The development of a summer school program began this week for Ohio County Schools because of the extended amount of time students have not been permitted to attend in-person classes over the last several weeks.
Ohio County was designated “Red” for a second consecutive week according to the W.Va. Department of Education color-coded map, and before that the county was listed in “Orange” for several weeks, and that designation also mandates school students to be limited to virtual platforms only.
“That is why we are now developing a plan that will provide enrichment for our kids next over the summer months. It will be a robust program so we can work with your kids to get them to the levels they should be if they were in the classroom this whole time,” explained Dr. Kim Miller, superintendent of Ohio County Schools. “We know that they are not to those levels right now because everyone knows there is no way to replace in-person instruction. It’s just not possible.
“The kids are going to need time, and they are going to need instruction,” she said. “We already offer a summer enrichment program, but our plan is to expand it so there are many more opportunities offered that will allow even more students to participate and get caught up.”
Realizing Reality
Over the summer months, employees of Ohio County Schools created online platforms that have allowed educators to deliver lessons to their students, and a month ago the school system added synchronous instruction, as well. Hot spots were established at all of the system’s school buildings and at various locations in the county for students without broadband access at home.
Miller, however, recognized that a home schedule similar to a normal in-school regimen is not fitting for a plethora of the district’s families.
“The attendance for the synchronous classes hasn’t been great, but the students are getting their work completed,” Miller said. “Some of the kids have to go to their grandparents during the day, or they are taken to the day program at the YMCA, and that’s because parents have to go to work. We have to understand that reality right now.
“How do we measure attendance? Should it be based on whether a student is logging on during the day, or by whether or not they are getting their work done? In our home, it takes place in the evenings after we get home because we want to see what they are doing and to be there to offer the help they may need,” she said. “A parent who has to go to work cannot be sure if their child is logging on because they aren’t there. Again, that’s the reality right now, and that’s why, if a student logs on to the virtual platform at 7 a.m. to do their schoolwork, that’s fine, and if they log on later in the day because that is what is possible for them right now, that’s OK, too.”
Taking Shape
While the superintendent does not yet know all of the particulars concerning the summer program right now, Dr. Miller confirmed that the district’s bus fleet would be operation so more students in Ohio County will be able to participate.
How many days per week, how many hours per day, and how to fund the program all are questions needing solutions at this point.
“No matter what, though, the most important parts of a student’s education will be included, like the interactions with their instructors and the other students, and the in-class group discussions. Teachers do not teach for 50 minutes because that’s not school anymore these days,” Miller said. “Teaching students has changed because of what has proved more successful through the years.”
“From the discussions we have had so far, the summer program will allow the teachers to repeat instruction as necessary, and the students would be able to review the materials that were covered over the course of the school year,” she added. “We want to have school the normal way, and we are hopeful we’ll be able to do that this coming summer because in my opinion, there’s no way of replacing our teachers and the relationships that develop between them and their students. There’s nothing that can touch that one-on-one attention when it comes to education.”
