This is the second story in a 2-part series on how the COVID-19 has affected our county.
Since COVID-19 arrived in the United States, families everywhere have had to make adjustments in everyday life. One of the hardest adjustments families have had to make involves education.
For years, the educational system has been taken for granted. Teachers and school systems have been subject to frequently changing laws, constant testing, and intense criticism for years. Now that schools have had to close their doors to the public, everyone can see just how valuable the schools are in society. Parents have suddenly had to take on the role of teacher. Teachers and school officials alike have doubled up by learning to teach from home using a variety of creative resources while simultaneously taking care of their own families. Students have had to take on the struggle of more independent learning with the new distance learning format.
Although it has been an incredibly difficult adjustment for many, the school systems in Clarke County have done an outstanding job handling the pandemic and doing everything possible to provide their students with a quality education.
“Although the closure of our school buildings has changed the way we are able to educate, we feel confident in the approach that we have taken to meet the needs of our students,” stated Enterprise Superintendent Josh Perkins. “Our staff has worked extremely hard to mitigate the disruption caused by school closure by providing a variety of distance learning options for our students. We have utilized online delivery methods such as YouTube, Google Meet, Google Classroom, and Zoom. In addition, we have provided paper packets and hard copies of materials for students that do not have internet access at their homes. We have loaned out Chromebooks and placed access points around our campuses to provide high speed internet to our students.”
Enterprise has not only provided the students with a way to continue classes and lessons in a new way. It has also continued to provided encouragement and support for its teachers and has done everything possible to motivate and support them. The district understands the importance of the teachers and knows the impact that the teachers are able to have on the students, even during the pandemic.
“There are two certainties that have been reinforced to our staff during this time. Number one is the impact of face-to-face instruction on student achievement. I’ve said over and over that the one resource in a school district that has the greatest impact on student achievement is the classroom teacher,” explained Perkins. “Even though there are more online resources available right now than ever before, the reason students are not engaging and not mastering certain objectives during school closure is because of the one resource that is missing: daily, consistent, face-to-face instruction with the classroom teacher.”
Reminding teachers of their importance is not the only certainty that Perkins has stressed to his staff. He is also focused on something that can have a big impact on the students and district if the school is unable to open in the traditional manner for the upcoming school year.
“The second certainty is the importance of relationships,” said Perkins. “Although finishing a school year with distance learning has not been easy by any means, the beginning of a new school year through distance learning would present a completely different set of challenges. I believe the difficulty of transitioning to distance learning has been offset in a major way due to the relationships our teachers have built with their students, parents, and guardians throughout the year. If we are unable to begin the 2020-2021 school year with a traditional schedule, the lack of established teacher-student/teacher-parent relationship will be a barrier that we will have to overcome.”
Like Enterprise, Quitman School District has done everything it can to help the students continue receiving a quality education.
“More and more we’re hearing from our students, their parents, our faculty and staff, as well as members of the Panther Nation community that this pandemic and the resulting closure of Quitman School District schools have emphasized the important role that education and our teachers play in the lives of Clarke County children,” stated Quitman Superintendent Toriano Holloway. “We know there are some difficult days ahead, but our school district is resilient and ready to face any challenges.”
Despite the difficulty of having to suddenly transition to distance learning, Quitman schools has confidence that these new challenges will be able to be overcome, and students will continue to receive a strong education no matter what occurs.
“What we know and have always known is that knowledge is the key in getting us to where we need to be going, and an education at Quitman School District will once again move us forward,” said Dr. Holloway. “Once this is over, and our governor and his staff report that it is safe to reopen our schools, we will continue to provide our kids with a quality education in the safest environment.”
The districts are not the only ones who have had to adjust to a new way of doing education. Teachers left for Spring Break not knowing that they would never again return to teach in their classrooms this year. In a moment’s notice, they suddenly had to change the way they provide instruction to students.
“As teachers, we are used to human contact: hugging, shaking hands, and high-fives. This has changed all of that,” explained Quitman teacher Michelle Davis. “We now have to depend on technology to stay in touch with our students and parents. This pandemic has shown how, as an overall community, we lack quality infrastructure for what it takes to effectively teach online. Many students and teachers in Clarke County are struggling to keep up with doing and grading assignments.”
