Coping with COVID-19

Charles Ungerleider, Professor Emeritus, The University of British Columbia

 

[Permission to reproduce if authorship is acknowledged]

The suspension of school-based learning has taxed the ability of school systems to provide the educational programs required by legislation. But the provision of education programs is not all that school systems do. In many locations, children depend, at least in part, on the meals provided at the schools they attend. This is especially true of children who are homeless.

All indications are that school systems have been making care for students their priority, especially for those who are the most vulnerable. Many districts have organized meal and food distribution programs. In Los Angeles, the second largest school system in the US, corporations have donated toys, art supplies, diapers, wipes, baby food and blankets. A Teamsters local worked around the clock to delivered items to the 64 “Grab & Go Food Centers” in the district.

Instructional programs vary from student to student, school to school, and district to district.  My granddaughter in grade nine in Los Angeles has one live, on-line class per day (Math on Mondays, English on Tuesday, Science on Wednesday, etc.). Each class is approximately one-hour long, including brief breaks. Many teachers use a chat feature to pose questions to students and answer the questions student have. There is no student to student interaction, something my very social granddaughter misses greatly.

Some classes include on-line quizzes about the material previously presented. All have complementary assignments to reinforce what has been taught. When I asked my granddaughter, she said, “it’s pretty much like school without being with your friends!” She works, attending class and doing homework about 5½ to 6 hours each day. “It’s not too bad,” she says. “My friends and I miss each other, but we’re getting used to that.”

Other systems appear to have been challenged to do much more than just assign work that students must do on their own or with the support of their parents. Parents struggling to support their kids have developed a new appreciation of the work that teachers do. People for Education Canada reports that one parent quipped, “Now that I’ve home-schooled my 6 year-old for 30 minutes, I realize that teachers should be paid at least $1 million per year.”

I saw a funny video clip of a parent ranting about the implicit expectations placed on parents to keep their children on task, the challenge parents have when their children ask for help, parental fear of exposing their ignorance to the children, etc.

School boards in British Columbia have been developing their plans. Suzanne Hoffman, Superintendent of Schools for the Vancouver School District, the second largest in the province in terms of student enrollment, says that the VSB has four priorities:

• Ensure the health and safety of students, staff and communities.
• Communicate thoughtfully, transparently and in a timely manner.
• Provide connections to ensure students feel valued and have a sense of belonging and community.
• Continue learning opportunities so that all students can successfully transition to their next phase of learning.

The VSB has already taken steps toward the first priority by promising to continue feeding students who depend upon schools for some portion of their daily nutrition. Regarding the rest, Hoffmann says that “school staff will reach out to provide further information on plans about how students can access materials and belongings from their schools, potentially some ideas about the continuation of learning, and plans to support the most vulnerable students and their families.” It isn’t clear yet what steps the VSB will take to ensure that the educational programs of students continue. Hoffman realistically points out that whatever the VSB does “. . . will not be perfect and there will be bumps along the way.” No doubt!

Similar efforts are likely going on in all school boards across the province. Although there appears to be some cooperation among BC’s education partners, the challenge of providing for the continuance, if not the continuity, of education seems primarily to rest with individual school boards. According to the Ministry’s FAQ “ Each school district and independent school authority will develop a plan that best responds to the needs of their local community.”

That worries me for two reasons. Larger school boards have the advantage being able to capitalize on scale economies that benefit larger entities. Smaller and more remote school boards whose students are more dispersed are likely to have a harder time mobilizing their resources. My second concern is about a patchwork of educational opportunities. I use the term ‘opportunities’ because I am reluctant to refer to them as programs since they are not likely to have the coherence that one expects from a program.  I fear that educational inequalities will be exacerbated by differences among districts.

I am also concerned that educational inequalities within school districts will be exacerbated because less advantaged homes are unlikely to have the technology, bandwidth, and supports that more advantaged homes enjoy. Families for which food and shelter security are issues with which they cope everyday have fewer resources that they can devote to the support of the education of their children.

Some of these challenges can be mitigated if the provincial education organizations work together, pooling their knowledge and resources. The British Columbia Teachers’ Federation can bring expertise to the design of instruction. The BC School Trustees Association can determine how shared resources can mitigate some of the disadvantages that smaller school districts are likely to have. The BC School Superintendents’ Association, the BC Principal and Vice Principals’ Association, and the BC Association of School Business Officers can pool their expertise about logistics. The Knowledge Network may be able to play a role as TVO/ILC, the Ontario Ministry of Education’s provider of distance education, does in Ontario.

This kind of cooperation and coordination will require each school district and each association to see beyond the horizon of its own interest to foster the common good. This will be difficult, but not impossible. We’ve seen how well BC has addressed public health and safety during COVID-19. I am confident that the same can be done in education under the leadership of the Ministry of Education. It should ensure standards are met and the education of students is not at greater risk because of differences in capacity and resources.