Glenn Ireland, a parent of a first grader at Glenwood Elementary, is glad that his daughter is once again enjoying the benefits that come with in-person learning.
“She likes going to the playground. She likes getting the hot lunch when it’s something she likes. Ireland said. “Getting to school early is really important to her and I’m not sure why.”
On March 18th, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Board voted to bring elementary school instruction back under Plan A—a decision that would mark a great shift in learning for the district’s youngest students. After much of the year being marked by completely remote learning, this district brought back in-person hybrid instruction March 22, before shifting to an almost fully in-person learning model after spring break.
“It is great being back in school – you know – seeing the kids everyday, seeing the teachers interacting with the kids. Just being back and having some sense of normal school has been really good,” says Estes Hills Elementary School principal Pam McCann.
Beginning April 5, all students in kindergarten through 5th grade had the opportunity to return to school for the first time in over a year, for four days a week. While many took advantage of this—the district estimates that about 70 percent of elementary students returned to in-person learning—most classrooms still have a mix of in-person and remote students learning together in a new blended learning environment.
Balancing the teaching of the students in-person, as well as those who chose to remain virtual, was a challenge at first for many teachers, who had less than a month to prepare for this huge shift.
“It was really hard the first week or so, just even figuring out technology-wise… like does everyone get on the meet together? …. How do we get everyone to hear each other if not everyone is on the meet?,” said Acea Ward, a third grade teacher at Estes Hills. “I think we’ve figured that part out.… We have it set up where the students at home have their audio/voices played over the smartboard so the kids in-person can hear them, and we repeat any answers the in-school students give us so the students at-home can hear them.”
Ward also noted the advantages of having a teacher’s assistant to help her, something that helped her balance between in-person and online learning.
“It really helps having a teacher assistant in the classroom, so that we can say, ‘Ok, I’m walking around to check the students’ classwork, can you check in on the virtual kids and vice versa. We kind of divide and conquer in that way,” Ward said.
But for both the teachers and the parents, trade-offs had to be made when adjusting to Plan A in-person learning.
For Ireland, the two major factors in sending his daughter back to school were COVID safety and education quality.
“It’s sort of like weighing the trade offs,” Ireland said. “Is it a good enough educational experience? Will she fall behind at all for not being in person? And how much of the social hit is she taking, and that mental kind of social, emotional well being compared to the risk of the virus.”
Although Ireland thinks that his daughter is benefiting from the increased social interaction, he is not 100 percent positive that the changes put in place for Plan A are beneficial.
“I guess we assume it’s good to be around people, and that’s a good trade-off, but the relationships with peers and teachers will obviously look a lot different,” said Ireland, on the more limited social benefits Plan A provides. “I can tell she prefers it to staying at home. I think it’s pretty good and I think that some of that’s just having friends she likes to see, interacting with people, getting some attention outside the home.”
Ward, and many other teachers in the district, agree.
“I definitely would say it’s better than nothing, but it’s not the same.”
On the other hand, many students had adapted surprisingly well to Plan C, and may benefit from continuing at-home learning.
“In-person helps the learning process a lot better, but I also realize that there are some students that adapt extremely well virtually,” McCann said. “Some of these students—like one that I’m thinking of in particular – the camera’s off most of the time, but they’re quick to answer questions, quick to volunteer.”
COVID-19 was a worry for both teachers and students in returning to in-person learning this spring, even with increasing availability of the vaccine for many adults.
“When I first came back working in the building I wasn’t fully vaccinated. I had gotten my first (shot) but not my second yet,” Ward said. “The nerves were definitely there because I didn’t feel like I had the fullest level of safety.”
Ireland was also worried about the COVID risks associated with returning in person, especially for his daughter, due to transmission of asymptomatic cases among children.
“So far so good, but with kids being able to get potentially cases that are asymptomatic, it really seems hard to know what’s actually happening. So it’s a little scary,” Ireland said.
Ultimately, McCann said that she is proud of students and teachers for adjusting so well to this new learning model, and applauds her staff’s adaptability.
“That is probably the biggest success, that students came back. The teachers once again had to adapt to a new way of teaching…. and my amazing staff have stepped up to the plate and made it work… students are feeling connected and are learning.”
Photo courtesy of Kris Swanson
