REPORTS TO THE BOARD

Woodland Middle School Reopening Report

To: Michael Green

From: James Johnston

Date: 3/03/21

Re: WMS March 2021 Board Report

The following are the items we have been working on at Woodland Middle School:

First week

Students did a great job adjusting to a new schedule last week.  I would say there were a lot of smiles but it was tough to see them through the masks.  It was awesome serving all students live for the first time in almost a year.  A few major differences for students were:

• Lunches were hosted by grade level with assigned seats, allowing some flexibility.
• Only half of their friends were attending on their assigned day.
• No “high fives” were given, even though I saw a few virtual ones.
• Health attestations and temperature checks were taken each morning.
• No students were struggling opening lockers since they are not being used during Covid.

While these and other things were quite different than our “normal”, most of the transition back to live attendance was smooth and positive.

Support for students on quarantine

• One of the reasons that we still have remote Mondays for all students is to provide an overview of the weekly lesson plans and give a framework for assignments. Even if a student cannot be at school live, they can still join these remote classes and follow the assignments/lessons on Google Classroom.
• Teachers are available on Monday afternoons if a student needs individual help.
• We have paras assigned to check in daily with students when they are on quarantine. This is done via phone, email, and Google Meets. This also gives the opportunity for a liaison to make sure the student gets the help and materials needed to stay up with classes.
• During quarantine, our counselors check in with students weekly to monitor social-emotional health, provide a listening ear, answer questions, and serve as additional support.

Why isn’t the middle school doing both live and virtual instruction simultaneously?

• The simultaneous model requires some students to be in front of the screen for over 6 hours a day on the days they are not live in class. As a middle school staff, we determined that this would not be the best model to serve our students since:
• Developmentally, 10-14 year-old students have more difficulty sustaining their attention for this extended period of time.
• We have significant (and what we consider justifiable) concerns about the amount of screen time and technology use for younger students.
• We want to wholly focus on students that are live in the classroom providing them individual attention, rather than having our teachers trapped in a small area trying to remain on screen for those attending class remotely. This also helps create a sense of normalcy.
• We believe we need to focus on social and emotional support in addition to academics when students are here. Focusing on a smaller group while at school helps afford that opportunity.
• Our staff will still be providing asynchronous opportunities including videos, skills practice, activities, and/or assignments on the days that students are not attending live in-person classes.