Teachers and schools ease students as COVID-19 forces new learning system in Manatee
Manatee County schools are under an extended spring break this week with the novel coronavirus pandemic altering how many students receive their education.
But while teachers are preparing for the shift to virtual learning next week, they’re also putting their students at ease.
Suzanne Tomlin, a fifth grade science and math teacher at Willis Elementary, decided to call her students at various times this week, as well as speaking with their parents.
“These are 10 and 11-year-old children who have just kind of had their world rocked,” Tomlin said. “And maybe even the kids who don’t love coming to school, they do love interacting with their peers. And they needed to know that I was still there to support them as their teacher and that they were still able to interact with each other once we go to this online learning community.”
Tomlin said she could hear it in a couple of her students’ voices that they were happy to hear from her.
As COVID-19, the infectious respiratory disease caused by the new virus, spread throughout the world with more and more positive cases happening each day, the need to switch to online learning became apparent for schools in Manatee County.
Spirit Week goes virtual
It’s a change for both educators and families. To brace for the new format, Tara Elementary is conducting its spirit week virtually.
“When we realized that we may be home more than spring break, we would decide to do it for the extended spring break which is this current week,” Tara principal Laura Campbell said.
Campbell said the Tara Parent-Teacher Organization, staff and herself collaborated on ways to engage the community.
It’s led to a daily activity getting posted to the Tara PTO’s Facebook page.
“Our goal is for the kids to still feel connected and joyful and also for our staff,” said Campbell, who has been the school’s principal for four years. “We have a staff of over a hundred employees. So our employees have all come together, along with our PTO ... on what can we do to keep everyone immersed in something joyful. So, of course, seeing kids reading and kids building things and the activities that we’ve asked for spirit week, we just want them to feel completely connected.”
Preparing for virtual learning
Preparing for Schoology, the online platform allowing teachers to assign tasks, grade assignments and communicate with students can present several challenges for teachers and families alike.
“I’m going more of, ‘I’m going to give you the resources, I’m going to give you the assignment and then you’re going to kind of manage that on your own on your own time,’” said Sharon Clabby, a beginning Spanish teacher at Nolan Middle School.
The instruction isn’t done in real-time, due to multiple children households utilizing the same devices or parents that both work.
Drew and Jacqueline Figueroa live in Bradenton with their two children — 5-year-old Grayson and 2-year-old Jameson — and both work.
The Figueroa’s’ eldest is in kindergarten at McNeal Elementary in Lakewood Ranch, while the youngest goes to Woodland Community Church’s early childcare.
“It’s especially difficult for us because we both work and Grayson’s only in kindergarten, so he needs a lot more guidance,” Jacqueline Figueroa said. “I feel like we get into our routine and that’s the biggest thing with kids, is having a routine. We’ve established a routine and everything, and now that things are switching it’s a totally different routine.”
Explaining why going to school isn’t happening isn’t the easiest conversation to have with a child.
“The older one, we told him you won’t be going back to school for awhile,” Jacqueline Figueroa said. “And he’s sad and like, ‘Why?’ We don’t want to scare him or anything like that, so we are just keeping talking about germs that people are scared of and in order to keep everyone safe and healthy, it’s best that we stay to ourselves for a little while.”
