Equity is a buzzword in education. We hear it used by staff, administrators, and presenters. Under regular circumstances the practical application of equity seems to fall short of the ideal. During a pandemic, ensuring equity for students when teaching digitally becomes an almost insurmountable challenge.
This school year my district stepped up to tackle this challenge with an innovative approach: an evening school option for elementary students.
WHAT IS IT?
The elementary evening program runs from 1:30 PM-7:45 PM with half hour planning times before and after, including a 45 minute break for dinner. Classroom teachers and specialists from across the district staff the program, working with a mix of students pulled from fifteen elementary schools. Teachers remain connected to their home schools through Professional Learning Communities.
OPT IN, OPT OUT
In August when my district asked for teachers to volunteer for the program, some grade level slots filled up quicker than others. Low enrollment numbers, especially in Kindergarten, motivated new hires and those with lowest seniority to join the program. They feared being transferred to another school with higher enrollment and hoped to return to their homeschool at the end of distance learning, assuming enrollment returned to previous patterns.
Numerous families opted into the program. Some parents worked during the day, sending their children to daycares which offered inadequate schooling support. They wanted to monitor the learning of their children. Unexpected factors motivated other families. I know of one case in which a non-native English speaking family opted into the program, because their middle school aged daughter attended her classes during the day and then supported her elementary aged siblings during the evening program. The parents worked long hours and lacked the language mastery necessary to support their children’s learning.
A few cases of enrollment into the PM program raised red flags in the children’s home schools. Families enrolled children into the program after their students were unenrolled from the home schools due to twenty days of consecutive unexcused absences. The pattern repeated itself in the PM program. Currently, these students remain unaccounted for as attempts to connect with families failed.
Later, families opted out of the program due to a lack of flexibility. With older children attending school in the morning and the younger ones in the evening, time management became an issue. Some families preferred the teachers at the home school. Others realized the day program provided students with longer time slots for intervention support. Families began to opt out of the PM program, returning to their homeschools and often requiring the rearrangement of established classes to accommodate the influx of students.
CHALLENGES
Students in the PM program still receive Title and English Language (EL) services. Each grade level in the PM program receives EL services from different teachers throughout the district. The home school EL teachers manage the records of individual students.
One EL teacher shared her experience of teaching a full day at her home school and then an additional 45 minutes of 4th grade in the PM program. She teaches two groups of fourth grade students, giving live instruction for each group twice a week.
In early September she retrieved EL scores through EDS and reached out to families using the district interpreter instead of her school’s family liaison (who is Spanish speaking and has established relationships within the local community}, then she visited some families at home to help set up ChromeBooks and add students to her Google Classroom. Despite her efforts only four students consistently show up. Five of her other students only attended once.
The difference between her day groups, which consist of students who have known her for years, and her PM group, which consists of students from a variety of elementary schools, is striking. The lack of a previously established relationship with students and families is palpable in the initial lack of buy-in. Students had a harder time sharing and many refused to turn on their cameras. They don’t know each other and some didn’t remember the name of their classroom teacher.
Classroom PM teachers also face their own set of struggles. At first they feared their teams could be changed at any moment once enrollment fluctuated. They felt disconnected and unable to hold their students accountable, because their students came from five or six different schools and without a central administration. They felt rushed through the curriculum (the live teaching of the PM program is 2.5 hours shorter than the day program). These pieces ironed out as the year progressed but a problem with technology remains. Since students are enrolled in their home schools, checking student progress and information, such as addresses, requires running multiple reports (taking attendance means accessing six different class rosters).
CONCLUSION
Overall, the PM program provided teachers with job security. Many principals of the home schools support the teachers, allowing PM teachers to flex their time as needed. Families were able to choose an option that best met their individual needs, providing, although not perfect, a more equitable approach to online learning.
WHAT COMES NEXT?
Currently my district is in the process of transferring to hybrid learning. Parents once again have a choice of having their child attend school online, in person, or to continue in the PM program.
Personally, I love the innovation and the options for families. In a year where nothing has been normal (and truthfully what does normal mean anymore?) I see this as a perfect time to reach outside of the box. I think many of my own students would benefit from PM school; A lot of parents have gone back to work leaving students to fend for themselves during the day, and completing independent activities has been a big struggle.
I definitely agree with what you’re saying. Even though many of our students are connecting through daycare, it’s still difficult for them because of the chaotic nature of the environment. I am so glad my district was willing to be creative this year.
I love seeing people try really innovative solutions. Your district can take what they learned from this pandemic solution and see if–maybe–it meets a need for part of the population post-pandemic.
I know that we expect several families to continue with 100% online learning next year, even after the brick and mortar schools open full time.
The more workable options we can offer, the better.
I agree! The district has really had an opportunity to see how families respond to a change in schedule. Hopefully, this will encourage schools to further accommodate families even when things begin to return to “normal.”
I do believe that it is time to rebrand and restructure the way schools exist. I believe this is even down to the calendar, curriculum, boundaries, and even more importantly the inequities of opportunity, discipline, and belief in BIPOC students. This though, sounds a bit chaotic. I wonder about the mental state if teachers. I notice that when teachers are placed in job situations they deem as “temporary” often it shines through. Relationships are more stained, and the experience for both the students and the teacher looms under a dark cloud. I wonder about the educators that chose this program not because of best fit, but to keep a job. It sounds as though relationships were already difficult to cultivate, this strain can not lead to a great educational experience. Man, so much to unpack! Thanks for sharing.
You’re right. There really is a lot going on with this program. It is an experiment that works very well for some but is very challenging for others. The start was definitely chaotic but over times things have settled into a more stable routine. Although if the district were to permanently choose to provide this type of opportunity, it would need a lot of restructuring.
This is an interesting approach. I know that at the secondary level there are often conversations that percolate up about offering schedule options that deviate from the typical 8ish to 3ish option (and the greatest barrier is often athletics, which to be honest serves a very small group of kids in my area).
As we come out the other side of all of this closure/hybrid/etc., I think that our school day schedule is definitely one of the things we need to consider evolving.
I notice that you mentioned that some students who had attendance struggles at their home school also had attendance struggles in the PM model… I’m curious if there was a clear trend the other way, with a clear improvement in attendance patterns?
I wonder about other logistics too, but that’s beside the point… custodial staffing, food services, transportation… this must have been a major financial priority for the district to pull it off!
It really is a great deviation from the usual school day routine. I think this decision really showed the district that the school day is not as set in stone as many may think. Furthermore, just a note of clarification, the PM program is completely online. The rest of the elementary schools have returned in a Hybrid format this month but students in the PM program remain online. Those who wished to receive in person instruction left the PM program and are now back in their original schools.