The coronavirus forced school administrators to make a tough decision in 2020: How do we make up for lost time in the classroom?
Many have turned to e-learning, a term used to describe online education in lieu of in-person attendance. But its use has left some educators wondering if the quality of e-learning is wanting, or if it is an effective method.
Montgomery County schools have proved no exception since the pandemic reared its head in March 2020. North Montgomery and South schools have utilized the online platform, provided by the state Department of Education.
However, a few districts in Indiana still prefer to make up the days in person whenever possible, even at the end of the year when curricula have typically reached their end.
The recent snow storm in the county left Crawfordsville schools as the lone holdout to the e-learning method. The district has already suffered three snow days — one will be made up Feb. 21, while the others are slated for May 25-26.
But with graduation set for May 27, the district’s back is now against the wall.
“After our experiences with e-learning during the COVID lockdown of 2020, our teachers, students, parents and administrators all agreed that we should make up snow days in person,” Crawfordsville Superintendent Dr. Scott Bowling said Feb. 1 ahead of the storm.
Bowling and the school board remained firm behind the decision Thursday following the district’s monthly public meeting.
“Basically, the reason why we haven’t moved in that direction — we don’t feel like the quality of education, even for that few of days, is going to be at the level we want it to be, which does make us different.”
He said e-learning comes with its own set of challenges, particularly with absences as many students failed to show up online.
Grades dipped. Attendance dropped. Additional programs have been created to help students catch up.
But the move has left many wondering why the district has not turned to the state-provided online program.
“We feel like, that our experience at least with e-learning, is that it’s a day of lost learning,” Bowling said. “So that’s just the decision we’ve made, to make those up, because when we have a full day of school, then kids show up just like they normally would any other day, and we feel like we can get the teaching done that day.
“It’s just a values decision.”
Though Bowling and others prefer in-person attendance, he admitted the district may have to reconsider if the coronavirus surges again.
“We know we’re different when it comes to that, so it’s not something that we’re like, head-in-the-sand about. It’s a conscious decision that we’ve made,” he said. “But I will say that it’s not written in stone either, because we continue to look at it and see if it’s something that would be viable for us.”
As of now, graduation for Crawfordsville seniors will take place May 27. But snow is still in the forecast for winter, not set to expire on the calendar until March 21.
“If we have additional cancellations, obviously that starts to get to a point where we may have to move the date,” he said. “I hope we don’t get there, but we can never rule that out.”
