By Philip Haldiman
Twitter: @PhilipHaldiman

Talk about a change of scenery.

Siobahn Kline has two children attending Sunrise Mountain High School, 21200 N. 83rd Ave., one freshman and one senior.

Now that they must take online classes and complete school assignments from home, each are handling the new circumstances of a coronavirus world in their own way.

RELATED: A snapshot into learning at home during COVID-19

Last week, Gov. Doug Ducey ordered the extension of Arizona school closures through the end of the school year to curb the spread of COVID-19, essentially moving instruction from the classroom to online.

Ms. Kline said her freshman was up on day one, dressed, with make up on ready for her assignments and doing lessons at 9 a.m.

But some of the milestones of high school will be noticeably missing from the class of 2020.

Ms. Kline said her senior is sad she will be unable to attend prom and graduation ceremonies.

But she said the district has a willingness to think outside the box to help seniors graduate and offer viable solutions for some sort of graduation event.

“My hope is now that the state made the decision to call off the in-person learning for the year, the district can make some fluid plans to offer some sort of graduation for the students,” she said. “Clearly making a solid plan at this point would be counterproductive, but I do hope the seniors can be recognized for finishing their high school careers.”

From teaching and learning to mental health, the spread of COVID-19 has caused Peoria Unified School District to transform over night, putting the public education system on an unprecedented ever evolving path.

Graduation

As mandated recently by state law, students will now finish the school year from home. The emergency measure outlines steps to be taken on testing, scheduling and other process requirements as schools remain closed. The bill also requires the Arizona State Board of Education to revise graduation requirements for this school year so seniors can graduate.

The board adopted a rule that would prevent districts/charters from withholding diplomas/denying graduation solely to due missed instructional time because of the closure.

Board of education spokeswoman Morgan Dick said the rule contains several provisions that provide flexibility to districts and students given the unprecedented circumstances.

“Those flexible provisions include things like, considering if a student successfully completed educational opportunities that were provided during the days schools were not open for students. It also includes a provision to consider whether or not students were on track to complete courses before closures began,” she said.

Of course, the biggest question among seniors is what will graduation look like?

PUSD spokeswoman Danielle Airey said graduation ceremonies as they were originally scheduled have been canceled.

“But we will be working with each school to come up with creative ways to celebrate our students and their achievements,” she said. “Overall, we’re focused on education, but not just shifting to deliver it in an alternative way through supporting students with Learning at Home. We’re also focused on ensuring that our students and their families stay safe. We’re providing avenues to meet the mental health needs of our students and supporting them through this difficult time.”

Teachers

In transitioning to online instruction, the district has distributed about 3,000 laptops with more to be delivered. The program allows students who don’t have access to technology to borrow devices until in-class instruction returns.

District officials have taken student laptops that were already dispersed to classes throughout the district for this distribution, and have not purchased any additional laptops.

Ms. Kline said her children’s teachers have been on top of things related to communication and coming up with a plan. The teachers deserve a “big shout-out” scrambling to transition into a new model that is unprecedented, she said.

“They have had to completely re-do their teaching methodology and in some cases, learn new ways to teach with no notice. To have this roll out in a week is just a testament to the dedication of not only our district, but our teachers as well,” she said.

There are a number of ways teachers are continuing instruction, depending entirely on the class and grade level.

They are using online platforms and programs to assign projects or experiences through the district’s student information system, as well as communicating through Microsoft Teams, an instant messaging program.

Jan Ogino, a National Board Certified Teacher at Heritage Elementary School, is constantly checking if her students are completing their assignments, which cover all content areas and can be done in any order they want.

Ms. Ogino said it can be a minute-to-minute interaction with her students.

Teachers can give feedback on their work via email or a post, and everybody has the ability to interact through instant messaging on laptops, cell phones or other devices.

To keep students engaged, she tries to make the lessons fun. Students recently completed a STEM assignment called Design a Dream Bedroom where they get to choose paint colors and upholstery fabric. They had to determine how much fabric and paint to virtually purchase to complete their design.

