Students reported that online classes necessitated by the pandemic provided important contact with peers and teachers during building closures, but students did not prefer remote learning over in-person school.

“Remote learning was a band-aid that was plugging a chasm of issues. I had kids who had never before experienced anxiety shutting down. I will never forget the night I got an email from a student that simply said, ‘I just can't.’ She never realized how much she needed face-to-face interaction; she was describing how much a smile meant to her and how she needed teachers to ask her about her game or what she was reading.”

~ Lori Atkinson, Copenhagen Teachers Association secretary and high school English teacher

Some students who were already disengaged in school became even more disengaged – checking in briefly to satisfy attendance requirements before turning cameras off, disappearing into the background of the online class.^[1]

Teachers reported that concurrent teaching (working simultaneously with in-person and online students) was ineffective and counterproductive. The return to in-person instruction this fall reinforced the power of face-to-face, one-to-one teaching and learning that develops strong teacher-student relationships.

Access to the internet and computer technology was a must pre-pandemic and is even more critical now. For many families, the lack of in-home computers and reliable high-speed internet service obstructs access to learning and basic services. Students may have access to the internet, but only through a single shared device, often a cell phone. Some families have no access to the internet at home due to unreliable or unavailable cell service.

During the pandemic, schools worked to place devices in the hands of every student, but they were not able to bridge the digital divide caused by inadequate internet service. A summer 2020 report from Common Sense Media found that 726,000 students statewide lacked an adequate internet connection and 567,000 were without an adequate device.^[2]In some cases, schools provided internet hot spots that were useless in homes with no cellular service. School, library and even fast-food restaurant parking lots became sources for Wi-Fi networks for many families.^{[3] [4] [5]}

As part of the 2021-2022 state budget, the Public Service Commission was directed to create an internet access map to show areas where internet access is lacking. The report and map are due in 2022 and should be used to create a plan to eliminate internet access deserts.

Technology can be used effectively to support a student’s education and parent involvement. For example, the use of videoconferencing to conduct parent conferences during the pandemic often resulted in increased parent attendance, to nearly 100 percent in some schools.

Instructional practices, such as the flipped classroom, were in place pre-pandemic and found more widespread use during the pandemic. In a flipped classroom, rather than lecturing during the class and then assigning new problems or concepts that advance the day’s lecture as homework, a teacher may choose to provide a video lesson for students to watch and take notes from at home (also allowing them to go over the materials as many times as needed). Then in class, the new problems or concepts can be introduced as group work, giving the teacher the opportunity to work closely with students who need one-on-one help.

“My son’s math teacher is doing a flipped classroom and she is really helping kids learn self-management through that. They’re learning self-responsibility for what they need to do at home and what they need to do at school. Even though it’s just a procedural change, it’s helping them learn those skills.”

~ Amber Chandler, Frontier Central Teachers Association President and middle school English teacher

Expanded collaborative teaching and learning, use of learning management systems and effective parent communication are all examples of pre-COVID practices that were more widely adopted and equally successful during the pandemic.

Professional learning helps keep all school staff on the cutting edge of instructional practice and educational technology. In many districts, teachers were not provided adequate training as the pandemic emerged and its long-term impact was realized. Some teachers were handed devices at the beginning of the pandemic and told to “figure it out” without any ongoing support throughout the year.

Adequate time for individual planning, as well as collaboration with colleagues, is essential to support educators in the classroom. The pandemic amplified an already critical lack of planning time for teachers. New pandemic-related duties, staff shortages and district-imposed initiatives have resulted in significant stress for educators that threatens their success and that of their students. It is critical to re-establish important planning and collaboration time into educators’ schedules to allow them to accomplish these essential duties.

Download Section 5 PDF