While the classrooms in the Catholic schools in West Virginia remain empty, school administration and parents see the challenge of remote learning as an opportunity to illuminate how strong they are.
“We are not just trying to deal with things and get through this uncertain time. We are taking what some see as a mess and turning it to an opportunity to utilize and enhance everything we already had in place,” said Superintendent Mary Ann Deschaine.
She agrees the last couple weeks and the days ahead have been and are indeed challenging mentally and emotionally, but the standards put into place years ago to constantly fulfill the mission have prepared the diocesan schools for this time.
From technology and online learning to student assessments that don’t just occur once but multiple times during the school year, Deschaine said her schools are not falling behind.
“I’m not saying we don’t have our obstacles, but I am saying we attack them with a positive, grateful attitude in a Christ-Centered environment,” she said.
which is frequently visited by their dog Rocco.
Not on School Schedule
While no one could have ever predicted the current “remote schooling” situation, the schools’ continual improvements in technology integration, online learning, and networking over the last 20 years have made the transition from classroom to home based learning smooth for all grades in the diocesan schools.
“Our efforts in the Catholic schools ramped up in 2001, when our focus turned to integrating technology into every classroom at all grade levels,” said Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Hornyak. “We became more forward thinking in 2008, when we introduced Chromebooks to our faculty and students. From that point on teachers were trained continually on Google apps for education and began using it daily.
“Fast forward to today and our teachers and students are using online platforms — teaching tools, apps, and assessments — seamlessly,” she said. “Therefore the only thing major that has changed is the four walls that surround the student. We were able to adapt on the fly.
“I give our teachers, students, and parents the ultimate kudos,” she said. “It’s exciting to see how the years of training and implementation have taken off.”
Hornyak said the schools are grateful to the many donors, grants, and major gifts they rely on to fund their ever-changing and improving technology. Schools from all over the state recognize how valuable these investments are and now the community can see as well.
“Teachers at St. Joseph Catholic School and St. Joseph Central Catholic High School (in Huntington) are providing their students with virtual lessons, assignments, and activities through online platforms such as Google Classroom, Renweb, Seesaw, and Remind App. Teachers are sharing videos and YouTube clips of themselves teaching concepts, reading stories, and explaining problems to solve,” said Dr. Carol Templeton, principal of both schools. “Teachers have been very creative and purposeful in their approach to providing their students with a variety of rich and stimulating virtual learning environments.”
Virtual Field Trips
Recheal Fuscardo, principal at St. Joseph the Worker Grade School in Weirton, said her teachers are even providing opportunities to take learning outside through virtual field trips, to zoos, historical locations, and museums to continue to enrich learning.
“Not only are we continuing to connect academically with our students, but we are connecting spiritually as well,” she said, as school Masses and Stations of the Cross are live streamed weekly on their Facebook page.
Hornyak said social media posts showcase the fact that Christ remains the heart and strength of the schools.
“When the reality of the mandated school closure set in; I held a Zoom meeting with my faculty and staff; and we brainstormed ways to reach the students and actually interact with them,” Nicole Folio, principal of St. Mary’s School in Clarksburg said. “The first thing we decided was to Live Stream our daily prayer. As the principal I lead daily prayer every day at school, so I started Live streaming the daily prayer at noon, from my home, Monday — Friday for families to view and join in.”
That decision sparked a chain reaction. Parents recorded students saying prayers and sent them to Folio. So, the school shared those on their Facebook page. “We have received numerous positive comments from the post,” she said. “We approached this challenge like we do all things at our school — as a family.”
Catholic schools have been operating for years in virtual classrooms once one-to-one technology was in place. Therefore, if the school was out for snow days or other reasons, classes could continue online, said Colleen Hoyer, principal of Catholic Central High School, in Charleston. So, when schools were closed for health reasons, “with a little tweaking we were ready.”
