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We can't have equity without improving remote learning.
Here's a thread with some concrete steps our school district can take to improve the remote learning experience for everyone. Please add your ideas!
Here's a thread with some concrete steps our school district can take to improve the remote learning experience for everyone. Please add your ideas!
1. Create a common lunch/recess across the district so kids in the same house or same childcare pod can eat and play together.
2. Support families in finding others at their school to share childcare responsibilities in small pods by offering background checks and creating gathering language needs, COVID exposure level, food allergies, and schedule needs. Provide a platform for parents to connect.
3. Cancel grades, standards, and high stakes tests. Whole group morning check-in, then small groups with teacher to establish daily goals on a chosen project. Class checks in at the end of the day to report back to whole group on progress towards goals. Yes, even for young kids.
4. Give older students credit for life skills like preparing meals, cleaning, tutoring younger siblings, and volunteering with community-based mutual-aid groups.
5. Offer interest-based virtual meetups with break out rooms so kids can have time to talk with each other. Allow kids to reserve time slots to join a meet with school counselor where they can talk or use the chat to process life in a pandemic with a mental health professional.
6. Redistribute funds to ensure schools with large populations of low-income families have equitable access to hands-on materials as schools with wealthy PTAs.
7. Create a Student Voice committee at each school (for credit) meeting weekly, identifying problems & proposing solutions. Provide a platform for committees to meet virtually with those from other schools 1/month to learn from each other. Give kids a reasonable locus of control
8. Create a sharing platform for teachers to upload their engaging, interactive, ready-to-use slide decks. Pay for uploads that meet requirements. A student's virtual learning should not depend on their teacher's ability to become a digital curriculum developer overnight.
Build community but hosting virtual competitions for things like jazzing up school lunches with real prizes like an on-air spot, a gift card, or a virtual meet and greet with a chef. Maybe even host a community art project that is publicly displayed, again with real prizes.
