopefully will answer your questions: how teachers preparing for the school year, what mitigation efforts our schools are employing (coming soon), and what is the difference between hybrid and remote learning. You will also find quick and easy access to a summary document of our plan. Keep in mind this is designed to be a living breathing document. Admittedly a lot of what we have been discussing thus far is conceptual in nature. That's because conditions continue to change and the guidance we are receiving is fluid. As we get closer to the start of school more details will emerge. Right now, some details are sparse for two primary reasons: we are still learning, and a lot can change between now and August 24. What we know today, almost two months in advance of the start of the school year, is likely to be very different a month from now. While we are applying the lessons we learned this spring, we still certainly have a lot yet to learn. One critical missing piece right now is a description of the mitigation and safety procedures that will be in place for the start of the school year. We hope to have concrete steps in place by the end of July, but right now some of the guidance we are receiving is contradictory. This page also provides a place where you can pose questions. I envision this developing into a FAQ document.  

So lets begin with a brief review of where we have been.

In the first part of this series we discussed what works and what doesn't work. We learned that simply adding days to our school year is ineffective at best. The best approach is a multi-tiered system of supports that is tailored to meet the needs of our students utilizing just in time remediation. In part two of this series, we began to grapple with the nature of the problem facing us when students return. We talked not only about curriculum that wasn't covered, but also about the phenomenon know as 'COVID slide'. We also realized this isn't just an issue that we are dealing with at Hudson, or even the Cedar Valley. This was a nationwide; global shutdown. It is going to take some patience and perseverance but we are most definitely prepared for the work ahead!

Because there is no model in which to follow, the primary ingredient in our approach to instruction has to be centered around flexibility. As we begin school and start working with students, it may be necessary to adjust our plans and strategy. If we need to add days to the school year or time to the school calendar, we can do so when we have more data with which to make an informed decision. As the old saying goes, 'we need to keep our powder dry'. 

Our Approach

To start, let's get this question out of the way: we plan to start school with students in attendance at our brick and mortar buildings as scheduled on August 24th as originally planned.

We need to get our students back in school to determine where exactly they are in their continuum of learning. Luckily we already have systems in place that can be leveraged to provide us the needed data; those primarily being our FAST system. In those areas where FAST isn't appropriate, we'll rely on formative data teachers collect in their classrooms. This is going to be a delicate balancing act because in terms of their social and emotional well-being, we must provide our children with as normal of a start to the school year as possible. It would not be in anyone's best interest if we spend all our time in assessment. Then quite simply, we provide on-time instruction as we approach new learning. 

Over the course of the summer, our faculty at Hudson is fully engaged in preparations for the 2020-2021 academic year. While that work is multi-faceted, it also includes an evaluation and 'scaffolding up' of essential learning concepts. Think about it in this way: 

You should expect then, that students will be exposed to grade level curriculum. In other words, if your child is going to be in 4th grade, we will start the year with 4th grade curriculum. Likewise, students who are taking Physics will be exposed to that curriculum as opposed to curriculum that may not have been covered in Biology. As students progress through their continuum of learning, we will fill in those gaps as we approach new standards and expose those missed opportunities through our scaffolding up of essential learning skills.

Additionally, it is important to note that we already have a robust system in place that is designed specifically to meet this need. While originally designed as a program to assist in the completion of homework, we will retool and leverage our already successful After School Program. Our school day then, can be extended for students who need additional remediation. Working in collaboration with parents, we are prepared to extend the school day for those students who need additional support. This will provide us with a chance for teachers to work with small groups of students on an as needed basis to ensure they are exposed to the full comprehensive curriculum that is aligned to the Iowa Core Academic Standards.

Finally, this approach doesn't attempt to implement a 'one size fits all' solution across the entire student body. Instead, this plan affords maximum flexibility. It allows the district, working in collaboration with parents to make decisions about instruction as we progress through the school year. If we decide a more aggressive approach is needed, we can make that calibration strategically. Those adjustments could include such things as lengthening the school day later on in the school year, adding days on to the school calendar, or offering a targeted summer school program that encompasses multiple disciplines.