Here’s how Whatcom public school districts fared on their first day with remote learning
Students at four Whatcom school districts adapted to a new, entirely remote school year Tuesday, Sept. 8, with only minor technology issues.
By now, each school district has started with the year with remote learning, following the Aug. 4 guidance from the Whatcom County Health Department. Although remote learning helps protect the community from COVID-19 transmission, the move has troubled some families and educators with connectivity and childcare issues.
Bellingham Public Schools, Lynden School District, Nooksack School District and Mount Baker District started the school year Tuesday. They followed the Ferndale School District and the Meridian School District, which started Sept. 2, and the Blaine School District, which started the year on Aug. 26.
Here’s how several districts reported their first days went.
Bellingham
The school year began smoothly for the most part at Bellingham Public Schools, wrote communications manager Dana Smith in an email statement. Having the summer to prepare allowed the district to develop systems for food and technology access, Smith added.
“In the spring, our priorities, which were set by the governor, were more focused on the immediate public health emergency,” Smith wrote. “It’s been an immense challenge to reinvent the system of school, which is built around in-person relationships and physical spaces like classrooms.”
Smith reported some issues connecting new devices to district WiFi and parents reporting WiFi capacity challenges at home.
“We are continuing to help our families troubleshoot any challenges they experienced, and we thank all the staff who worked so hard all summer to prepare,” Smith wrote.
Going forward, Smith wrote the district is working on a help hotline to support families outside school hours and they are continuing to provide students in need with necessary supplies such as laptops, headphones and even furniture.
Additionally, all Bellingham students can pick up free meals at 15 school locations and six community centers every Wednesday starting Sept. 9, according to a news release.
The district extended this free program through the 2020-21 school year following an Aug. 31 authorization from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. At each location, students will receive 14 meals made from scratch at a central kitchen, the release read.
Lynden
The Lynden School District also started the year Tuesday with only minor technology issues here and there, said Superintendent Jim Frey.
Schools spent the first day distributing devices at elementary schools and getting middle school and high school students engaged with the new distance learning model, Frey said.
“There are reports of troubleshooting technology kind of all over the place as people get used to doing things in a new way,” Frew said. “There were some wins in that and there are still frustrations and things to try to iron out still as we go.”
Frey added he’s proud of his team for securing devices and getting the plan in motion while technology and services are in such high demand.
“There are still bugs to work out, don’t get me wrong,” Frey said. “But the fact that we were able to get those in people’s hands while others are still waiting on orders or deliveries is pretty significant at this time.”
Though the district has secured enough devices, Frey added later that there was a computer shortage at one school where about 35 computers failed to get there on time. Those computers will be distributed either Wednesday or Thursday as they come in, Frey said.
Nooksack Valley
The Nooksack Valley School District, which started Tuesday, continues to learn and adjust to challenges such as connectivity issues, wrote Superintendent Mark Johnson in an email statement.
“Given the level of complexity and variability in our launch, perfection is certainly unattainable,” Johnson wrote. “Our commitment is to be better tomorrow than we were today.”
Johnson said the district faces internet connectivity challenges, especially in more rural and remote areas. He added the district is working with vendors to bring improved access to homes and hopes to bring students with inadequate connections back to campus sooner.
Community efforts have brought some relief from these challenges. Johnson said several local churches have established connectivity centers where students can access working internet and be supervised part of the day.
Additionally, Johnson said some parents have created gathered small groups of students together to learn in connected environments.
Mount Baker
The Mount Baker School District faced some connectivity challenges when classes started Tuesday, but overall the day worked out, wrote Superintendent Mary Sewright in an email statement.
Sewright acknowledged challenges with internet access throughout the district, but added they plan to mitigate those issues by distributing WiFi hot spots that should arrive soon.
“Overall, connectivity went as well as expected,” Sewright wrote. “There was some confusion with links, passwords, etc. It all worked out by the end of the day.”
The district prepared better for remote learning this time compared to the spring, Sewright wrote. She reported excellent attendance as well.
“Everyone was much more prepared,” Sewright wrote. “There has been a great deal of planning and collaborating to put a much more robust program together… I am very proud of all staff and students for their engagement today.”
Sewright added the district is actively listening to feedback from families and plans to adjust as necessary on a day by day basis.
Meridian
The Meridian School District started the school year Sept. 2 with only minor connectivity issues, wrote Superintendent James Everett in an email statement.
“We did have initial challenges with some families trying to access our Google Classroom and Zoom meetings,” Everett wrote. “We directed those questions to our technical department and also provided guidance in those initial conversations… Each family has its own unique challenges and we are finding ways to help them.”
The district spent much of the summer securing and distributing devices for remote learning, Everett wrote. The district expected a period of adjustment, Everett added, but so far the response has been positive.
“We were pleased with the response and number of students joining our class sessions last week and their level of engagement,” Everett wrote.
The district continues to distribute WiFi hot spots and devices to those who still need them and has asked families to connect with the teachers to troubleshoot problems, Everett wrote. The district also set up email addresses where families can inquire about specific issues.
Ferndale
The Ferndale School District started the school year Sept. 2 and continues to face connectivity issues, wrote Superintendent Linda Quinn in an emailed statement.
“We made it through the first week in our new kind of distance learning school, and overall things went well, thanks to the efforts of our whole staff team, the patience and support of our families, and the resilience of our students,” Quinn wrote.
Quinn wrote that the first three days for students involved so-called conference schedules where students had a half-day of school while teachers had a full day, allowing teachers to connect with individual families and students. Elementary schools are continuing with the conference schedule this week, Quinn added.
Technology related issues created the biggest challenges for the district, Quinn wrote. The vast majority of students have checked out devices and managed to log on to their learning platforms, however, a small percentage of students have yet to pick up devices. Quinn added the district has created other opportunities for those students to pick up their devices.
Some areas in the district simply have inadequate internet access. To address some connectivity issues, Quinn wrote the district has created what it calls Safe Internet Access Sites at several schools.
The sites allow small groups of students to access the internet for remote learning while being supervised by district staff, according to the district website. Health procedures are enforced, and the supervisors do not teach the students, according to the website.
“While we don’t see these sites as long-term solutions, they have allowed students to connect to the internet to begin the school year with their classmates,” Quinn wrote. “They are also allowing us to connect to individual students and families so we can work with them on coming up with more effective solutions.”
Additionally, the district started its meal service last Wednesday with pick-up stations at each school. Quinn wrote this model provides families 10 packaged meals for each child, including five breakfasts and five lunches, every Wednesday.
Blaine
The Blaine school district started classes Aug. 26, well before the other public-school districts.
This story was originally published September 9, 2020 at 11:52 AM.
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