Staying home, learning online

Even students learning virtually get snow days.

A snowstorm closed schools across the state Thursday and Friday, including Mt. Pleasant and Mid-Prairie community school districts, where many students have opted for online learning programs even after their classmates have returned to in-person classes.

Mt. Pleasant and Mid-Prairie both offer virtual learning through third-party programs, allowing families uncomfortable with sending students to school to keep their kids studying safely. Mt. Pleasant has partnered with Edgenuity, and Mid-Prairie is working with Edmentum to offer quality virtual learning programs to their students during the pandemic.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit Iowa, Mid-Prairie was looking for a virtual option for its students. The district received approval from the state to offer the program in July, and as the COVID-19 pandemic caused parents to question whether it was safe to send their children back to class, virtual program Principal Frank Slabaugh said they opened the program in time for the fall semester.

When the school year began, 190 students signed up for the program. As the semester progressed, some kids transferred back to learning in-person. There are currently 105 students using Edmentum. Slabaugh said some students found after starting virtual learning that it wasn't going to work for them, so they transferred back into the school during the fall or at the end of the semester.

'It's a constant learning experience with this new style of learning,” Slabaugh said.

Mt. Pleasant adopted Edgenuity for its second semester after attempting to fulfill an optional remote learning program through the district's existing teaching staff during the first semester. The district offers the new program to all students deemed to have fragile health by a medical professional as well as students who successfully completed their first semester of the district's online learning program, which was offered to all students in the fall.

Mt. Pleasant's program launched in the second semester to reduce the workload and stress on district teachers. After one semester of remote learning provided by the district, the staff was burned out due to a major increase in workload, according to district curriculum director Katie Gavin.

'I think the district teachers are feeling a bit of a relief that they can focus on face-to-face students that are with them every day. So that they don't feel like they're catering to just their remote learners or their face-to-face students and can just settle into a little bit more of a normal semester,” Gavin said.

The virtual curriculum taught by Edmentum teachers is based on Mid-Prairie's in-person standards, but there are a few differences, Slabaugh said. Courses are designed by Edmentum, so while students are learning the same topics as their in-person peers, they might be learning it in a different order. Students need to be able to pace themselves and be self-motivated to get their work done.

To give students a mentor and connection to Mid-Prairie, the district has assigned teachers to check in on those learning from home. These 'success coaches,” as they are called, are available to ensure students are keeping up with their studies.

Sara O'Donnell, the mother of two students in virtual learning at Mid-Prairie, said it's nice to know there's someone in the district who can help her kids, even if they're not teaching them. She has two daughters; Lily is in seventh grade and Maddie is a freshman.

'Having that reassurance is really helpful from another person, not just my family,” Maddie O'Donnell said.

O'Donnell signed up for the program because she wanted to keep her daughters safe from COVID-19. After a semester, she sees other benefits.

The online program offers elective classes that students wouldn't find at school. Maddie took world religions last semester and is taking African-American studies this semester.

Mt. Pleasant is now in its third week of Edgenuity and is seeing that students and families are adjusting well to the program, but there are some challenges, according to Gavin.

'It's a bit of an adjustment, but the high school students are really appreciative of the elective options, however, it's taking a bit of adjustment to get used to the rigor and the layout of the program,” Gavin said.

'We are still adapting to this type of program but overall I think that people are cautiously optimistic that we will get into the groove and be successful for this semester,” she said.

Remote Mt. Pleasant student Tristen Davis is enjoying Edgenuity and the structure and support it provides to students compared to the first-semester program. The improvements include recorded lessons and the self-paced learning style of some classes offered.

'You have to do it the way they want you to do it. You have to watch the videos and then do the work so there isn't that self-taught aspect. I am glad I have online school and that I am being taught unlike last semester because I do like being taught some things,” Davis said.

Compared to the first semester Davis observed that this program is made for online learning and has the resources and experience with it to make it successful.

'[First semester] remote learning was a lot more self-paced and self-taught which a lot of people didn't sign up for. This is more so similar to an Iowa online learning class, and it's set up for online because that's what the purpose was for and they understand what they're doing,” Davis said.

Lily O'Donnoll at Mid-Prairie, on the other hand, said she likes how she can set her own pace and can get right to work when she wants to. Both she and her sister keep daily planners to set goals for themselves, and it's allowed them both to work ahead or look back on past lessons when they need to.

Sara O'Donnell said they are considering keeping Lily and Maddie in virtual schooling even after the pandemic has run its course, only going to school in-person for extracurriculars such as band or choir.

'It's a lot easier to learn [online] than in person because you can go at your own pace, and it just seems to teach me better,” Lily O'Donnell said.

Gavin said because Edgenuity has experience with remote learning and that its classes are built for the unique learning experience, they are better equipped to handle remote learning students for the district.

'Ultimately that's what our decision came down to: is that when a program has the ability to focus on remote learning and they have the background and experience to do that quicker and better than we can just because we don't have the resources they have,” Gavin said.