Clark-Shawnee Superintended Brian Kuhn hosts a live nightly story time around 7:30 p.m. as he believes it’s a fun way to engage students in literacy during the break.
“It’s an additional opportunity to provide an educational experience to our students. It’s also just a way to promote connection among students and families,” Kuhn said. “While we are practicing social distancing as a school district during this time, it does not mean we want students and families to feel isolated.”
Based on the feedback and engagement during the read-alouds, Kuhn said he believes it still helps students learn.
“I believe it is helping students’ literacy development and giving them an opportunity to engage in learning via a social media platform, which has a special feel to it,” he said.
The district is brainstorming different ways to connect with students and the community during the next few weeks, Kuhn said.
“Schools are a critical point of connection for our community. Just because our doors are shut right now doesn’t change our commitment to being a consistent and positive presence in the lives of our students and families,” Kuhn said. “We want to be mindful of students who might be dealing with anxiety because the school closure has caused a disruption in their routine.”
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Triad Local School District staff reads a book at 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays and posts a daily science video.
“I am doing stories and science experiments because I know the value of read-alouds and seeing familiar faces during this time,” said Superintendent Vickie Hoffman.
Hoffman said when she was a first-grade teacher, she would do two to four read-alouds a day.
“That is so important for not only building a love of reading but also models the importance of reading to students and can teach important skills,” she said.
With students being gone for an extended period of time, Hoffman said they are missing a part of their lives that is consistent and positive.
“Seeing teachers that the students have relationships with helps to show them that the consistent and positive people are still there in some way,” she said. “We want them to have a little reassurance by seeing the staff.”
Posting daily engagements will help students during this time, Hoffman said.
“I will continue to switch things up as we go through this time,” she said. “We are also adding a portion to our website that will have many more resources for parents and students to use and keep kids engaged.”
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Graham Local School District posts daily STEAM or other fun activities from staff.
“We want to ensure that we are doing all that we can to engage our students in learning and to assist their families. The extended break may be a stressful time for students, families and our staff, so we want to make every effort to bring families together through fun activities and challenges that we can provide,” said Chad Lensman, director of teaching and learning.
Lensman said the teachers are the real all-stars when it comes to providing relevant work and connecting with the students.
“Teachers are now working to provide daily feedback and support throughout the school day to all PreK-12 students,” he said. “The work done by teachers to continue to provide quality instruction for our students has been incredible. The shared daily challenges and activities are designed to help parents and students during this extended break.”
The district will continue to post activities and resources throughout the break, Lensman said.
“The goal is to maintain the learning and to share resources that can make the time at home educational and enjoyable to our families,” he said.
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Mechanicsburg Exempted Village Schools posts a weekly TRIBE Bingo to practice positive behaviors.
A new bingo board will be posted each week for something parents and their children can do together while school is closed.
“Tribe is a system our teachers have created as a way to implement practices for improving academic, social and behavior outcomes for all students,” said Superintended Danielle Prohaska. “Tribe is not just a school thing and is something that can be practiced across all environments.”
The bingo boards provide a variety of learning and exposure to options that are quick, fun, interactive and hands-on, Prohaska said.
“These are things that students can do independently or with families to help pass the time while away from school,” she said. “If we continue to offer exposure and connection, we feel like this will benefit students and families who are trying to adjust.”
Prohaska said if the school closure is extended, they will plan to offer more opportunities to engage with students, such as videos, read alouds and other resources.
“This is something new to everyone, but we feel well equipped to think differently about creating learning experiences for students while school buildings are closed,” she said.
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