As a teacher, Mrs. Davis is able to find the lesson to be learned from the lack of quality infrastructure that could assist with any other unforeseen quarantine in the future. She also sees the value of being able to have those in person relationships with her students.
“It is so important that the powers that be consider the lack of infrastructure and find a way to remedy it,” stated Davis. “I think this will help us all realize how much being at school with students and teachers means. While doing work online can be done, I believe teaching is meant to be done in person with immediate feedback for more effective results from k-12.”
Some teachers have started using the different technology available to meet with the classes online and have noticed the trouble with the infrastructure and the impact it has had on those class meetings.
“I teach four video classes interactively each week. Two of the classes have a high attendance rate—which keeps me inspired to continue,” explained Enterprise teacher Jaqueline Lewis. “The students work on assignments during the week, and I have been impressed with many of the students, but this is not the best way to learn or to teach. I worry about the students (and teachers) who have internet issues, and I hope this raises the priority of internet access for all of Clarke County.”
Teachers in the school system aren’t the only ones having to adjust to the major changes. Suddenly, many parents are having to take on the role of teacher and help their children stay focused on completing assignments. While some parents have struggled with getting their children to complete the assignments given, others have done everything possible to try and recreate the structure that schools offer.
“Our experience with homeschooling has been wonderful,” exclaimed Belinda Allen. “Russell Christian Academy has been nothing short of amazing. Every Friday, I receive the next week’s lesson plans. I have a binder that I put all of William’s weekly assignments in and have it organized by subject. He has daily work in seven different subjects plus Accelerated Reader. I have a large desk, and now I share it with him.”
Belinda attributes her success with homeschooling to the great teachers from the school, and she has truly enjoyed the quality time she’s been able to have because of it.
“Russell has made it very easy to teach William while having a full-time job. His teacher, Mrs. McDaniel, sends videos for each subject, so it helps the both of us with his assignments,” explained Belinda. “It has been an adjustment, and the one thing that William misses is seeing his friends every day. Although he misses his friends, he is glad to have his dad help with school work too. I know this is a difficult time and most people see it as very stressful. We see it as a time restored. We are getting to spend more time together as family—time that we really needed because this past year my husband battled cancer and kicked its butt.”
Teachers and parents aren’t the only ones who’ve had to adjust to distance learning. The students have had to be more independent with their learning. Although all students have been affected, one of the most affected groups of students is the senior class.
“We’ve missed out on a lot of the customary senior traditions, like senior skip day and the annual senior breakfast at school. We never really got to say goodbye. We left for Spring Break and never went back,” said Quitman senior Mallory Hales. “I won’t be able to go on my senior trip to Hawaii, either. I was supposed to leave the day after graduation, but they’re in quarantine until May 31, so I will have to wait until Christmas to go.”
Doing classes online has also proven to be difficult for the senior.
“It’s been hard to get work done online,” explained Mallory. “If I have any questions, I can only email the teacher, and I never know how quickly I will get a response. Sometimes I’ve lost my train of thought by the time I get a reply. It ends up where I just do the best I can and pray for the best. I was supposed to start a new class during the fourth nine weeks, so now I’m doing work for a class I’ve never met with in person. It’s just been hard adjusting to something so different.”
The seniors aren’t the only ones who have been cut short because of the pandemic. Sports have also suffered from the quarantine. Baseball was especially impacted by having to close the season before it could even get started.
“It has impacted us in so many ways—hurting the seniors the most,” explained Quitman baseball coach Matt Boone. “These guys didn’t have a chance to go out and finish their senior year. I can’t imagine how they feel, and knowing there is nothing I can do to fix it for them is just a horrible feeling. My heart breaks for them. It has also impacted our other guys as well. We were a young team, and those guys needed a lot of reps and experience, so the fact that they are basically missing a year will hurt. The main thing is that everyone is healthy and safe. We have to control what we can control.”
Although the distance learning isn’t the ideal situation for any school district, the schools in Clarke County have done an amazing job stepping up to the plate and adjusting how they educate the children. They have made sure throughout the ordeal that the students are still able to receive healthy meals during the week, and the teachers have done everything in their power to help their students from afar.
No matter what happens, the schools have shown that they are able to adjust to any situation that comes their way. They will continue to provide a quality education to students in the county, no matter what the situation is.
