With school suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic, arrangements have been made for students to continue their education, but not everyone in Marion County is on equal footing.
Columbia Elementary fourth-grade math and science teacher Lindsey Lucas said she and her fourth-grade team have worked really hard to upload all of the coursework onto Canvas, the online learning platform the Columbia School District uses. She said the students are very familiar with Canvas because technology is implemented regularly into their classrooms anyway and that measures have been taken for students and families to get coursework in paper form who don’t have access to internet.
“A lot of work and preparation has gone into these plans as a lot of our students require modifications and accommodations. We want our students to succeed during this time off,” she said. “We have been asked to stay in contact with our kiddos and parents. This is nothing new, though; we try really hard to keep our parents informed always.”
Lucas added a lot of her fellow teachers have been using Zoom, an online video conference service, to keep in direct contact with their classes. She plans to do it as well, and both of her daughters, fifth-grader Sophie and third-grader Aubrie, have already used the platform to talk with their teachers.
Lucas is in a unique position as both a teacher and a parent and said she’s anxious to see how distance learning plays out and what it will be like to teach her own children.
“It's so much easier to teach someone else's child rather than your own. I'm anxious about keeping my girls on task also while staying readily available for my fourth graders. This is a very big adjustment for everyone,” she said. “My girls are a little excited; hopefully that excitement will not wear off.”
Chatara Maxwell is a seventh-grade math teacher at East Marion but has two children, Sariya and Bailee, in Columbia schools. Maxwell, with her experience as a teacher, has been able to line up her daughters’ days to continue their lessons in combination with Columbia School District’s efforts. Sariya is a fifth grader at Columbia Elementary School and has been doing Zoom lessons with two of her teachers, while Bailee is in kindergarten and Maxwell has been providing her with basic lessons.
However, Maxwell hasn’t had any contact with her own classes. Marion County schools have been providing students with packets of grade- and subject-specific work that can be picked up where they are providing school lunches daily because a lot of students don’t have access to internet, particularly in East Marion’s district.
“I have a sister that lives that way who has AT&T internet, but their internet has been down because it’s down at the central office in Atlanta and they don’t know when it will be back up,” she added.
Through its website, marionk12.org, though, the district does have coursework available online, including ACT practice tests for high school students. For those without internet access, Maxwell said parents could also go over school work their child has already done this year to keep the knowledge fresh.
Rebecca Baker, who has three children (Jessica, 10th grade; Cara, fifth grade; Analeigh, third grade) in Columbia schools, said she and her husband have to make adjustments as they are both still working. Thankfully, the teachers have been on top of everything and communicating regularly with parents via Canvas, but internet speeds have been an issue in Columbia as well.
“They send out emails and updates on Canvas about what’s going on and what (the students) have to do,” she said. “This week they’ve mainly been trying to get the kids where they can test on the Chromebooks and making sure the internet connection is working to where they can actually see their teachers.”
Baker added they have had issues with their AT&T internet as well, which she said is usually more reliable. She was complimentary, though, about CSD’s commitment to continuing students’ education.
“You can tell they’re really putting forth a lot of effort. The teachers and the administration both are working hard to make sure they’re able to work for the next few weeks,” she said. “It’s just a lot of information with three different kids and nine different teachers. Hopefully we’ll be able to follow all the instructions because we’re getting bombarded with a lot of information right now.”
At West Marion, seventh-grade math teacher Kim Ham has been in contact with her students through Remind, a program designed for communication between students and teachers. Ham’s son, Josh, is in dual-credit college courses, which haven’t been interrupted. Josh is a senior who signed with East Mississippi Community College to play football, but with no end date to the pandemic everything remains up in the air.
Ham said it’s been difficult to see Josh lose so much of his senior year, especially with senior prom and graduation being uncertain as well.
“I hate if for all the seniors, not just him, because I’ve taught all of them. They’ve had a memorable senior year whether they want to remember it or not,” she said.
Lucas added a message to parents to do the best they can during this difficult time.
“It's hard being a parent, employee, teacher and everything else. So do what you can and just enjoy this time with your children. Don't stress. We are all in this together,” she said.
