[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]AUGUST 2020 \\\\ EMINENCE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL<\/p>\n
In May, the final learning triumphs of a topsy-turvy school year occurred at converted breakfast tables, in living rooms, or bedroom corners across the state.<\/p>\n
Deegan Ortega, a fourth grader in Eminence, spent weeks working from home to understand the logic of fractions and how they connected with the string of numbers behind decimal points.<\/p>\n
With no desk, the family\u2019s kitchen table became Deegan\u2019s fourth-grade work space. Coasters were pushed aside to make way for his laptop computer, spiral notebook, and a marker. The rest of his school materials were stashed in a backpack on the bench seat.<\/p>\n
His computer screen became a window to weekly assignments, work files, instructional videos, or scheduled class discussions. The monitor also became a vital connection with classmates and teachers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been pretty good,\u201d Deegan said of making progress as he worked from home. \u201cThey make it like at school. If I need help, I get in touch with my teacher right away.<\/p>\n
Deegan explained that one May Thursday was typical: Wake up, fix breakfast, watch a few minutes of TV, then start school work. He finished a science lesson and watched short informational videos about the White House and Air Force One. Next up: a math assignment that involved a recording describing how he answered the problems.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn some parts I get confused, but I get to where I know it,\u201d Deegan said. \u201cOur teachers have made us feel comfortable about learning at home, even though I really want to see everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Kentucky still faces challenges to operating schools during a pandemic, the spring of 2020 showed how a hurried push to provide remote learning and continued connection provided students and teachers ways to connect, network and move learning forward. The process was makeshift. Implementation could be chaotic. Reach and attention spans were limited. Still, educators, parents and students created novel pockets of school and classroom atmosphere where important learning grew.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_single_image style=”shadow” alignment=”center” image=”12149″][vc_column_text]MEGHAN OLIVA, A FOURTH-GRADE TEACHER at Eminence Elementary, explains a lesson on fractions during a videoconference with students as schools were closed during the coronavirus pandemic.<\/span><\/em>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]\u201cWe are keeping it going,\u201d Eminence fourth grade teacher Erin Dennis said in an interview shortly after remote classwork started.<\/p>\n In Eminence, a school culture emphasizing student engagement and creativity among teachers aided the transition, Dennis and others said. Between a Thursday when the need to close schools became official and the Monday when learning started from home, the school equipped students with computers and supplies and set new routines. Families were supportive and, behind-the-scenes, faculty, staff and administrators interacted regularly and organized needed assistance.<\/p>\n Teachers spotted plenty of moments when student achievement emerged, often in unexpected ways.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are issues \u2014 it\u2019s not the same as being in person \u2014 you can\u2019t hear them the same way when they are reading or see them when they struggle,\u201d said Dennis, an 18-year teacher focused on reading and writing. \u201cBut the thing that makes me really happy is how personalities shine through even remotely and how quickly they\u2019ve picked up the ability to work out problems. We\u2019ve seen interest that we may not have seen before, and more participation in voluntary things. Fourth graders are extremely excited to try new things and are very adaptable to being online.\u201d<\/p>\n Eminence fourth-grade teacher Meghan Oliva, Dennis\u2019s partner, said teachers began the sudden change with a positive tone. \u201cWe tried to figure out how to get kids excited, not scared,\u201d she said. Oliva and Dennis cast their students as digital pioneers who needed to discover ways to thrive in an online workplace.<\/p>\n Their \u201cDigital Frontier Week\u201d involved a day for flannel shirts, but it also set a serious tone for students\u2019 new setting. \u201cWe realize that the future is gong to be more virtual. As we talked about how to get kids pumped up about this experience, it was obvious to make sure they know that this could be how many people are going to work in the future,\u201d Oliva said. \u201cWe talked about bringing your own snack, dressing for success, adding a lunch workout, and understanding how we treat people online.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]After a setting a purposeful tone, the main challenge awaited: mastering essential learning standards. For Oliva, the math teacher, that meant fractions and decimals \u2014 key parts of the fourth grade experience and a challenge even in ideal circumstances.<\/p>\n \u201cIn fourth grade, we spend the first half of the year working on number sense up to 1 million, only to come back from Christmas break and learn about numbers less than one. It’s definitely a huge challenge,\u201d Oliva said.<\/p>\n Distance made it tough to utilize her usual approach \u2014 concrete examples and hands-on understanding. \u201cI can’t get those manipulatives in their hands,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s been tough for me pedagogically. I would much rather have introduced decimals face-to-face, in-person, down-and-dirty with real base-10 blocks!”<\/p>\n Into April and May, Oliva\u2019s web camera and miniature white board were in constant use to help students visualize concepts.<\/p>\n With no desk in her apartment, Oliva’s kitchen table became her fourth grade teaching station. Her laptop computer allowed her to access colleagues, e-mail, and video conferencing that often contained a full screen of stir-crazy students.<\/p>\n One rainy May Thursday morning, Oliva opened a full class session. Students in boxes on the video conference screen, were excited to see one another as class began. \u201cHi guys! How\u2019s it going?\u201d the teacher asked. Personal anecdotes and questions competed for attention. Oliva announced she would mute everyone while one girl beamed about a new kitten. After a short round of chit-chat, Oliva turned to the day\u2019s big issue: \u201cI know I\u2019ve got some people on here \u2014 I\u2019ve talked to parents \u2014 and I want to go into this decimal stuff. It\u2019s so tricky. \u2026 I\u2019m going to show you my screen.