MARSHALL — Three weeks on, Marshall students are getting more familiar with using distance learning tools, and Marshall Public Schools staff said teachers are working to reach out to all students, Marshall Public Schools staff said Monday. That includes kids with special needs, as well as preschoolers.

At the Marshall School Board’s regular meeting on Monday, staff and administrators gave an update on distance learning in the district. While Marshall elementary, middle and high school principals gave the presentation at the board’s previous meeting, this time the focus was on early childhood, special education, English language learning and MATEC.

Marshall teachers are adapting distance-learning even to some of the district’s youngest students, said Tiffany Teske, director of early childhood education at MPS. Four-year-olds in Marshall’s voluntary pre-kindergarten classes are taking part in distance learning with the help of caregivers and online platforms like Seesaw.

“We don’t have the one-to-one devices” like older students do, Teske said, so preschoolers’ families and caregivers play a bigger role in helping kids participate. Attendance is taken by asking a question of the day, and caregivers respond with their preschooler’s answers.

So far, Teske said, participation has been about 96%.

Early Childhood Family Education classes that were already underway when schools closed have also turned to online technology, with families using a private Facebook group to keep in touch, she said. Unfortunately, classes that were set to start after schools closed were canceled, because there wasn’t a chance for school staff to build relationships with those families before switching to online activities.

Amanda Pederson, assistant principal at MATEC, said the school was using a plan similar to Marshall High School’s, with students working on different class blocks on alternate days. Students also meet virtually with teachers twice a day.

“I have to give a huge shoutout to the staff,” for their work reaching out to students, Pederson said. MATEC staff were also working to try and plan virtual parent-teacher conferences.

Pederson said MATEC’s participation rate for distance learning was about 88 to 89%. There were three or four students that were a bit of a struggle for staff to contact, she said.

“We still hear some tech issues from our students,” she said.

Jackie Budden, director of special education at MPS, said a lot of work went into adapting students’ Individualized Education Plans for distance learning. The district also provided technological devices and training for paraprofessionals, so they can continue to help students.

One thing that will be a challenge for special education, Budden said, is monitoring students’ progress virtually. But overall, she said, “Staff is reporting that distance learning is going well.”

Beth Ritter, EL coordinator at MPS, said services for English language learners were also continuing through distance learning.

“We really split it up by level,” both grade level and the student’s level of English proficiency, she said. The EL program looks a little different in each MPS school, to go along with each school’s method of distance learning. At Park Side Elementary, EL students receive modified take-home packets, for example. At MHS, co-taught classes are continuing for older students.

“We do have a great team that has really pulled together,” said Jeremy Williams, director of teaching and learning at MPS.

Overall, distance learning “attendance” was pretty steady in the program’s third week, Williams said. He said the district is keeping track of the amount of activity on its distance learning platforms, and students seemed to be getting more familiar with using the online tools.

There were 80 calls made to the district’s tech help hotline in week three of distance learning. Williams said MPS is also planning to conduct a district-wide survey on Internet access for students.

Williams said participation in MPS’s free meal program for kids under 18 has continued to grow. Last week, the district was averaging 1,125 meals a day served. As the weather gets nicer outside, MPS is anticipating more students will pick up meal packages, Williams said.