Dayton teachers speak out about the challenges of virtual learning

DAYTON—Second grade teacher Ginger Bryan said the teachers at the Dayton Elementary School are working hard to educate students either through Google Classroom, which is for grades 2-5, and/or pencil/paper packets of activities, which are for grades K-5.

Bryan said many of the elementary school teachers have trained in various ways to support students and their families at home during the COVID-19 challenge.

“One of our new favorites has been the opportunity to use Google Meet technology via our district emails, to meet, virtually, with students, and explain and clarify lessons, or connect for weekly class meetings,” she said.

Teachers are making regular contact with families, and collaborating in grade bands, to identify priorities and provide enrichment opportunities. Some have trained and launched Google Classroom and others have added websites for family support, Bryan said. Others continue to reach out to students and parents by phone.

She said teachers are also working with paraprofessional staff to use the new technology to work with students.

In addition, teachers are helping fill brown bag meals, deliver food to students, provide childcare for the children of essential workers, and much more.

There are many challenges along the way, including connecting with every family, Bryan said.

She said delivering technology to the students, and getting physical packets of homework to students, and back from students, has also been challenging.

And training students in Google Classroom virtually, has been difficult.

“While some classrooms had used Google Classroom previously, it has been challenging to teach and direct from a distance,” she said.

She said Google Classroom is not the teachers’ method of choice. They would rather be teaching students in the regular classroom setting.

While the District has done a fantastic job of getting students connected to devices and the internet, some students are using a personal device at home that doesn’t work because it is not a Chromebook designed for Google interface, she said.

An additional challenge is that internet connections are not consistent in all areas of the county.

A complicating issue is the need to help their own children juggle homework and chores, while interfacing with and teaching students.

“The life skill of getting up and starting the day is still important to me, although that’s not thrilling to a 14-year-old,” Bryan said of her son, who is a high school freshman.

Bryan said her son has worked on daily reading and writing activities.

She said he now has “set” hours where he does school work through Google Classroom.

He is usually finished with that by lunch time and gets some downtime, to play basketball in the family backyard, and they take time to hike or bike in the afternoon and evenings, she said.

Like Bryan, MS/HS Math teacher Kristen Frankie understands the importance of rest after a busy week of work at home. She said weekends are for recuperation.

Frankie also has a son at home with her during the day.

She said her typical day is anything but typical, because she needs to help him with his school work, while working with her students.

She said sometimes her son peeks in to say hello toO when she is online with her students, which can complicate her scheduling with them.

“I wind up doing a lot of my work in small pieces throughout the day,” she said.

Frankie teaches Math to one period of sixth-graders, one period of eighth-graders, one period of eighth-grade math extensions, one period of Bridge to College Math for seniors, and one period of directed studies and alternative learning.

She said because students are now learning at home, they have the opportunity to be more responsible for that, and they can work at their own pace.

They are able to watch a video, watch it again, slow it down, or pause it, all of which provides them with more personal control.

Frankie said she has been working to keep up with the changing policies from the state.

For instance, state requirements for the Bridge to College Math course are that students now complete Unit 6 by the end of the year to meet the agreement with community colleges in Washington State. She said they are normally required to complete all work through Unit 7.

Much is still being determined about which benchmarks to cover to get sixth-graders and eighth- graders ready for math next year.

The state has said school districts need to work on determining how to grade students, at all levels going forward. The Dayton School District has not made a determination, yet, she said.

“We’re working on it, as we speak,” she said.

She is busy staying in touch with her bosses, her coworkers, and her students, and meeting with her seniors three times each week.

Efforts are being made to reach out to all of the students through emails, phone calls, contact with parents, postcards, or cards sent home, and new online office hours will be rolled out soon, she said.

Frankie said some students are emailing her for more work, or for help, or for ideas about what to work on, but she is concerned that she has not heard from some of her students, even in response to emails she has sent to them.

Teachers want to meet their students’ needs, and they are asking parents to contact them directly for any help they may need. A staff directory can be found at the Dayton School District website at: http://www.daytonsd.org.