I am writing this letter independently and not expressing the views of the Bayfield School Board or administration.
As president of the Bayfield School Board, I want to thank our staff for working through the huge difficulties of the last two semesters. It is not easy. It is exhausting and, in fact, can be demoralizing, so thank you all.
I was part of the decision Nov. 10 to close the district to in-person learning through Thanksgiving. The decision was made in response to a surge in coronavirus cases in our school and La Plata County. I don’t feel good about the decision, but I also am pragmatic enough to understand we had little choice.
The district received immediate and pointed feedback from parents. The overwhelming majority of parents are frustrated with the impact these shutdowns have on their kids from the perspective of academics, emotional wellness, sports and other school activities. We received the same feedback from our students.
It is uncommon to open and read any local or national media source, and not see COVID-19 headlines. It is in the forefront of Americans’ minds. We worry about its impact on the economy, politics, our jobs and our health.
There is a whole world of children and families behind the headlines of COVID-19 cases and school closures that many don’t see. Large numbers of students are failing classes or performing poorly. It’s commonplace for last year’s B-C students to be C-F students this year. Many working families are struggling to balance work and income with school-age kids at home, all while trying to assist their kids with virtual schooling. A lot of parents are just not equipped for this.
Not talked about enough is the huge learning deficit these students are experiencing. Remember, we are talking about K-12 kids trying to learn online, not college-age students or adults. Increased access to broadband will help, but don’t be fooled into thinking it will solve this problem, because it won’t.
The Bayfield School District pivoted to online learning last March more quickly than I would have thought possible. The teachers did a remarkable job of trying to reach and teach the students in a brand-new virtual world. At first, things seemed fairly positive, but as time went on it became clear that virtual learning for K-12 students has severe limitations. It is extremely hard for teachers to maintain the focus and interest of most students and correspondingly difficult for students to remain interested and engaged. Predictably, students’ grades and performance suffered dramatically.
I have not read about the impact that losing much of the last year and maybe more of their school education, sports and activities will have on our students. For some, the impact will be negligible, for others, it will last a lifetime.
These shutdowns are taking a terrible toll on the at-risk student population. The toll it takes on students who have very hard home lives is hard to even begin to measure, but it is huge. We have all heard plenty about bullying at school in the last couple of years, but what we don’t hear nearly enough about is the support that the school environment provides these kids through their teachers, coaches, counselors and a network of peers.
I was asked a very good question today: What is Bayfield School District going to do about these problems? The answer, of course, is that we will do the best we can for our students and families given the situation we are in. Every teacher I know will lean forward and give it their all. The reality, however is that a lot of kids won’t catch up and can’t recover because there is not enough time. The students need time in their schools with their teachers and there is only one way this can happen.
Is there an expectation that graduation requirements will be lowered or perhaps entry requirements into college lowered for the students who are living through this pandemic? Do we expect them to stay in college longer? How do we expect these students to catch up? How will they ever be provided that opportunity?
Every single day we are inundated with COVID-19 statistics. It is inescapable. What we might fail to see, though, is the full impact that COVID-19-based school closures are having on our children.
From my perspective, there should be a lot more discussion about personal choice, personal responsibility and self-reliance in the face of this pandemic. Maybe there is value in talking more about the grit of our forebears, who lived and fought through the Spanish flu, World War I, the Great Depression and World War II. Those things seem important to me for perspective, if nothing else.
I wonder what the public and the health departments think should happen with our schools now. There are significant decisions that must be made before Thanksgiving and then again before Christmas break.
There are hard choices to be made, and they all come with consequences.
Mike Foutz is president of the Bayfield School Board.
