Teaching During the Pandemic - March 30

I am a teacher, and today would have been my first day from my spring break.  But instead, I am home.  Teaching in Oregon and the entire nation has changed because of the Pandemic.

School is closed, but we are given the mandate to continue teaching and contacting students.

Each state has different expectations and guidance for their teachers. In Oregon the expectations for teaching during the Pandemic area as follows.

• Teachers can not give assignments to students during this period.  Instead, teachers can only give supplemental material.  The supplemental material can NOT be new information, and there is no assessment of the supplemental material.  Why?  Because the issue is equity.  If teachers were to give assignments for a grade, how might we know that students have all the support they need to be successful?  Yes, this might be mean some students will not complete the work, and there will be no accountability for the student.  

• Teachers might be called into their building to assists with other duties such as child care for first responders or helping with food distribution.  Schools will continue with their school lunch programs during this time.  This is critical for some students, as school might be the only place where they receive a healthy meal.

• As of now, teachers must deliver the supplemental material in the form of hard copies.  Again, this is an issue of equity.  Some students may not have a computing device, or others may not have access to the internet.

Today, I had a Zoom meeting with my principal and our first step will be to contact our advisory students and their families.  Check on them, make sure they are okay, answer any questions they might have.

Later, we will formulate a plan about getting the material out to the kids.