“When they email and post, I try to respond within a couple of minutes so they know I am there, even when I am not physically there,” she said. “It isn’t the best kind of teaching and learning for me but I am a realist. I think after this is over, we will know who is good at this kind of teaching and who is good at this kind of learning. [Online learning] will not go away. Public schools need to accept the reality and adapt.”

Additionally, the AzMERIT standardized test has been canceled for the spring, which Ms. Ogino said will ease the burden for teachers.

“On the plus side, forgoing the state test gives everyone breathing room to teach and learn without the test looming ahead,” she said. “COVID will change life as we knew it. Will the students and teachers take chances with content? Will they explore new ways of learning that content? Can students even learn and retain knowledge if they aren’t tested?”

Mental health

Since the novel coronavirus outbreak, there has been a 300% increase in suicide hotline calls, according to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, as reported by JEM Foundation.

The district has started a student support line for students to speak with a counselor if in need of support, 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday at 623-412-5262, or email pusdpr@pusd11.net. Messages will be returned within 24 hours.

Behavioral health consultant Kelly Carbello said the shift from classroom learning to a homebound existence can be very difficult for families and students, especially since students were anxious before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ms. Carbello, who has two Peoria Unified children, said administration has been very responsive to concerns.

But she said the absence of answers available to students, a sudden change in their daily routine and a lack of rigid structure in their home are all identified risk factors for kids.

“Lack of structure causes anxiety. That’s textbook child development. Anxiety interferes with learning. That’s textbook physiological psychology. When anyone is experiencing anxiety, physiological systems are triggered. When anyone is experiencing moderate to high levels of anxiety, the systems are activated. It’s fight or flight. Imagine trying to learn in that state. It’s near impossible.”

Online learning has its benefits, but students in only online education, particularly underprepared and disadvantaged students, underperform, and on average, experience poor outcomes, according to a 2019 study titled, “Does Online Education Live Up To Its Promise?”

The study also states gaps in educational attainment across socioeconomic groups are even larger in full online coursework than in traditional coursework.

Ms. Carbello said online learning is not for everyone.

“It takes a level of self-regulation that many students have not developed,” she said. “Home is home. Home is supposed to be the place you go when school is over. Rules are different, expectations are different. For kids who don’t particularly care for school, home is their escape from school. Flip that for kids who don’t feel safe at home. School was their escape from home. School was their safe place. These two groups of kids are already high risk. The current situation may be overwhelming for them. Their two safe places are no longer safe. The trusted adults in their life are no longer present or are experiencing their own stress and anxiety, which affects their availability and their relationship with the student/child.”

A day in the life

Now that school is closed, a typical day for Centennial sophomore Cori Borgstad might include getting up, doing her chores, and then checking her email and Microsoft Teams for assignments from her teachers. She also choses one low risk activity to do a day to support the economy.

Mostly, she’s trying to get all her homework done before the due date so she won’t be behind.

“My routine is basically like I’m on break, except I’m doing homework for maybe a couple of hours in the morning,” she said.

Since the school year is coming to an end, she is making plans for the coming year, wondering how her club advisors are going to select the 2020-2021 leadership teams — she wants to audition for leadership in marching band and apply for editor-in-chief for the school newspaper.

Miss Borgstad has taken a laid-back approach to learning from home, but one thing that could potentially be a challenge for many, she said, is distractions.

“Students are learning from home, so they could be tempted to procrastinate. A challenge that I will have to face is not being confused and keeping on top of due dates. Each teacher is using a different way to get assignments out to students, so I need to make sure to continuously ask questions to stay successful,” she said. “I’m excited to try something new and I’m so grateful for my religion through all of this. I’m really looking forward to getting quality education from my bed!”

Philip Haldiman can be reached at 623-876-3697, phaldiman@newszap.com, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman.

Philip Haldiman
News Editor | Peoria
@PhilipHaldiman

phaldiman@iniusa.org

Philip Haldiman is a third generation Arizona native with brief residencies on the east and west coasts. He has bachelor’s degrees in Theater and Journalism at Arizona State University, and is an award winning journalist with more than 15 years worth of experience in reporting and editing. Most recently, he took first place for investigative reporting and third place for best sustained coverage or series at the 2023 Arizona Newspapers Association awards. In his free time, he produces an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.