Open Letter About Bridgeport's DOE Response to Distance Learning
Dear Superintendent Testani,
I am sure that you would agree that the impact of COVID-19 is devastating. Like many communities across the world, schools are shuttered and children are engaged in some form of distance learning. I write this letter because I am deeply concerned about Bridgeport's remote learning plan, which calls for the students to complete worksheet packets on a weekly basis. This letter addresses a conversation that all stakeholders in the education of our children need to have, including, but not limited to families, the Bridgeport Board of Education, the City Council, the state delegation, the NAACP, the Bridgeport Education Fund, and ConnCAN to name a few vested parties. Additionally, this conversation is not meant to focus on budgetary issues. This conversation is about awareness, the strategic and creative use of tools and resources that we already have available to us. This letter is about developing and enacting policies that consistently demonstrate research-based, high expectations for all of our children.
For full disclosure: I am an educational consultant who lives in Bridgeport and will open an independent school in Bridgeport in September 2021. I am an advocate for public education, but on a whole, I feel that the public system needs an overhaul. With that said, let me continue...
Schools have been closed since March 13th. According to the DOE plan, during Phase 1 (March 23 - March 31) and Phase 2 (April 1 to April 17, which includes Spring Break) students were encouraged to complete district created worksheet packets and turn them in, either in person or electronically. I have a few questions regarding Phase 1 and Phase 2:
Wonder, who is responsible for looking at these packets, grading them? If they are like summer packets, most teachers will put a check on them, but not use the information to support or gather formative assessment data about what students know and understand. Worksheet packets are generally considered busy work, but not things that advance or even maintain students academically (Volante, 2004, Allington and Gabriel, 2012). Are students going to be assessed in any other way?
How were the packets crafted and by whom? It is my understanding, correct me if I am wrong, that the DOE put these packets together for the entire district. Could teachers have created packets for kids in their own classrooms, so that the work that students were expected to do reflected the work that they were already doing in class? Teachers would have had one week immediately following the closure of school to put a packet together for their classes. The packets that I have seen online seem disjointed and without any systematic flow. Research from the National Research Council (2005) shows that information about a concept is more likely to be retained if the information is thematic and connected across domains and conceptual areas. I understand that maybe the packet for the week of March 23 was a bit more rushed, but could we have done better for the week of March 30?
How can families access the packets created for special needs students? You mentioned that differentiated packets would be made available for students with disabilities...how about English Language Learners as well? Where can families access these packets?
What were teachers expected to do during the weeks of March 16th and 30th, other than being “available”? Understandably, teachers received full pay, correct me if I am wrong, so could they not have done work to support students academically, as well as social-emotionally. I know that some teachers have been reaching out to students via email and phone, was this mandated? For the social-emotional wellbeing of our students in these unprecedented times, should they have been mandated to reach out to students on a daily basis, as many school districts in neighboring towns have required?
What does “be available” mean? I suspect that while teachers can say to families, “Call me if you need help. I am available,” most families won’t want to “bother” the teacher and would not call. Fairfield requires that teachers connect with students once per day and Greenwich requires that teachers reach out four times per day. I noted that the Distance Learning Plan calls for “Professional Learning “Flex Days” and included a list of things that teachers could be doing. How are teachers held accountable? Some schools have posted daily, timed schedules for their students to follow. Have all teachers done this? If not, why not?
Why was Spring Break granted? This may have been out of your control, but didn’t we have a break during the week of March 16th? This would have been a great time to cement structures and routines with students. It is generally challenging to re-engage students after a break and with this crisis, it will be that much harder.
Was data collected from each family to access technology access prior to students being sent home? It seems that the worksheet response was due to known issues with technology access inequities in Bridgeport and similar towns. But did anyone take the time to ask the families? In a Facebook town hall meeting, you mentioned getting students computers for at-home usage, but as it stands, do we currently know the extent of access? If families just have access to a phone, they could participate in Microsoft Teams online video conferencing. Students could have had group discussions with teachers online about an article from the worksheet packet. Have families been educated on how to get free online access from Optimum Online? Additionally, could engaging work have been sent via social media? Do we have data on family access and usage? We know that the city has access to reach out to community members via Robo-calls, could this have been used to reach out to families?
It is clear that you had some expectations about families having online access because you have mentioned and provided the mechanisms for families to access and turn in packets using online tools.
