◆ Adaptive learning is the name of the game.

When Dani Call sat down last year to interview for a job as a school librarian, she was asked her favorite book. She started to cry. “At this point I knew I had bombed the interview. Who cries in a job interview?” Call recalled.

But the newest librarian for Osmond Elementary collected herself and replied, “’Oh, The Places You Will Go’ by Dr. Seuss.’”

“It reminds me that no matter where you are or what you are doing, you will always have places to go. My friend’s mom gave this book for my high school graduation. At the time I thought it was weird. But now as I look back… Oh, the places I have gone… I get it!

“With this quarantine, I just feel like all these kids still have places to go, and they are going places!”

This week SVI Media spoke with several educators in Lincoln County School District 2 about the teamwork between teachers and parents as this unique school year winds down in the wake of a pandemic. Foremost in expressing enthusiasm for that teamwork was Superintendent Matt Erickson, who also expressed a juxtaposition of emotions after schools closed in early March.

“I had a lot of fears and concerns,” he recalled, “especially about social, emotional relationships [between faculty and students, but] our teachers have been flexible and optimistic, and attitude is everything. [That attitude was] ‘we’ll do whatever we need to make sure the kids are taken care of.’”

Star Valley High School principal Jason Horsley saw that attitude early in the closure when he met with school counselors to assess seniors. “When we started identifying kids on where they were, [one counselor] knew by name every senior and where they were in terms of graduation. He gave me a list and said, ‘We’ve got to address these kids.’”

One by one, Horsley related, that listed is being checked off. “We have a pathway to graduation for every single one of them.”

Concerning graduation, Horsley emphasized to these seniors and their families “we have a committee working tirelessly to celebrate the class of 2020 in whatever way we’re allowed. We’re exploring every possible way to do this together.”

In addition, Horsley explained, many are preparing to take the ACT in June. To aid them, the school district launched an ACT online program last month for all students to help them prepare – including seniors who want to improve scores.

Along with the online ACT program, the school has been somewhat prophetic in their educational approach – having launched a digital learning management system, called Canvas, in 2016. Each high school student was issued an IPAD, where they do the majority of their coursework.

“We have been one-on-one with IPADs for six years now. We knew when we went [online during the pandemic] that we had the pathway to do it successfully. I’ve been amazed seeing kids using the learning management system every day. It’s been really cool.”

In speaking about the effects of the pandemic on the working relationships between educator and parent, both Horsley and his wife, Staci Horsley, the district’s board certified behavior analyst and autism specialist, offered tips for educators and parents:
1- Recognize the things that work and stick with it. “What can we take from what works and make it happen in the home environment,” Staci asked.
2- Focus on one thing at a time. If you give it your best, then that is success. “What is the thing that is most [important] for your child to maintain or grow during this time frame,” she added.
3- Work as a team. Communicate with teachers. Jason Horsley said, “Our teachers stand ready to communicate especially during difficult times.”
4- Know when to quit even in the middle of as assignment. “When you throw the book at the fridge, you are done,” the principal said, chuckling.
5- Reach out for moral support as parents and teachers. “We’re not independent [of each other],” he added. But avoid reaching out in judgment. That doesn’t solve the issue.
6- Take advantage of online communication. Dani Call related how her 7th grader was struggling socially.

Then last week, the STAR (homeroom) teacher began regular zoom meetings for sociality. She said her daughter, Emi, came out of her room “with the biggest smile. She got to see faces on zoom.”

In speaking of students with special needs and IEPs (individual educational plans), Staci Horsley emphasized personal contact and routine, with flexibility. Special needs, she said, makes a “level playing field” virtually impossible but with parent/educator teamwork, there is success. She urged educators to keep a “specific targeted schedule. Establishing a routine lessens anxiety.”

To help ease everyone out of this unique school year, Superintendent Erickson said as of May 14, new content online will conclude, and teachers will contact students. “Our expectation is a phone call so [each student] can hear their voices,” he explained, “just bringing things to a close on a high and positive note.”

And as to advice for summer vacation? Dani Call said to pick up a book. “As long as we can learn through books, our minds will always be open.”
And “Oh the places you will go!”