With the threat of snow and ice in the forecast, Gilmer County Schools opted to close its doors last Friday.
In previous years, it meant a day off for students. But with the advent of online class offerings, students seamlessly adjusted to a distance learning environment.
Gilmer High principal Carla Foley discussed how the situation was handled to ensure students were prepared Friday morning.
“Everyone just transitioned to Google Classroom,” she said.
“Once that call was made, I got on the announcements and told them, ‘Tomorrow is going to be an inclement weather day, and we’re going to do a distance learning day. Everyone take your Chromebooks home, and we’re going to run our regular bell schedule. At eight o’clock you need to be in your first block class ready to go.”
GHS has offered a virtual school for over a year. It was originally intended for students who needed more flexibility with their schedule that did not allow for instruction during the day.
When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived last March, the system had technology and hardware in place to switch to distance learning for the final months of the school year.
While Google Classroom and the virtual school use different software to educate students, distance learning is not a foreign concept. A technological emphasis at the school also made the process easier.
“I have to give credit to my teachers,” Foley said. “My master’s degree is in instructional technology. So when I got here six years ago, we didn’t have the instructional capabilities that we have with computers now. That’s something that I’ve really focused on with teachers. Kudos to them for being willing to do Google Classroom years ago so this wasn’t something brand-new for them.
“Even when we started last March, at least 80 percent of teachers already created their Google Classroom so it was seamless for them at that time.”
Foley added, “We’ve had some good planning, but never in a million years did I think we’d use it for this.”
At the beginning of the school year, 287 GHS students opted for distance learning rather than in-person instruction. At the start of the new semester last week, that number had dropped to 99.
As positive COVID-19 cases continue to rise, Pickens County Schools canceled classes and all extra curricular activities last week. The system resumed lessons Monday but only online.
Foley noted there are no current plans to cease in-person instruction for Gilmer students.
“We have around 150 students out on quarantine. That’s 900 kids who are still in the building,” Foley said. “To shut it down, that to me is worse for the kids to just be home and trying to do it through Google Classroom. When they come back to school, there’s at least an adult who can help them get caught back up.
“If you’re just doing virtual, yes there is a teacher there, but they’re no there immediately. They don’t know exactly what you’ve been working on because it’s not their curriculum. At least in this situation, school is open. If you need to go home for two weeks, you go home and come back, and your teacher is right there to help you.”
While the ability to conduct learning remotely is a convenience, Foley does not believe it can replicate what students receive in a traditional setting. Furthermore, students with special needs or those who have an individualized education program cannot be accommodated online.
“People may think students are just sitting at their own computers. Or that they’re just sitting at home on a computer and getting the same as if they were sitting in a classroom, but they’re not,” Foley said.
“You can’t replace that teacher in the classroom and what they do for kids.”