Today marks the first day of school for over 34,000 students in Fontana Unified School District.  As parents, students, teachers, and education stakeholders, we must be “nimble” as we implement our new distance learning model. I know firsthand as a parent and educator that this isn’t what we envisioned for the first day of school, but we are having to adapt to this virus and make the best of our current environment.  I decided to write this in an effort to help us navigate the first week of this new experience.  My goal with today’s blog is to offer some insight, strategies, and a perspective as the father of two school-aged children experiencing their first day and my daily work as a support to districts across San Bernardino County.

Network Connectivity

The best analogy I can give you is this: imagine going down the 91, 60, 10 or 210 Freeways at rush hour traffic.  You are not going to move very fast.  Our networks are like those freeways, having 36,000 students logged on at the same time might be a bit challenging.

Many others will not have the ability to connect to WIFI or have the resources to pay for those services.  Our districts (Countywide) are providing hotspots, but please understand that each network (Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, Spectrum, etc.) is a network (like a freeway) and when thousands are on at the same time, the speeds will drastically slow down or there will not be signal strength to handle the needed technology.  One thing is for sure, in these difficult times, we cannot lose track of the needs of our most at-risk students.

Unfortunately, just know and expect that technical issues are bound to happen in an online-only environment.  It’s important for all involved to understand they are not alone and we must allow ourselves to be patient so that we can work through the problems.

In FUSD, we have made an investment to help connectivity, but we are at least a year and a half out before we can see the fruits of this investment.  Here’s an article that gives some preliminary information: https://www.fontanaheraldnews.com/news/fusd-will-launch-private-network-offer-wireless-access-to-all-students-at-home/article_fcb474e4-80ec-11ea-b1cf-8723921771ed.html

Technical Challenges

Please know that technical challenges with devices are going to be inevitable. You will have problems logging in or issues with such things as the microphone not working, device freezing up, or just plain user errors.  When these problems occur, everything can come to a standstill and the learning environment is interrupted. Our district has a helpdesk, but they only have limited staffing and it can take some time before they can get to your issue.  To reach them, you may call (909) 357-7630.  Please be patient with the Technology Team.

Office support staff at each site may also be a great resource and I suggest you start with your child’s school before calling the Helpdesk. Some of our support staff may not know how to troubleshoot problems and this can be frustrating, but we also have to build the capacity of our support staff to help with technical challenges.  Many of us are learning as the “plane is flying.”

Teachers

One thing I know about teachers is that they love their students dearly.  We are asking teachers to worry about their students’ parents, their students, their own children in their own homes, all while trying to teach in a virtual environment. Teachers are used to planning their curriculum in a semester or year’s block.  This new virtual world of learning is not the same as in-person learning. Teachers will be planning on the fly and spending more time than ever examining resources, planning curriculum, recording videos for asynchronous learning, and a myriad of other duties.

If you are a parent, please know that our teachers are doing the best they know-how.  Please maintain flexibility, as teachers evaluate their curricula and standards and focus on teaching. They will be working hard to teach the essential knowledge and skills that kids need, as they modify their craft in a different environment.

If you are a teacher, don’t try to overachieve and stress yourself out.  We parents understand what you are going through (at least in the Serna household).  We know this start won’t be perfect (even though many of you are perfectionists).

Prior to the pandemic, districts across the country were already facing teacher shortages, and our pipelines to fill those vacancies were limited.  Now with the pandemic, we have had a whole group of seasoned teachers who have retired due to personal health challenges, early retirement incentives, and a myriad of other reasons.  Now with COVID-19 illnesses, it is causing teachers to have to stay home to quarantine which puts stress on our substitute teacher pipeline.  Substitute teachers have become an essential part of our system, but many subs are of older age and need their unique supports.  We also have to help them develop their capacity to teach in a distance learning environment. It will be more important than ever to support our substitute teachers and recognize their importance to our system. Districts across the nation are doing their best to significantly invest in supporting the workforce.

Students

Our students are extremely resilient. Because technology has been native to them, they have embraced distance learning better than us adults who are digital immigrants and are having to learn to use the technology to teach them.  If you are a teacher, don’t be afraid to take your students’ suggestions, constructive criticism or help to navigate your platforms.

Although our students are digital natives, this too is new to them.  Many of them are recognizing their limits and may sometimes need help navigating their platforms, getting audio to work, understanding how to use mute and camera features, or troubleshooting glitchy WIFI. Students will also get easily distracted from helicopter parents like me, pets, family members, the Amazon delivery person, “Zoom bombing”, and a myriad of other things that pop up.  Our students have varying degrees of proficiency and will also make mistakes. In having conversations with my high schooler, he just hopes teachers are comfortable with technology.

Parents

Distance learning will be a challenge for each of us. We are all learning how to do things differently. We all have our comfort levels with technology. Even very savvy digital parents are going to struggle with educational technology.  We don’t know for sure how long-distance learning will go on for, but we know that it will not last forever.  Our students take on our attitudes and mindsets.  If you are negative about the start of the school year, they will also be negative and take on our attitudes and behavior.  The important thing is to communicate calmness and stay positive.

Our family had a dinner conversation about how this generation is making history.  No other generation has had to start school in a distance learning environment.  I encourage each of us to embrace it and make the best of it.  I encourage parents to do the following:

• If you haven’t already, dedicate a space for learning. I loved my neighbors’ space that had technology, a beautiful background, a bulletin board, and age-appropriate school supplies. Make sure the area is quiet, free from distractions, and has a good internet connection.
• Establish routines and expectations such as times for bed, wake up, breakfast, lunch, physical activity, asynchronous learning (homework) time, dinner time, and keeping up with their chores. Their chores can include keeping their workspace clean, making their bed daily, sweeping, or vacuuming their spaces.  Because your students will be on the screen a lot, you may want to allow for free time to play games but set some limits, so they have a break from the screen.
• Allow your students to own their own learning. As parents, we will take on the stress of being a “home school” teacher and want to help them as much as possible. Please know that our teachers do not expect you to be the “full-time” teacher or be the expert in content.  What teachers will ask you to be a partner and support unit to encourage them and set expectations for them to do their part.  Allowing our students to be independent is a difficult task for some of us, but your child will be interacting with their teacher daily and engaging with their peers many times throughout the day.  Although these interactions are through our virtual platforms and feel a little different, they are getting some social interaction.
• Communication: stay in touch with your child’s teacher(s) and/or counselors. Teachers are mainly going to communicate via email, your child’s learning platform, or other technical resources.  If you are reaching out via the same technical systems, please be patient and allow for teachers to respond.  It may take a day or two for them to respond as they too are having to take breaks from screen time.

My friend and colleague, Dave Culberhouse, always speaks of the VUCA world and how to lead in this VUCA world which stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. I love how Mindtools.com has broken down how we can embrace the VUCA world by doing the following:

• Counter Volatility with Vision: this means we should embrace change as a constant and don’t resist it.
• Meet Uncertainty with Understanding: slow down and look around you. This can help you understand and develop new ways of thinking and responding to uncertainty.
• React to Complexity with Clarity: communicate clearly and promote collaboration and teamwork.
• Fight Ambiguity with Agility: this means being flexible, adaptable, and agile. Be prepared to alter your plans.

As we navigate the first week of distance learning, my wife posted this little prayer and I hope it will help you.

“Dear Lord, use my eyes to see new friends.

Open my ears to hear my teacher.

Open my mind to learn new things.

Let my heart remember YOU are near when I’m afraid.

Help me to love others like you do.

I want to shine your light so bright in my school.”

Amen

Written by: Courtney DeFeo