As fear of the coronavirus continues to spread, PK-12 schools across the country have closed their doors as a precaution to reduce the number of people who may be exposed to the virus. School administrators are scrambling to determine how best to continue the instructional process for students. Officials are using online education as an alternative, but that will only be applicable for those students and families that have computers and internet access at home. We must remember that not all households have internet and computer access, so educators have to plan with this in mind.
To say that schools were not prepared to continue schooling during this crisis is an understatement. Most school districts have no online learning platform to move instruction to seamlessly. This is certainly something that every school district in the country should incorporate into their strategic plans as soon as the pandemic passes and schools resume. At this point, school will not resume anytime soon, so there is no consistency in the type and length of education students are recieving. Students in schools without adequate funding and resources are likely relying on work packets to instruct students. Work packets are worksheets, and we understand how this type of “instruction” is not challenging or elevating for student growth and development. The reality is that this type of work happens more in our schools than we might like to admit.
Hopefully as the pandemic comes under control and life returns to normal, school officials and communities can plan for instruction in cases of emergency that limit disruption to the educational process and assure that instruction is engaging, interactive, and challenging no matter where students live.