New learning models providing more at-home and online options will be explored by Durango School District 9-R after a survey discovered 800 of 1,100 responding parents are interested in integrating new technology into the education of their children.
Online schools are experiencing a spike in parental inquiries during the COVID-19 pandemic as more families gain experience with remote learning and at-home school work, said Superintendent Dan Snowberger.
Snowberger presented ideas to explore multiple learning options to the school board Tuesday in a special meeting and work session held on Zoom.
“A number of parents have been impressed by the work and creativity of teachers in home-based learning and they’d kind of like to explore that model,” Snowberger said. “Every student counts, and with each student we lose, we lose dollars. I don’t want to have to further reduce the budget because families have found better options for them.”
Snowberger proposes the district examine three different learning models that all could be offered as soon as the next school year:
The first model, the traditional model, would offer at-school classes only.The second model, a hybrid model, would offer some classes online and at home and some classes at school. Students might attend school two days a week and spend three days a week accessing classes online and working at home.The third model would offer classes exclusively through distance learning, with students accessing all their classes online and working at home.The hybrid model might be needed next school year if social-distancing restrictions are still in place to deal with COVID-19, Snowberger said. If a class of 28 is divided into two sections of 14, the district does not have the adequate classroom space to handle the wider dispersement of students.
“We don’t know what the infection rate is going to be like in August, and we don’t know how many parents are going to be uncomfortable sending their children to school,” Snowberger said.
Families with grandparents at home still might be worried about sending their children to school in August, he said.
Based on their skills and interests, teachers would be assigned to one of the three models for their classes. Teachers would not have to prepare lesson plans for all three different learning environments, Snowberger said.
Planning is still in its early stages.
“We haven’t determined if we can even do this. The concern is if we don’t plan, we’re going to lose kids. This is conceptual in nature. There’s a lot more meat that needs to be put on the bones,” he said.
School board members reacted guardedly.
Board member Andrea Parmenter said the rigor of her children’s classes during the COVID-19 distance learning period has dropped from traditional in-class sessions.
“How many options do we want to give people. I would proceed cautiously,” she said.
Board member Mick Souder said efforts to increase academic achievement are already complex simply following the traditional in-school approach to learning. “This offers a whole new level of complexity.”
Board member Erika Brown said the Durango Education Association should be involved in any planning to explore alternative learning models and the use of alternate learning models should not be driven as a cost-saving measure.
Increasingly, online learning models are gaining in popularity, and it is in the best interest of the district to pursue new educational options demanded by families, Snowberger said.
“We can do what we want to do or we can do what our clients want us to do. We’ll have to live with the consequences either way,” he said.
parmijo@durangoherald.com
