education Distance Learning Challenges by: Sharon Michalik, Bay District Schools Director of Communications
P
utting students back to school within a month of the devastation of Hurricane Michael was, by far, the most monumental challenge ever faced by Bay District
Schools. At the time, the district thought that was going to be the biggest hurdle they ever jumped as a team. And then came Covid-19. When the state called for school closures on the eve of our Spring Break, Bay District Schools had no idea this signaled the end of our “brick and mortar” school year or that our distance learning plan would be expected to stretch over two months. Our transition to virtual learning has not been without setbacks, unique obstacles and constant on-the-job training for all of us and
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Distance Learning To call what we did “virtual school” would be an affront to virtual schools across the country. There are many purpose-built virtual schools, including Bay Virtual School here in Bay County, which thrive in the digital world and are well-versed in the challenges of online learning. We, however, had basically a week with our staff to figure out how to deliver lessons online and so we like to call what we did “emergency distance learning” because that’s exactly what it was. One of the lessons we’ve definitely learned from this is that our parents and students need one platform for this process.
we couldn’t have managed at all without the incredible support
Initially, in the race to get started quickly, we were reluctant to ask
of our students, parents and entire community! We’ve learned a
our teachers to all learn one platform and further complicate their
lot during the past couple of months, along with our students,
already-intense workloads. So, we had teachers using an array of
and know that we’re better positioned now to reactivate a digital
platforms while trying desperately to do the best they could for
system if the state calls for future school closures.
their students.
BAY B I Z / S U M M E R 2020
