It’s 8 a.m., and the students begin trickling in. They say hi to their teachers, and start telling each other about what they did the night before. One shares photos he took of birds in his backyard while another shows off a new yo-yo trick he learned. The teachers let them catch up for a bit, then they start to focus the students up.
“What are we working on today, folks?” The answers start coming back. “Math then economics.” “English.” “Photography.”
“I don’t know. I can’t focus right now,” says one student. The teacher suggests a check in with the counselor before getting starting on schoolwork. The student agrees, and goes to talk to the counselor.
While this might sound like a typical school day, for summer school students, all of these interactions are taking place virtually, in the Contoocook School’s daily chat box. This has been the new normal, ever since New Hampshire schools transitioned to remote learning and instruction in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.
“Our school is built on a sense of community,” said Heidi Foisy, program director of NFI North’s Contoocook School, a non-public school for special education students, “and one of the biggest challenges we have faced since the transition to remote learning and instruction is how to maintain that. The group chat has been a great way for us to keep connected and make things feel as ‘normal’ as we can with the students right now.”
In addition to the chat box, the school community, has Zoom meetings several times a week at the end of the school day. They talk about their successes in meeting their daily goals, and give positive support to others. On Friday afternoons, they have a “pet show and tell,” where the students and the staff show off their pets to each other using zoom as a virtual platform.
Outside of this virtual community time, students are busy working on their lessons. Materials are posted online for students to access. For some, paper packets are mailed home with stamped return envelopes. Students will engage in video chats with their teachers for instruction, or when they get stuck. Others have scheduled times where they receive instruction over the phone. And still others listen to recordings of their teachers reading for them making it possible for auditory learner to excel. Each student has an individualized plan for that the teaching staff developed after consulting with each family to find out what resources the family had available to them, and their knowledge of the student as a learner.
There have been challenges, including establishing a routine for the day and overcoming technology pitfalls. The students though have risen to the challenge. “It’s amazing how well the day runs,” said Foisy. “They come in, they take their classes. If they get frustrated they take a break, maybe check in with the counselor or another trusted staff, and then get back to work. I am so very proud of all of the students and their ability to persist with their education during these uncertain times.”
Still, both the school staff and the students are very much looking forward to the day when they can return to their school building. “I’ve already promised that the first day back we’ll have a celebration,” Foisy said with a smile. “They have worked hard, and they deserve it.” Foisy does recognize thought, that school will most likely look very different than it did prior to the pandemic.
“I know that we’ll have new protocols to protect the safety of both the staff and the students,” she says, “and I’m confident that the students will understand and work with us. We’re a caring community, and that means that it’s our job to help and support each other, including keeping each other safe. I know that our students will rise to whatever challenges we put in front of them, just like they have over the past four months.”
The Contoocook School is a private purpose school for students with special education needs run by NFI North a multi service nonprofit organization located in Contoocook. For more information, visit nfinorth.com.
(Heidi Foisy, MEd, MS., is program director for the Contoocook School.)