Exceptional Learners More than 1,600 students in Monongalia County qualify for special education services due to disability, the West Virginia Department of Education reports. The majority of these students are equipped for remote learning in the event of another governor-mandated school closure, says Tiffany Barnett, the county’s director of student services and exceptional student education. She notes, however, that exceptional learners’ specialized instructional plans are designed to be implemented face-to-face—and not every goal in the plans, such as physical and occupational therapy, will be easily met in a remote learning environment. Since March, parents and special education instructors have been working creatively to maintain the integrity of students’ specialized learning goals. But a return to a face-to-face setting is not without its own challenges, one of which is the use of personal protective equipment. Exceptional students will be provided with a variety of PPE options, Barnett says, such as gaiters for students who have sensory processing issues or face shields or transparent masks for students who rely on lip-reading or use speech therapy. Classroom manipulatives—hands-on teaching tools like blocks and puzzles—will be replaced by individual manipulatives or supplemented by online activities.
RAMPING UP REMOTE LEARNING The school system is working to improve access and better prepare teachers to deliver a meaningful learning experience.
When students left school on March 13, it soon became apparent that no number of Arctic Academy days could prepare them, or their teachers, for what lay ahead. Fast forward almost six months, and much has been done to improve the remote learning that students will use for at least the first school term. Internet access was one of the main difficulties students faced, and School Board President Nancy Walker says many neighborhoods throughout the county don’t have the infrastructure to support improving it quickly. She also says the deficits aren’t socioeconomically driven. Mon County Schools responded with a plan to create hotspots in Wi-Fi deserts, many of which are in the western part of the county. The plan will include placing transmitters that emit Wi-Fi signals on busses, then dispatching the busses to identified neighborhoods for the school day. Access to the hotspots will fall under tight security so that only students and their teachers can use the remote technology. There is also discussion of using public buildings like library annexes and volunteer fire departments as bases for broadcasting Wi-Fi signals throughout the more remote parts of the county. And in a pinch, although it’s not ideal, Clay-Battelle principal David Cottrell says students can access the school building’s Wi-Fi from the parking lot.
Schools will also have personal hotspot equipment that students qualifying for free and reduced lunch can apply for. Given all of this, school leaders contend that the accessibility issues of the spring will not be repeated in the fall. They plan to have Wi-Fi busses and personal hotspots ready to roll out by the end of September. In addition, Mon County Schools spent much of the summer focused on how to make remote learning more meaningful
for students. The BOE staff holds a Chromebook boot camp for teachers
each summer. About 100 teachers usually participate. This summer, almost 800 Mon County teachers signed up to participate in 118 sessions over a three-week period—a testament to their commitment to Mon County students. Based on the county’s blended attendance model, internet access will be critically important for delivering federally mandated services to special education students. Mon County’s special education teachers worked over the summer to find innovative ways to follow each student’s individual education plan, including delivery of ancillary therapies online. The school board continues to stress that students who don’t have internet access at home need to let their schools know. There are ways the schools can help, but they can’t help if they don’t know.
September 14 From here, students will continue attending based on alphabetical groupings: one day on campus and one day off for elementary and middle school, two days on and two days off for high school.
20 MORGANTOWN • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2020
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online