\u201d<\/p>\n Oliva illustrated how 100 can be divided into 10 pieces, making 10 tens. She then asked the class how to divide 1 into 10 pieces. Students responded. One commented, \u201cThis is not my thing when I wake up in the morning.\u201d Another asked whether, when 1 is divided into smaller pieces, it makes a negative number. Oliva clarified that fractions of 1 still remain larger than zero and keep their status as positive numbers, even if they are incredibly small. A few minutes later, the group is working to understand how 1\/10 can be broken into 10 pieces and can be described as a fraction or a decimal.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Nine-year-old Deegan agreed that shifting between fractions and decimals can be confusing. Seeing the connection between 0.6 and 6\/10 took some time, he said. Deciding which number is bigger when one is a fraction and the other is a decimal still takes calculations and double checking.\u201dIt can take a little time to understand,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n Desarae Ortega said she checked in with her son\u2019s teachers at least once a week. She said that parents were quick to share how much they appreciated teachers and schools as students were confined at home.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me it\u2019s been good, and stressful,\u201d said Desarae, a production manager for a cleaning company. \u201cTrying to help my kids with their homework \u2014 I\u2019m not really sure how to do half of these things. I don\u2019t tell them answers. I get them to do things on their own without giving them the answers. Since I\u2019m their mother and not a teacher, I tell them I want them to learn. I talk through what they are doing and try to lead them in right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n Desarae said the disrupted school year enhanced bonds between parents and teachers. \u201cEveryone at Eminence is like a big family,\u201d she said. \u201cYou ask for help, and someone in that school is going to reach out with what you need. They bend over backwards to get the message out about whatever kids need to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n Michael Dennis, who served as instructional coordinator at Eminence Elementary last year and starts this year as the school\u2019s principal, said that meeting learning goals during the pandemic is the result of widespread teamwork.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_single_image style=”outline” alignment=”center” image=”12150″][vc_column_text]FOURTH GRADER Deegan Ortega does school work at the family’s kitchen table as his brother, a kindergarten student, looks on.<\/i><\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The district\u2019s longstanding focus on empowering students and cultivating teachers’ creativity proved an important asset last spring, added Dennis, who married to Eminence fourth-grade teacher Erin Dennis.<\/p>\n \u201cOur teachers are masterful at creating strong learning communities and being problem solvers who think outside the box,\u201d he said. \u201cThey had to reinvent assessment, think about scope and sequence, and consider how we structure learning during the day. They also found ways to leverage what was going on in students\u2019 lives. When you combine that with a positive relationship with parents, you see a team dynamic.<\/p>\n “We also noticed that students like school more than they admitted,” he added. “Our students turned into problem solvers as they gained independence, and some really took off with more freedom and responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n Math teacher Oliva noted the unintended learning that materialized because of challenges and the impromptu atmosphere. \u201cThere are lessons in patience when you\u2019re not with people to see or get the response,\u201d the fourth-year teacher said. \u201cThere are lessons in independence \u2014 solving problems when a teacher or parent isn\u2019t there. This also emphasizes flexibility. Parents are on such different schedules that it\u2019s important to try to be available whenever and keep looking for ways to meet needs.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis showed how how much people want to work together for the common good,\u201d added teacher Erin Dennis. \u201cI thought parents might be upset because they were doing so much of our work, but we were showered with support by parents. It was great to see the success and understanding that can come out of hard times.\u201d<\/p>\n \\\\<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]TOP PHOTO: Student Deegan Ortega used the camera on his school laptop computer to record an explanation of the steps he took on a math assignment.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n ABOUT EMINENCE ELEMENTARY \\\\ ENROLLMENT: 360 in PK-5; RACE: 25% minority; INCOME: 53% eligible for free\/reduced-price meals[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In May, the final learning triumphs of a topsy-turvy school year occurred at converted breakfast tables, in living rooms, or bedroom corners across the state.\n
…The thing that makes me really happy is how personalities shine through even remotely and how quickly they\u2019ve picked up the ability to work out problems.<\/i><\/b><\/h2>\n
\u2014 Teacher Erin Dennis<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n
In fourth grade, we spend the first half of the year working on number sense up to 1 million, only to come back from Christmas break and learn about numbers less than one. It’s definitely a huge challenge.<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n
\u2014 Teacher Meghan Oliva<\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nThe spring of 2020 showed how a hurried push to provide remote learning and continued connection provided students and teachers ways to connect, network and move learning forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5246,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"passster_activate_protection":false,"passster_protect_child_pages":"","passster_protection_type":"password","passster_password":"","passster_activate_overwrite_defaults":"","passster_headline":"","passster_instruction":"","passster_placeholder":"","passster_button":"","passster_id":"","passster_activate_misc_settings":"","passster_redirect_url":"","passster_hide":"no","passster_area_shortcode":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bright-spots"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5245"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5987,"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5245\/revisions\/5987"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}