As Bellingham schools open, online learning ‘will look much different‘ than last year
Parents with children in Bellingham Public Schools worry about how they’re going to handle remote learning with several children in the household, single moms say they will have to choose between a paycheck and their children’s education because students are at home instead of in school, and those with special needs students wonder when they can bring them back to school for the in-person attention they need.
Those were among the questions parents asked Thursday, Aug. 20, during a virtual conversation with Bellingham Public Schools Superintendent Greg Baker weeks out from the Sept. 8 first day of class for the school district and its roughly 12,000 students.
The largest school district in Whatcom isn’t the only one holding online sessions with parents wondering what to expect and how their students will learn this year as all public schools within the county start the year with distance learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other school districts, including Ferndale and Mount Baker, also have been holding virtual community meetings to try to answer parents’ questions and their concerns.
“I know announcing school not opening is hard for folks,” Baker said Thursday, noting that schools all over and around the world are grappling with a difficult decision and that districts that have opened “within a matter of hours or days, they’ve had to close back down.”
He added: “Things keep changing. We’ll do our best to be honest and transparent with our answers today.”
Bellingham students in its 22 schools will start the school year in phase 1, meaning that everyone will be learning virtually. Some students — possibly homeless, special education or English-language learners — may be able to return for in-person learning in phase 2, provided it’s safe for students and staff.
The youngest learners — pre-K through first grade — who have a hard time learning on computers could be brought back in stage 3 for in-person learning, according to Baker.
Hybrid learning with students online and in-person is set for stage 4, and everyone would come back in stage 5.
However, there is no specific timeline or metric for moving from phase to phase, Bellingham officials said, adding that will depend on data and confirmed cases in the community as well as guidance from the governor’s office and health officials.
Baker said he wants to move through the phases “deliberately and slowly,” acknowledging that not everyone agrees with him, so they don’t have to backtrack.
In terms of bringing students back and opening schools, Baker said “there will always be risk in that but our goal is to minimize that as much as possible.”
Other topics the superintendent covered included:
▪ The need for child care because students won’t be at school. “This is one of the biggest strains and stresses on our families,” Baker said. “It’s a tough one.”
Bellingham schools officials said they were working on that issue, though they said it’s a larger issue that they can’t solve alone or for all, including their own staff who have children at home.
▪ An overview of daily learning. It will be unlike last March when schools closed and districts were not geared up for online learning. “This fall, opening up will look much different,” Baker said.
For example, attendance and participation will be required; teachers will lead live, scheduled lessons; students will get regular feedback on assignments as well as grades; work will be online and offline vs. 100% screen time; most classes will be taught using Microsoft Teams so students and families will have fewer platforms to figure out; and teachers will personalize lessons for the variety of learning needs in their classrooms.
Lessons also will be taped.
▪ The emergence of “pods” — groups of students working together virtually or families helping each other with child care, for example — as part of a national trend. Baker said that many parents have emailed him about pods, adding that the district will put out some information and guidance for best practices and ideas.
▪ Getting computers into the hands of all students who need them and nearly universal Wi-Fi access for their families since the school district has had time to prepare for fall, unlike spring.
“Many communities can’t say that,” Baker said of the technology, “but we can.”
That’s because voters in the Bellingham School District have approved a technology levy.
This story was originally published August 23, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
