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MPS sees good ‘attendance,’ struggles with distance learning

MARSHALL — In its first week of distance learning, Marshall Public Schools saw both good participation from students and good feedback from parents. But school administrators say they’ve had some struggles, especially in reaching out to English language learners and special education students.

Most of Monday’s school board meeting was taken up by reports from all four MPS schools, as principals went over how distance learning was going so far.

Based on measures like student check-ins and completion of school work, MPS had about a 96% attendance rate for pre-K through 12th grade in its first week of distance learning, Superintendent Scott Monson said.

“Hopefully, that attendance rate will stay high,” he said.

Schools across Minnesota have been closed down due to COVID-19. Distance learning programs started up March 30 and are ordered to continue at least through May 4.

Monday marked the first regular school board meeting since Gov. Tim Walz issued a stay-at-home order for the state. Several school administrators and members of the school board participated in the meeting remotely, using videoconferencing.

MPS principals said developing a distance learning plan in eight days, and switching over to it for the past week, have meant a lot of work by teachers and school staff.

“It’s been really a learning experience,” said Park Side Elementary Principal Darci Love. “There’s definitely been some long days, and some challenges.”

One of the challenges, she said, was finding ways for teachers to introduce new ideas and learning material to their students – especially for younger children. While MPS had developed an e-learning plan for snow days, e-learning days mainly reviewed material students had already been exposed to in class.

For distance learning, Marshall students at all grade levels got a mix of online and offline assignments. At Park Side, students can use Seesaw, an online platform Love described as “Like Facebook for school.” Kids can turn in their school work through e-mail, or by taking a photo or posting a video of their assignment.

West Side Elementary Principal Eric Hjelden said West Side was easing students into a routine for distance learning. Last week was mainly about getting everyone started, and over the next few weeks students will gradually work their way up to working on all their regular class subjects. Distance learning at West Side uses Microsoft Teams for videoconferencing, as well as school communication tools like Bloomz.

“We gave families a suggested schedule,” Hjelden said, but students can also work at their own pace.

At Marshall Middle School, students also use online platforms like Teams and Schoology, said Principal Mary Kay Thomas. Middle schoolers also have regular check-ins with their teachers and core teachers.

At Marshall High School and MATEC, students used the same online platforms. But students’ regular block schedules were set up on alternating days, instead of getting through every subject every day, said Principal Brian Jones. Students complete attendance for the day by participating in an online survey question, that also allows school staff to take stock of how students are doing socially and emotionally, he said. In the first week, about 85-90% of students attended.

“It got better as the week went along,” Jones said.

However, principals said they’re running into difficulties trying to meet all students’ needs, especially students who don’t have internet access, special education students and English language learners.

At Park Side, “We’ve connected with every family and/or student in some way,” Love said. But attendance by special education and EL students dropped off over the course of the week. Love said the school needed to figure out how best to reach about 15 EL students at Park Side.

Hjelden said West Side also had a hard time connecting with some of its EL and special education students. Thomas said some middle school students were better about doing attendance check-ins than completing their work.

Technology issues were another question for schools.

“We’re very grateful and thankful that all of our students have a device,” like an iPad or a laptop, to help them complete assignments, Thomas said. But not all students have access to the internet at home. And the Schoology platform has had problems, crashing if too many people are online at once. Jones said some students have found Schoology works better if they do their work at off-peak hours, like late afternoon instead of 8 a.m.

Monson said MPS has ordered additional mobile wireless hotspots, to help students that don’t have internet access.

Principals said another challenge facing teachers was not having a set school day in which to interact with their students. Teachers would end up working and receiving messages from early in the morning until late at night – partly because they would need to check in with their students individually, and partly because students’ living situations and schedules were different with school closed. For example, older students may be busy caring for younger siblings during the day.

“The staff has worked extremely hard,” Thomas said.

Despite the challenges, “In the midst of some chaos, we’re seeing some positive and exciting things,” Jones said.

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