EDUCATION

Distance Learning Challenges by: Sharon Michalik, Bay District Schools Director of Communications

Putting 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 we couldn’t have managed at all without the incredible support of our students, parents and entire community! We’ve learned a lot during the past couple of months, along with our students, and know that we’re better positioned now to reactivate a digital system if the state calls for future school closures.

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.

Initially, in the race to get started quickly, we were reluctant to ask our teachers to all learn one platform and further complicate their already-intense workloads. So, we had teachers using an array of platforms while trying desperately to do the best they could for their students.

The outcome was an incredibly varied system that left some secondary students trying to navigate lessons, and assignments due, on six different platforms. And that, understandably, frustrated parents.

We’re literally “all together now” on one platform called Canvas and we know this will make things much simpler for our stakeholders and our employees. This move, according to BDS Superintendent Bill Husfelt, will lead to better service to our entire community. “I applaud the teachers wholeheartedly for getting the job done as efficiently as they did with what they had,” he said, “and I am even more grateful for their willingness to complete professional development on Canvas and adopt that as our official model going forward.”

Meals

When bad weather is forecasted for our area, many people reach out to the Superintendent to ask about school closures. While that sounds like a relatively simple solution to ensure the safety of our students, Husfelt noted school closures increase food instability for many children.

“Certainly I am always going to be focused on student safety, that’s my number one priority,” he said. “But I know many families in our area have not yet recovered from the financial blows dealt by Hurricane Michael and our students depend on the free meals served at school. I am always mindful of that.”

When BDS schools were closed in mid-March, Husfelt immediately put together a task force to develop a meal delivery plan. With 12 open sites throughout the community and as many as 46 buses on the road three days a week, the team coordinated delivery of more than 650,000 meals to our community. Thanks to a partnership with Bay County Emergency Services and the Bay County Commision, meal delivery will continue throughout the summer.

“We are so blessed to live in a community that cares so much for its children and prioritizes their needs,” Husfelt explained. “I am grateful to the Bay County Commissioners for their support of this program and I know these meals are making a huge difference in the lives of our children.”

Going Forward

So where does the school district go from here with all of the uncertainty created by Covid-19? The answer, according to Husfelt, is a summer of planning, consulting with experts and keeping tabs on local sentiment.

“I believe that the Governor will allow this to be a local decision and I want to make sure we’re doing what our community believes is right for our children and for our employees,” he said. “We do not know what the school year will bring, but we’re going to try to be as prepared as possible with several options we can implement and I definitely want to make sure the community knows that the well-being of our children and employees will always come first.”

Among the ideas being considered by task force are:

1. Staggered lunches

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3.

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5.

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Different places on campus for students to congregate in more socially-distant ways before and after school

The optional use of masks by students and employees

Additional sanitation on buses and in schools

Extra hand-washing supplies and information about hand-washing in the schools

Enhanced sick leave policies with more stringent rules about those with fevers etc.

Husfelt, who coordinated a survey that was sent out to parents/ guardians, employees and other stakeholders, believes in local control. “I don’t believe there’s a one-size-fits-all approach for all schools in our state or even in our community,” Husfelt said. “Nothing we do will eliminate the spread of Covid-19 nor can we, with absolute certainty, expect children to maintain social distance from one another. The CDC has lots of guidelines and suggestions that we’re looking at and we’re having some frank discussions with our task force members about what’s reasonable, feasible and practical.”

Mental Health

Given the previous school year was interrupted by Hurricane Michael, Husfelt said local students need the foundation and structure school provides.

“I am concerned about the mental health of our students and the emotional toll of yet another disruption to their lives,” he said. “I am pleased to have additional mental health experts on campus as a result of Hurricane Michael-related funding because I know that many of our students will need extra help when they do return.”

Plans are also being put in place, Husfelt said, to help students bridge the learning gap that may have occurred during the school closures. “Many of our students were trying to complete distance learning basically on their own because their parents or grandparents were working during the school closures,” he said. “I know that some of them will need extra help when they get back to school.”

The Superintendent is confident the teachers, staff and administrators of BDS are prepared to meet those needs. “There is no team in our state that is more flexible, more resilient and more passionate about creatively meeting the needs of students than this team of Bay District Schools employees who have already come together under the extreme circumstances created by Hurricane Michael,” he said. “I am proud of all they have accomplished and I know our students are in great hands.”