Oneida Times

BOB JOHNSON FOR CONGRESS issued the following announcement on July 6.

As parents struggled with deciding whether to enroll their children in virtual or face-to-face classes because of the coronavirus, Effingham County school administrators took on the complex task of setting up virtual school.

Assistant Superintendent Travis Nesmith said Thursday that when surveys were sent recently to parents of the district’s 13,000 students, asking how they feel about their children returning to school Aug. 5, 8,200 people replied. He said parents of 481 students answered that they already know they will not be sending their children to school for face-to-face learning.

Knowing how many students will be enrolled in virtual learning is key to making plans, Nesmith said. Enrollment for virtual school opened Thursday and continues through July 15.

In the meantime, 43 school employees gathered in a virtual meeting last week to discuss how they would set up virtual schooling.

Nesmith said teachers can use the cameras on their Chromebooks to broadcast their lessons. He said teachers who are teaching online can teach from an empty classroom; those teaching online will not be handing students in-person at the same time.

One first grade teacher likely will teach virtual students from all eight elementary schools, and the same will be true of teachers in other grades.

Nesmith said instruction for some specialty classes may come from outside sources, not Effingham school system teachers.

“Students won’t sit in front of a computer all day,” Nesmith said, but a full day’s work will be required. “The rigor will mirror face-to-face instruction,” the school system said on its web page.

Some teaching will be synchronous, with students seeing teachers live, and some will be asynchronous, with students watching a recording of a teacher. Some work will be done offline, without using a computer at all.

Virtual students must have an adult to help them. “Courses will require a significant commitment by parents/guardians to help facilitate virtual learning,” the district said on its website. “Students must have a responsible adult who serves as the point of contact for the virtual classroom teacher(s).”

Figuring out the schedules is a daunting task that hinges on how many students will be attending virtual school. Suzan Hartzog, executive director of human resources, must match teachers and their certifications to virtual students.

If Nesmith is playing chess, setting up students and classes, Hartzog is supplying the players.

“I make sure we have the right people in the right places to meet state funding and meet students’ needs,” Hartzog said.

Among the issues the planners must take into consideration is being able to quickly increase virtual learning to include all the students in the school system, should the coronavirus take a nasty turn.

Educators in Bulloch County learned last week that they are in a “substantial spread” COVID-19 area, so they will be starting school with virtual classes for all students.

Nesmith said Effingham is deemed “minimal/moderate spread,” but that’s just one step away from the “substantial” category.

He said the categories and a decision tree are described in a state document called “Georgia’s Path to Recovery for K-12 Schools.”

Parents have questions

Parents flooded the school district’s Facebook page with questions about what face-to-face schooling would be like, wanting answers before making their decision about virtual versus in-person learning.

“Is my child going to be in a smothering mask all day, sitting in a Plexiglas box, not allowed outside of the classroom, not interacting with other children, no playground time?” one parent asked.

Another woman wrote that her son is starting pre-K. “If he goes in having to wear masks and be strapped to a desk all day, he will end up hating school and be scared of it,” she wrote.

Another parent expressed concern that the virtual students would be able to cheat while in-person students would be monitored, affecting GPA and scholarships. “Are in-school children going to be held to a higher standard,” she asked.

One parent asked whether in-person school would be canceled when a few students test positive for COVID-19. She wondered if the kids were “going to be snatched back and forth.”

School officials said they would post more information by Monday of this week about what in-person learning would look like.

Regarding what will happen when students test positive for COVID-19, Nesmith said Thursday that school administrators will consult with local and state health officials about what the school district’s response will be.

How long the virtual school will last depends on what’s happening with the coronavirus. Elementary students will have the option to return to face-to-face classes at the end of each nine-week grading period – Oct. 7, Dec. 18 and March 15. Middle and high school students will have the option to return to face-to-face classes after the end of the second nine-week grading period – Dec. 18.

Original source here.