In the hallway of Seaford Central Elementary School, teachers directed students to their new classrooms on Tuesday.
But there were no hugs or high-fives on this first day of school.
No catching up with friends in the hallway or standing around a neighbor’s desk.
Instead, teachers bent down to third-grade heights to bump elbows with students filing in. Squinted eyes and raised eyebrows offered up the smiles covered by masks.
Photos covered the wall of one hallway, showing what teachers and staff looked like with and without masks.
Natasha Waters’ projector displayed a typical first day of school message – “Welcome to fifth grade!” – as her students found their way to their desks.
SCHOOL PLANS: Back to school in Delaware: How does your school district plan to start the year?
Like any first day of school, it was time to review classroom rules.
“Since things are a little bit different this year, we have to incorporate handwashing,” she told the class – only five boys seated at desks spread throughout the classroom.
Demonstrating, she showed the five fifth graders where to throw away their trash after breakfast and where to wash their hands for 20 seconds. She showed them how to use their paper towel to turn off the faucet.
Then – and this is the important part – they were to go straight back to their desks so the next student could take his turn.
Across the building, elementary teachers reviewed this new morning routine, just one of many changes as Delaware students head back to school in the middle of a pandemic.
Seaford was one of the few school districts to bring students back into the classroom this week, a preview of what’s to come for the other Delaware districts hoping to make the transition in about six weeks.
Elsewhere in the state, students and teachers started the year from home on Tuesday after many school districts opted for a virtual start to the year.
It’s still too early to tell how the year will progress, education officials have said. And the coming weeks should give a better indication of best practices for kids learning online, Gov. John Carney said at a press briefing on Tuesday.
“It’s already way better than it was in the spring,” Carney said. “It’s going to be the leaders and teachers really leaning into it to understand what works and what doesn’t in terms of remote instruction and this new configuration in the classroom.”
BACK-TO-SCHOOL PREP: Can Delaware schools pull off education during a pandemic? We're about to find out
'Unreal'
Seaford High School is eerily quiet. Only about 25% of students are in the building at one time, and when they are moving from class to class, stickers on the ground remind them to practice social distancing.
Bookshelves in the library are wrapped in plastic, and black garbage bags mark which computers are off-limits.
In close-to-empty classrooms, teachers give lectures to the students in the room, but also those listening at home through Zoom.
The cafeteria's long tables have been replaced with individual desks. Students don't wait in line anymore. Instead, cafeteria workers wheel a cart of prepackaged meals from student to student.
Seaford’s version of hybrid learning splits students into three groups, one learning entirely from home, the other two attending in-person classes two days a week. Every Wednesday, all students learn from home so custodians can fully disinfect classrooms.
Across the district, about 50% of families have chosen to keep their children at home, said Jason Cameron, public information officer at Seaford.
The difference in numbers is clear from the moment students arrive at Seaford Central Elementary – instead of the usual flood of kids getting off school buses, only handfuls of students left each bus. A large “X” marked the rows where students weren’t allowed to sit, to enforce social distancing.
In total, about 125 students were present at Seaford Central Elementary on Tuesday, about 25% of the student body, Cameron said.
That translated to classes sometimes as small as five kids.
“It’s unreal to look at this,” said Cameron, who’s been an educator for 20 years. “I’m so used to having 28, 30 kids in a class.”
Tucked in the southwest corner of the state, Seaford faces challenges common to rural school districts, particularly when it comes to internet access.
In the early hours of the school day, families visited the main office for more information about free internet being provided for low-income families.
BROADBAND: Students can't learn online without internet access. Here's what Delaware is doing
The week before the start of the year, the district called about 350 families to double-check who needed assistance with internet access. But some families still live outside providers’ coverage area, Cameron said.
At all schools, he said, teachers are encouraged to take classes outside as often as possible. The district almost rented large tents to hold even more classes outside, but soon realized the expense was too great.
At the elementary school, an outdoor physical education class gave students a chance to take their masks off, held in place by a lanyard given to every kid.
One teacher seated her class on bleachers, warning them to keep still so the creaking metal wouldn’t interrupt her reading of the picture book “How I Spent My Summer Vacation.”
FAQ: Answers to your questions about returning to Delaware schools this fall
Like other districts in the state, Seaford plans to reevaluate its hybrid plan at the end of the first marking period. Whether the district brings more students into buildings depends on how the spread of COVID-19 progresses in the state.
Statewide, Carney has said, the goal is to get more students in front of teachers as the year goes on. And after a summer of intense planning, districts continue to hone in on how best to educate kids during a pandemic.
“It’s unreal,” Cameron said. “We’ve had to change our whole mindset. This is what education is now.”
Natalia Alamdari covers education for The News Journal. You can reach her at (302) 324-2312 or nalamdari@delawareonline.com
"Many" - Google News
September 09, 2020 at 03:46AM
https://ift.tt/3jXVTBP
Virtual learning, near-empty classrooms, many Delaware students return to school - The News Journal
"Many" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2QsfYVa
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Virtual learning, near-empty classrooms, many Delaware students return to school - The News Journal"
Post a Comment