“Rebooting” America’s Schools: Now and After the Pandemic”
“Rebooting” America’s Schools: Now and After the Pandemic”
Vincent F. Cotter, Ed.D.
For years school districts developed elaborate safety plans to protect students from intruders or from those planning some form of violence. Schools districts also assisted local county health and emergency response departments with their planning by providing bed space and access to their facilities for shelter or to assist in the distribution of food. Some districts actually planned evacuations and conducted drills in the aftermath of Three Mile Island but few planned for an event such as the current pandemic.
Ordered to remain at home except for essential services, school districts for the most part found themselves in “uncharted waters” without immediate and practical options to keep the instructional program alive. A few districts with significant technical capability were able to restore some semblance of instruction but even today, weeks after a majority of school districts closed, some district leaders struggled to find viable and instructionally sustainable solutions.
To be fair, the pandemic is an unprecedented historical event but at the same time the technology to keep the instructional program going has been available for some time. It just was not considered a necessity or a priority. Prior to the pandemic, some progressive districts saw the power of technology by providing its grade level and subject based curriculum on their websites along with recommended activities. These districts required that teachers post their lesson plans and provided parents access to their grade books to assist and support both students and parents. Obviously, during the pandemic, this level of technological investment has paid many dividends.
During this crisis the value of technology has clearly been demonstrated but it has also illustrated the inequity that continues to exist in far too many school districts. Larger urban and rural districts were reluctant to distribute computer tablets due to insufficient numbers of them. State regulations further prohibited distribution unless fairness and equity could be guaranteed. Some technology and cable companies tried to close the gap by providing free “laptop” computers or by providing access on the internet but too often, insufficient district infrastructure and non-existent advance planning for utilization presented obstacles.
At the same time, shuttered schools raised issues regarding deficiencies associated with instructional time, curriculum relevance, instructional substance and equity. Huge unanswered questions of how to meet the required mandated hours and number of school days in manner that is authentic and meaningful remain unanswered. Simply ending the school year without defined criteria for promotion and/or graduation may inadvertently communicate conflicting messages associated with rigor, relevance and instructional time. Certainly, federal, state and local government will have to exercise some flexibility to resolve these questions but it should require documentation that the instruction program was completed in a substantive manner. Otherwise, it would be difficult in justifying missing a month or more of one’s education.
Across the country, “Amid the Corona Crisis,” Education Week reported that states are examining options which balance state standards with the uniqueness of local control (Education Week, April 2020) but with tough choices come tough solutions. In finding the solutions to this dilemma, restrictions, regulations and the status quo should yield to creativity and flexibility of design and delivery. One such creative solution is project learning because, ideally, it is multidisciplinary and requires the demonstration of multiple skills. When implemented with a defined structure that is rigorous and relevant, it might address many of the issues surrounding time and standards.
Project Learning in its most simplistic form involves a research topic which is approved by a teacher or committee. Ideally, the approved project or action research integrates the fundamentals of Mathematics, Science, English, and Social Studies along with the Arts. The research should be challenging and presented in written form. Certainly, the project can take many avenues to reach its intended goal which is a demonstration of sufficient knowledge in key subject areas. Such an exercise should also demonstrate a sufficient commitment of time and treatment of the selected topic. This interdisciplinary approach might allow schools and districts to meet various standards and requirements in an authentic and substantive manner.
The current crisis has provided a forum in which to begin a dialogue to resolve the technological divide between the “haves” and the “have nots.” In addition, the crisis has also created opportunities to discuss long standing instructional issues regarding how education is delivered and approaches that cross over the boundaries of content, time and space.
We have learned a great deal about the importance of our schools during the pandemic. We already knew the important role that schools provide with instruction, mental health programs and as a hub of community activity. We know how important it is to educate ALL children but the pandemic has also demonstrated the integral nature of technology in the delivery of instruction to those less fortunate and the necessity of having a structure that is sufficiently adaptable to react to the unknown.
As we move forward, flexibility with regulations surrounding time and distance can unleash creativity that results in a myriad of sustainable solutions capable of reinventing the delivery of curriculum and instruction.
Let’s Get After It! Let’s Reboot Now and Ignite Performance!
Dr. Vincent F. Cotter is co-founder of the Exemplary Schools Organization, Consultant, Superintendent of Schools, Professor, Principal and Author (“Performance is Key: Connecting the Links to Leadership and Excellence” and “Igniting School Performance”). Dr. Cotter resides in Florida. Contact: vinnysup@aol.com or vinnysup355@gmail.com
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ReplyDeleteA year later, it’s clear that the Covid-19 pandemic has changed education in America in lasting ways, and glimpses of that transformed system are already emerging. School districts are developing permanent virtual options in the expectation that after the pandemic, some families will stick with remote learning — even for elementary school kids. I would like to say thanks to Mr. Al Rogers who worked as a Superintendent of Schools during the pandemic. He served Merced City School District and is proud of the way students and educators handled the crisis.
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