June 25, 2020
Reflections on Remote Learning
Swift faculty and staff look forward to welcoming students back to campus in August. The school's administration is working on a plan to create small group classrooms in every grade to ensure as safe a setting of physical distancing as possible while offering the full suite of offerings of a Swift School education. While providing instruction in person is our first choice, we realize that there may be occasions when an individual student will need to self-quarantine or isolate, and there may be periods of time when public health officials mandate at-home stays for all residents of metro Atlanta. To ensure that we are prepared for all eventualities, Swift faculty and administrators have reviewed their experiences from remote learning this past spring and have used that information to improve plans not only for possible future periods of remote learning, but also for how Swift uses technology on campus.
What we have learned through our remote learning experience validates many foundational beliefs held at Swift:
Face-to-face time in school is precious One takeaway from the parent survey was an overwhelming preference for the coming school year to return to face-to-face learning with appropriate physical distancing precautions in place. A few families expressed a desire to participate in learning from home, and one of the contingencies for which we must be prepared is to enable students to take part in lessons for either short- or long-term remote learning while the risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus is still present in our community. In reopening, we are committed to incorporating the valuable feedback we have received from parents and to operating as safely as possible in the environment of a continuing pandemic.
Learning must be active Swift faculty are highly skilled in the art and science of teaching dyslexic learners. The Orton-Gillingham approach calls on students to actively engage in multi-sensory lessons. Remote learning presents challenges to maintain high levels of engagement. Our experience and research support increasing active learning by blending these components:
Assessment is dynamic and ongoing Swift teachers monitor student progress through daily interactions. Formative assessment may look different during periods of online learning. Screencasts, voice notes, video recordings, and digital commenting are a few of the ways teachers leverage technology to provide specific and timely feedback to students. Students may use many of the same methods to demonstrate their knowledge or to ask for help. Formal assessment is useful for tracking progress over time and understanding individual performance in light of grade level norms. Our assessment schedule allows us to streamline formal assessment to protect instructional time.
Training is essential Swift students have access to a rich array of technology skills and tools. Remote learning placed higher demands on students to employ these tools without direct support. To promote independence, the IT team is assembling an essential toolkit for each grade level and prioritizing training for students, teachers, and parents. Especially for older students, these include apps for organization, planning, and direct communication with teachers. We will also introduce auxiliary applications that are all about creative expression and fun! For parents, we recently released a website of technology resources: https://sites.google.com/theswiftschool.org/tech/home. Watch for an invitation to virtual or live meetings to provide parents with a deeper understanding of the educational technology at Swift.
Foremost in all of our planning is the health and safety of everyone in the Swift School family, including the members of our households. We will not publish an update next week, but we will resume weekly updates in the month of July and will continue to share details of our reopening plans. As always, feel free to call or email us at 678-205-4988 if you have any questions.
Be well and continue to take care of one another.
With all warm good wishes,
Chris Pomar Head of School |