Phase 3 begins April 20th, and I am curious as to what will be different? I know that some online resources have been suggested for families to access if they can. I know that according to the plan teachers were told that, “All learning experiences should connect to the district curriculum.” I am sure you do not mean the packets, but rather the overall district curriculum that they were teaching in their classrooms prior to this crisis. I have a few questions regarding Phase 3:
How are virtual classrooms going to be monitored for quality assurances and in order to better support teachers and students?
What are non-instructional personnel being asked to do? What are non-instructional, certified out of classroom teachers being asked to do?
Are teachers expected to have and take part in common planning time on a daily or weekly basis?
How can we support teachers in creating engaging lessons and activities that are not just a replication of the textbook and revert to a lecture-style delivery of instruction?
How are teachers being supported in developing activities that incorporate materials that are readily available in most homes, e.g., cups, spoons, walls?
What support is being given to teachers to engage students who only have phone access?
How were the guidelines of online instruction determined? For example, in K - 3, it is expected that teachers plan daily activities that are 45-minutes in duration. Is this once per day? Is the 45-minutes broken up over the course of the day? Is there a morning session and an afternoon session?
How is Bridgeport capitalizing on the free resources being provided by many online companies to develop systematic, cohesive instruction?
What is Phase 4? Is that summer or the fall? I have no real expectations that school will resume by the end of June. It is easy to criticize and that is not how I want this letter to be taken. I am going to look at the positive and look at this pandemic as an opportunity to bring the Bridgeport school system into the 21st-century. I have often said, “Schools should not have snow days.” By that, I mean that with the online resources and communication tools schools should have a combination of face-to-face, as well as brick and mortar learning experiences, enhanced by online virtual instruction. Here are some suggestions and resources that I humbly offer as a way of offering ideas that can support the improved educational outcomes for our students.
Identify teachers who are already up and running with effective virtual learning opportunities for his/her students. Seek their insights.
Collect data from all families to help identify the challenges that they are facing. This does not need to be a long and drawn-out process. Create a short survey that can be delivered via email, text message or via social media. Share the data with teachers so that they can better understand and plan for the students in their own classroom.
Be creative and flip the script. Ask students to read or do something, like a math problem, then join together online or have students do a conference call using a phone, to discuss the problem. Use the library system to have students access books online then discuss them (Krashen, 2011). For students who do not have the devices to access books online could they have picked up those books from the very same school from which they would pick up their packets?
I am familiar with a charter school that is doing daily read-aloud to students via social media. Could math problems, at-home scavenger hunts, and simple, but engaging science projects also be posted?
If you continue to provide packets that you expect students to complete, make them thematic and make them more “Powersheets” oriented. The graphic below is from Jennifer Gonzalez from the “Cult of Pedagogy” blog.
Additionally, support the collaborative completion of worksheets as students talk to each other over the phone or online. Via collaboration, they will teach each other and deepen their own understandings.
Include in your planned training the national technology standards (ISTE standards) for teachers and students. This is an opportunity for all students (and teachers) to become more proficient with technology usage and integration.
Use social media and video creation tools. Students are posting to Tik Toc and YouTube. Turn it into a resource. Have student groups make a Tik Toc series about the life cycle of a bean plant or about basic math fluency facts while doing popular dances. And yes, I know that there are challenges with having students use social media tools, but they are already using them. Teach them how to learn with these tools. Use Canva and similar tools to create Bingo games and post on Instagram. The tools are readily available, not hard to use or learn, generally free, and widely used by families.
Encourage families and teachers to share on social media (#bridgeportDOE or the like) how they are keeping up with academics given this crisis. This is a way to share ideas, information, and stay connected. Maybe this is happening and I am unaware...how can we make all community members aware.
Support students and teachers in doing multimedia projects and posting on the Bridgeport DOE website. Have clear expectations about the criteria for success. Could we have grade level and school winners? Give our community an incentive to want to get involved.
Set schedules; students and families need routines. Allow for flexibility, but have clear expectations around participation.
Use this time to deepen teacher content knowledge. Teachers rarely have time to read a professional book. Could online book clubs be formed? Could they form supportive professional learning circles where they tackle an issue of their own choosing?
We can do better for Bridgeport students. We are creative, talented people who can walk and chew bubble gum at the same time.
Best Regards,
Christine King, Founder
The Future School (www.tfsbpt.org)