Educating from home…what do the parents say?

Ashley Hunter
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Since Friday, March 13, when Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran ordered all public schools to remain closed due to concerns over the COVID-19 crisis, students in Jefferson County have been studying and completing school assignments from home.
At first, the closure of school campuses was planned to only extend for a week after Spring Break, but that has since been gradually increased, with the most recent decision being to remain closed until the beginning of May.
Around the county, educators and parents have had to work in partnership to ensure that their children and students are continuing their educational courses, not falling behind in curriculum and are getting access to the important virtual and paperwork lessons offered by the schools.
Now, several weeks into the make-shift solution to closed school campuses, several parents have chimed in to give a report on how everything has been going in their families.

According to Nevin Baggett, one of the county's parents, her family went into “schooling from home” with plenty of apprehensions.
“At first, I felt this would be extremely difficult for us. My husband and I both work full-time jobs, and I wasn't sure if we would be able to stay on top of everything that needed to be turned in on time. We have had some issues along the way. For example, computers were slow, assignments are being posted in different areas or assignments are not showing up at all. I felt like it was lacking consistency. Not all teachers post the required work in the online portal. Some just leave it on the website for the students/parents to figure out. That can be difficult when you have two middle schoolers with multiple teachers. If everyone could be on the same page, this transition would be much easier,” said Baggett. “However, it has gotten better for us. We are learning together. I know it's new for the teachers as well, so I try to remind myself that we are all in this together.”
The transition from sending their children off to a classroom, versus working with their child's teachers to educate at home is one that has been full of trial and error, as it is indeed new for the parents, students and teachers.

According to Chyanna Johnson, another Jefferson County parent, her children are also missing the active engagement that the classroom setting offers teachers and students.
“The transition has been difficult, that’s for sure. My kids have told me they miss the interactive lessons within the classroom and the fun activities they would do in the classroom,” says Johnson, adding that her family has, however, found new ways to incorporate some of those fun learning activities in their at-home education. “But it’s just not the same. It seems much harder to get the kids motivated and focused on packet work.”
Johnson also praised the communication and engagement of her children's teachers, saying: “My children’s teachers check-in and communicate several times a week and even call to chat with my kids, which I love. It shows how much they care and they are still helping out as much as they can being away from them.”
This new and temporary transition of educating within a classroom to at-home learning has put a strain on everyone involved, but county parents have plenty of praise for the teachers who are dedicated to making this work for everyone.

Danielle Williams agrees that the recent transition has been hard, but wants to make sure local teachers are getting all the credit they deserve during this time.
“We sure don't give our kids' teachers enough credit,” says Williams, adding that she is “beyond proud” of how her community has stepped up during this process.
“[Jefferson] Somerset has done a fantastic job of helping and keeping us informed,” adds Williams. “A big thank-you to the bus drivers for delivering the meals and work packets.”

“The hardest part is balancing a 40-plus hour a week schedule with proper sit-down time with them for learning,” says Shirley Plessinger, another Jefferson County parent. “But thankfully, my two are in first and second grade and it's not too challenging for mom to help. Their teachers have been amazing in keeping in contact as well. They are the best!”
While the students may be working from home, the schools have been offering online video instruction, virtual lessons online and paper schoolwork packets for the students to apply.

Lorene Hurd Williams, a local mother whose children attend school in Tallahassee at North Florida Christian School, says that her children have been learning through weekly slides and videos offered by the teachers.
“I have actually enjoyed having the kids home. There was definitely a transition period but now they are doing great! They both tell me they only miss their friends!” adds Williams.
But there have also been some frustrations correlating to Jefferson County's poor internet service.
Online access has long been a sore spot for residents who live in Jefferson County, either out in the rural neighborhoods or within the city limits of Monticello.

One of the parents who agreed to speak with ECB Publishing, Inc. was John Pretti, whose primary concern was the lack of internet in rural Jefferson County and the educational difficulty that has been presented to his children.
“[It would] be nice to have internet off of Barnes Road, [in the] Jefferson Heights neighborhood,” says Pretti. “It's the year 2020 and [I] have to load my children in a vehicle to [go to] my business where we have internet.”

The internet issue is something that Erin Greene, a local mother as well as a teacher, also spoke up about.
“As a teacher, this has been extremely difficult. A lot of my families do not have internet at home so asking them to do anything online is impossible for them,” says Greene. While her team of teachers at Jefferson Somerset has offered paper packets that the children can work on without internet access, Greene adds that some parents are at a loss on how to provide verbal instruction on this material.
“I've spoken to some of my parents and they are at a loss on how to teach their child some of the material. I try my best to help when they ask, but it's not the same as being right there. My kids and I are going to try to have a video chat to see how everyone is doing with the packets and see if anyone has questions. We will see how it goes.”
Keeping children who are between the ages of five to six engaged and attentive at school is difficult enough, Green adds, so trying to keep their attention during a video chat is a different adventure altogether.
Greene says she has also been diligent in checking in with her students' parents and making sure they are confident with how their child has been progressing during this period of at-home education.
“I check in with my parents three times per week and make sure they are doing okay and offer any help that I can. It's definitely a learning process for all of us,” says Greene.
As a parent, she says that it has been an interesting process.
“Teaching my own child is completely different than teaching someone else's. She's doing great but sometimes we both have to step away and take a break,” says Greene. “Again, we are all learning during this time!”

Sandi Faglie, the mother of four students who attend Aucilla Christian Academy, says that it can be challenging at times to educate her children at home, but that her older children have been fairly independent in going through their own lessons and work.
“The older kids are pretty much on their own, but I watch over them and help review their lessons,” Faglie says. Her youngest child, Bevin, is in the second grade and needs more help with her lessons, which Faglie has taken a primarily role in.
“It's been a full workload for me and for the children; what we are all doing can be emotionally draining at times,” says Faglie, although she adds that she has enjoying having her four children at home during this time.
All of her at-home students are able to work at the same time, together, although they have their own computers to work off of and all of their lessons are recorded and sent to the children's emails.
From there, the Faglie children work directly with their teachers as the children log on and print out their assignments every school day. Afterwards, they do their lessons and email them back to their teachers.
Faglie says that her children's teachers have been very flexible, something she is grateful for.

Jefferson County Superintendent of Schools Marianne Arbulu says that there were two parts that contributed to Jefferson County's educational system going virtual and remote.
The first, Arbulu says, was the execution of the transition – how well did the county move to remote learning?
“I think that our execution in transitioning to remote learning was excellent, and the credit goes to the Somerset  – administrators, teachers and support staff,” says Arbulu.
The second factor of the switch, she adds, was on whether or not the activities and resources offered remote learning are effective in continuing the learning process of the county's students.
“As for the second part, I do not believe that we are achieving the same level of instruction on a remote basis as compared to having our students in the classroom, and that is a major concern,” says Arbulu. “One cannot overstate the positive effects that a teacher has on learning and the value of in-class instruction. Our teachers are doing a remarkable job reaching out to their students, but I look forward to opening the schools at the appropriate time.”
As of press date, there has been no information on when students will return to their schools campuses – or if that will happen at all during the remaining school year of 2019-2020.