Despite the difficulties that distance learning may bring, several small Healdsburg schools are getting creative with their distance learning plans and are seeing success. Some smaller schools, like the Alexander Valley School (AVS), are reporting a high percentage of student attendance and that students and teachers are starting to fall in line with the new routine of learning at home.
The Alexander Valley Union School District is home to AVS, a K-6 school that feeds into the Healdsburg Unified School District.
Now into several weeks of distance learning, superintendent and principal Matt Reno says that students are now becoming more routine-based.
“Attendance rates are high. Students are participating. Teachers are reporting that they are able to provide direct instruction through video conferences, small group sessions and even whole-class instruction with students,” Reno said. Teachers have been interacting through the video conference app, Zoom and through Google Classroom.”
However, that’s not to say the process hasn’t been challenging.
“This is something that no one really asked for,” Reno said. “Parents are becoming instructors, we have teachers that are needing to become well versed in technology to offer digitized curriculum, we have students that are off of certain routines and are missing out on the basic social interactions that they need to thrive.”
He said just like setting up a classroom for the start of a new school year, teachers are having to review rules and expectations of online learning as well as “netiquette,” what behaviors are acceptable online.
“It’s easy to get distracted when you are in a Zoom meeting with several other students, so the teachers have set up expectations early on and communication with parents is really key,” Reno said.
Each student was provided with a Chromebook or an iPad, however, Reno said that not all AVS families had internet access.
“We deployed half a dozen hotspots for Chromebooks and iPads that were distributed. We wanted to look through that equity lens so everyone has digital access,” he said.
He added that while the change has been tough, students are doing good and turning in assignments.
“It would be really easy to sort of not have high expectations here and recognize that there are so many headwinds that have hit us, the Tubbs Fire, the Kincade Fire, and now a pandemic, so it’s really a challenging time for these kids,” Reno said.
With that in mind, the school has restarted enrichment learning with a team of enrichment teachers providing art, Spanish and P.E. activities. They’ve also embedded their team lead for mindfulness and school counselors who can provide social and emotional support and one on one sessions.
“I have to give such credit to our teachers and parents for really ensuring that students have access,” Reno said. “The success is really based on our parents supporting what we are doing. We are not there in the home, we are not there to set up the surroundings, so we’ve really relied on parents as our partners on this.”
AVS is also providing grab-and-go breakfast and lunch meals for families.
“We have that available every morning for families to pick up,” he said.
West Side School
Over at the West Side Union School District, home to the K-6 West Side School off of Felta Road, students are working on a combination of online learning and take-home packets.
Kris Menlove, West Side superintendent and principal, said while students miss their school, teachers and parents are working hard to provide a top notch learning experience for students.
“We miss our students and they miss us. Families have shared out that their kids miss the daily interaction of school, their teacher, their friends and our school cats. When one family was picking up materials, the student shared from the car that he missed the smell of West Side. Teachers have shared with me that they miss things like student laughter, class discussions, and their students’ personalities,” Menlove said. “I am in awe of the hard work of our staff to provide amazing learning experiences for students, even though we are in different places.”
For the first two weeks of distance learning, West Side students used packets and then migrated to a combination of workbook and online learning. Since distance learning has been implemented, families are also receiving a learning update once a week on their student’s progress.”
Menlove said the district is committed to offering a distance learning plan that provides a reasonable balance for parents, students and teachers.
“We vetted what our students would use. It was a top priority for us that learning packets provided our families with clear expectations and options for learning since every family is experiencing a different reality right now,” Menlove said.
West Side’s enrichment teachers have also been providing virtual garden, art and music activities for students.
In terms of providing equitable internet access, Menlove said families without internet were provided with internet devices or were communicated with on how to get free internet access through local providers.
West Side is also providing breakfast and lunch grab-and-go meals from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. daily.
The Healdsburg School
Private K-8 school, The Healdsburg School, has also implemented various distance learning techniques and is interacting with their students through Zoom and at-home learning activity videos that are posted on their website.
At the start of the school’s distance learning program, head of school, Andy Davies, issued a message to students about teachers’ work in bringing school to the home.
“I am sure you are wondering what the next few weeks are going to bring and your teachers have been working all day diligently to create the best learning experience that we can in the remote platform,” Davies said in the video posted to The Healdsburg School website.
This new learning experience includes daily check ins with instructors and a bevy of creative videos from teachers that foster virtual connectivity.
For instance, fourth grade teacher Melissa Walker met with students independently via Zoom for a personal essay conference. During the conference, students worked to create writing goals and revise their opinion essay evidence.
P.E. teacher Justin Herrguth has been encouraging students to stay active with yoga and offered some inspiration with a video of himself before and after a Peloton bike workout.
The first grade teacher Kiley Clark-Kerbel, has also been streaming videos of pajama party themed read aloud time where students were prompted to read along.
In the message to students, Davies added that the school will try to create opportunities for students to connect with classmates virtually over school work.
“We are going to create spaces where you can connect with your classmates on some school work and I think it is also important to think about how you can connect with them outside of schoolwork in virtual space,” Davies said.
She ended her message on a positive note, saying that she cannot wait for the time after the crisis when she can welcome back students to campus.
“This is an uncertain time and it might even feel a little bit scary, but when we all work together and we think about how to care for one another in whatever way that we can we will get through this and we will be stronger for our efforts,” Davies said. “I invite you to embrace this as an opportunity to be open in communication with your family and with your teachers on how you are doing and I can’t wait to welcome you back on campus when we can do so.”
