Schools ramp up for distance learning
As schools in Lake County entered their second week of empty hallways and bare desks, the five districts in the area rolled out distance learning enrichment activities.
Gov. Steve Bullock announced Tuesday that all Montana K-12 schools would remain closed through April 10, extending the two-week closure that he put in place March 16.
School districts across the valley have been preparing for at-home learning activities and further developing their distance learning lesson plans.
Polson School District 23 has a COVID-19 updates page on the district website and has also been posting regularly on their Facebook pages.
The latest update came Sunday evening from Polson superintendent Rex Weltz. He announced the district now has enrichment activities posted under a “learn from home” link, and from there students can find their school, grade and courses. There are also paper-packet versions of the same lessons available for pickup if a student cannot access the information online.
Students will also have access to their teachers via email and phone during new enrichment office hours Monday through Friday, from 9-10 a.m. and 1-2 p.m. Weltz assured parents and students that the district, schools and teachers want to support the students as much as possible.
“Again we want you to know that we are thinking of you during what we know is a very stressful and anxious time,” Weltz said in a message to students and parents. “And, we are so appreciative of our teachers and staff for their flexibility, positivity and kindness during what has been a challenging time for them as well.
“We have literally transformed our education system in one week,” he added.
The note also stated that they will continue serving school breakfast and lunch, which are available for pickup throughout the closure.
Ronan School District 30 also had a successful week feeding students breakfast and lunch despite the closure. On Monday afternoon a message from Ronan Superintendent Mark Johnston stated that through 10 pickup locations across Pablo and Ronan, as well as curbside service at Ronan Middle School and Pablo Elementary, the district successfully fed kids 18 years of age and younger. The District gave out 1,105 breakfasts and 3,519 lunches last week.
Similar to Polson, Ronan School District began providing extended learning plans, which started Monday. Johnston said last week the teachers in the district were busy developing online learning, which are available as paper packets as well, and will continue to develop more plans this week. Ronan teachers are also available for email correspondence from 10-11 a.m. and 1-2 p.m.
According to the note sent out to parents and students, the Ronan School District is very concerned about students that lack access to technology. The schools are working with those families to check out devices and Johnston also encouraged parents to obtain internet access if they do not already have a connection. He stated Access Montana is working with the district to provide free or low-cost internet to households in the area.
“We are also inventorying all of our devices and will make them available for check out soon. We are starting right away with our current seniors who have a need,” Johnston said in the statement.
Thursday at 7 p.m. the district is hosting a special virtual school board meeting live on the Ronan School District’s Facebook page and all are encouraged to tune in.
St. Ignatius Public Schools is also prepared to move to distance learning if it comes down to it. This week was the district’s regularly scheduled spring break and they will await word from the governor to see if the closure will extend past Friday.
A St. Ignatius Public Schools’ Facebook post written by superintendent Jason Sargent last week wished the students well and encouraged them to stay positive. The school is not providing at-home lessons as of yet, but is prepared to in the future, if need be.
“Actual school plans for what we will be doing for any additional time off after spring break will be rolled out when we know the status of where we are heading. We are completely prepared to offer whatever needs to be done in order to weather any delay to your school year and/or educational needs,” the Facebook post read.
Mission already had a “Learn at Home Hub” on their website and students can access some learning materials there.
Similar to St. Ignatius, the Arlee School District is taking this two-week closure to prepare for a possibility of distance learning in the future. The district has not provided at-home learning as of yet, but teachers have been starting to work on future lesson plans. Teachers and classified staff return to the school Thursday in order to begin forming online learning and preparing take-home packets.
Last week a statement from superintendent Jim Baldwin said on March 30, students will be able to return to school to pick up any items they left there and staff will have packets ready to take home.
In the statement Baldwin said that Arlee School District was taking COVID-19 precautions very seriously.
“As of now it is uncertain when we will be able to resume school as normal. Please stay healthy,” Baldwin said to conclude the message.
Charlo School District is taking similar measures to make sure students do not fall behind in their education. According to a Facebook post by superintendent Steve Love, as of Monday students could come in at different scheduled times to pick up school-work packets.
As the rest of the school year and when classes will resume is uncertain at this time, Mission Valley school districts are taking necessary steps to prepare kids to continue their education from home.