Students, families adjusting to virtual instruction
By Jason Arndt
Editor
The Burlington Area School District is among hundreds of districts in the country still navigating through virtual learning with schools shut down to stem the spread of coronavirus.
Barb Berezowitz, a Karcher Middle School teacher, said BASD quickly adapted to virtual learning amid a flurry of new state and federal directives.
“BASD did a great job of looking ahead as the situation spiraled very quickly and information was changing by the hour,” Barb said. “We were fortunate in sending all our students home with Chromebooks on Friday, March 13.”
Berezowitz admits virtual learning brings several challenges, with a lack of social interaction as the biggest barrier.
Additionally, since students are learning from home, teachers acknowledge some families have a heavy workload and other responsibilities.
“One of the best parts of teaching is working with kids,” she said. “After spring break I look forward to being able to video conference with my students using tools like Zoom and Google meets. Another challenge is to not overwhelm our students and their families.”
Steve Berezowitz, Barb’s husband, is a guidance counselor at Karcher Middle School.
Like Barb, Steve said the online instruction approach is new to everyone, and admits some students have other family responsibilities at home.
“What is difficult from my perspective as a school counselor is not having the ability to connect with students as easily as when we are in school,” Steve said. “I personally worry about the students who find themselves in multiple roles when at home and not at school and how they are handling these responsibilities.”
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, some older students serving as de-facto babysitters for their younger siblings while parents are working full-time jobs.
Access to technology is another barrier, but according to Steve, BASD students and staff have adapted well to the change.
“We know that all kids learn differently and we realize we are asking them to learn virtually right now,” he said. “Nonetheless, we have been very impressed with how our entire district, especially the students, have come together thus far.”
Parental perspective
The Berezowitzes, meanwhile, are parents to BASD students Joey, Kati and Molly.
“I am finding that educating other peoples’ children may be easier than educating my own,” Barb said about how her children are adjusting to the change. “Not shocking that the best part of the day for our kids is the phy-ed. class.”
Maddie Berezowitz, a 2019 BHS graduate, recently returned from college at University of Kentucky to help her parents as they guide their own students.
According to Barb, Maddie has been instrumental in helping her younger siblings.
“We were lucky last week as Maddie was home from college and she was able to help our kids so we could focus on helping our students,” Barb said. “She was able to work with Molly in Spanish and Joey with his two AP classes.”
Joey said Maddie has been a valuable resource, noting she took the same classes while at BHS.
“Maddie took AP classes in high school so she is a great help when I don’t understand something,” said Joey, a junior at BHS.
Maddie, meanwhile, said she continues to offer guidance for her younger siblings.
“Aside from helping my siblings with their virtual learning, I have also helped my parents with dishes, laundry, and other house chores so they are able to focus on their online instruction.”
Barb, however, credited AP teacher Josh Dow for guiding Joey through his AP classes.
“(He) was awesome and personally texted Joey about his AP class using the REMIND me app,” she said.
Kati is student in Barb’s science class and often quizzes her mother on the subject.
“Kati didn’t need much help although she likes to ask me science questions to see if I am listening,” Barb said.
Karcher operations
Barb, a member of the Karcher Building Leadership Team, said the school has a structure in place to facilitate communication between colleagues as well as students.
From 7 to 9:30 a.m., Karcher staff and administrators hold virtual meetings before posting assigned work online.
“Most of us are using Google Classroom which our students were using before we went to virtual school so they didn’t have to learn something new,” Barb said.
“We are also using Screencastify which allows us to explain our lesson to our students.”
Teachers also make themselves available from 9:30-11:30 a.m. and 12:30-2:30 p.m. for questions from students and parents.
“We have also used Google Voice to create a phone number where students can contact us,” she said. “I teach science with Andrea Hancock and we are in constant communication throughout the day sharing ideas with each other.”
Karcher, like many schools, continues to track online use to ensure students are engaged in education.
Science component
Teaching science brings another challenge since instructors offer more hands-on learning opportunities for students.
“I don’t want for there to be a financial burden to families. I also don’t want families to have to leave their homes to get supplies,” Barb said.
Karcher School, however, has the advantage of having an online component to its core curriculum.
The advantage allows students to retain some normal routines related to science.
“Students have done this throughout the year so this is not new for them. As a parent/teacher, I need to be mindful to keep things as normal for kids as possible,” said Barb, adding she and other staff members take family obligations under consideration.
Counseling interaction
Steve and members of the district’s pupil services team plan to increase interaction with students, using Google meets and Zoom.
“What is most challenging as a counselor is not having face to face interaction with students,” he said. “As our district moves to Google meets and Zoom for increased interaction, I see our pupil services team using these options to video conference with students, parents, or outside agencies.”
Steve said BASD and other districts continue to make adjustments to virtual learning based on feedback from students, parents, guardians and teachers.
“A few of our Karcher English teachers, as part of their writing curriculum, have asked their students to journal about their new virtual educational experiences,” Steve said. “Students can give feedback to each of their personal experiences as we work together on this.”
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