Online education ‘not working’

As many as half of the students who are using the online schooling option in Creston Community School District are not thriving, data provided by the school during the special board meeting Tuesday night showed.

A staggering 83% of first graders are not engaged due to behavior or attendance. The best numbers for engagement are in the kindergarten and second grade classes — and they show 38% of students not engaged, more than a third. Middle and high school students are not faring any better, with 66% and 58% disengagement and 69% and 58% of students earning at least one D or F.

“Academics is really what brought us here,” Superintendent Deron Stender said. “We would love to be able to provide online instruction with our teachers. ... Our teachers would love to do that as well. It’s just not working.”

Stender said at the beginning of the year CCSD expected to see around 100 students using the online option, instead, they had 223. Although that number has dropped to 145, it is still higher than the district expected.

“We thought we could do everything,” Stender said. “Looking at the data and looking at what we can do for our students and our families ... we wanted to be that great, but when it comes to the point where its costing our kids and their education, that’s not fair for us to do that.”

The district attempted to lighten the load for teachers and provide more effective learning for online students by advertising for new teachers to be dedicated to online learning. Stender said they received no applications for the positions.

“(We received) zero applications in about three months,” Stender said. “In good faith the district has tried to find licensed people ... we can’t find people. ... We can’t hire enough teachers.”

Changes

After a public hearing where parents, both in person and through Facebook Live, expressed their concerns with the district’s proposed changes to its online learning plan, the CCSD school board voted unanimously to change its “Return to Learn” plan to help mitigate the learning gap and to help teachers who are struggling with the added demands of online teaching.

Two major changes were rolled into the new plan. First, reducing the number of students who are eligible for online learning. Students will be required to have a medical excuse or to have shown an ability to thrive in the online setting. Secondly, most online learning will be conducted through Oddesseyware/Edgenuity.

Exemptions

Medical exemptions are not confined to immediate family, Stender said. A student who has contact with an immune compromised family member could still qualify even if they do not live in the same household with that family member.

Stender said that choice would be between the family and their doctor. Due to HIPAA restrictions, the school does not need to know what the reasoning behind the exemption is. The family simply needs to provide a doctor’s note that says they have a medical reason to not send their child or children to school.

The second exemption is for students who have done well with online schooling and would like to continue. Those students do not need a doctor’s note or an explanation for their preference. As long as the student is not receiving a D or F, they may continue schooling online. In the lower grades, where letter grades are not provided, other metrics such as engagement and assignment completion will be used to calculate success.

Oddesseyware/Edgenuity

Stender touted the success of Oddesseyware in the alternative school, saying it is a state approved has been used for several years. Moving to this program will allow the teachers to focus on the students in their classrooms rather than divide their attention between children who are present and those on a screen.

“We can’t keep doing this with our teachers, to our teachers and expect to get different results,” Stender said. “We want to take care of the people that we have in place and support them so we don’t burn their wick out.”

The program addresses a problem that students have had with technology interfering with online learning by allowing the students to work at their own pace and at any time.

Students who are temporarily quarantined due to a COVID-19 diagnosis or close contact will continue to work with their local teacher rather than use Oddesseyware in order to smooth their transition back to on site learning.

Students who are eligible for continued online learning will transition to Oddesseyware/Edgenuity. For elementary and middle school students this will begin Nov. 2. High school students will change to the program at the beginning of next semester, Jan. 18. The deadline for parents to request online learning is Oct. 28 for elementary and middle school students and Dec. 11 for high school students.

“We are going to be very flexible with that (the Oct. 28 deadline) because that’s tomorrow,” Stender said. “It would help if it’s the sooner the better.”

Students in the online program will still have the opportunity to engage with their peers during scheduled times such as seminar or homeroom. Each student will also have a local advisor. On the middle and high school level, this will be the seminar teacher.

Students will also have access to teachers, both online and locally, to ask questions and get help with assignments. A dedicated coordinator and technology integrationist will be available at each building level.

Questions

Stender and others answered questions from the public.

Did you break quarantine when you tested positive? — "This is personal to me ... I would never do something like that to our students, our staff or our community," Stender said.

Is Oddesseyware state approved? — "It is. ... It is licensed by the state of Iowa," Stender said.

Are the buses safe from COVID-19? — "Is it perfectly safe? No. ... Drivers can only do so many things. ... We're making the best decisions we can with what we have available," Stender said.

What are the grades on Oddesseyware? — "They are pass/fail. That way it holds the student harmless ... It won't help or hinder a student's GPA. ... The other thing is all colleges now under COVID do not count pass/fail grades against students on their transcripts," High School Principal Bill Messerole said.

What will this cost the district? — "We're paying $15,000 currently (to Oddesseyware for the alternative program). It will be $20,000 for licensure ... adding $5,000." Stender said. The district will not lose any money from these students as they will still count as CCSD students for state and federal purposes.

To view the public hearing and board discussion in its entirety visit https://tinyurl.com/Oct27R2LCreston.