Some kids never logged on to remote school. Now what?
Connecticut was the first state in the nation to provide every student in need with a remote learning device. It wasn’t enough
Kristen Record, a science teacher at Bunnell High School in Stratford, Conn., looks forward to the day she can use regular lab equipment again. Teaching AP Physics through a computer is hard, even for Connecticut’s 2011 Teacher of the Year.
Record’s taught pupils over Zoom for most of this school year, but some students never appeared on her screen. Even after students had the choice to remain remote or return to the classroom, she estimates about 10 percent didn’t show. Emails to their homes went unanswered, or listed family phone numbers were no longer in service. It was like pushing information into a black hole.
“I have missing kids,” Record said. “Kids that are on my roster who I haven't seen in weeks, and are not going to pass my class. I wish I could go to their home and sit and talk them through whatever is going on. I wish a team of us could be doing that.”
In December, Connecticut Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont declared his state the first in the country to get a laptop computer for every elementary and high school student who needed one for remote learning.
That moment was significant, and not just because state education commissioner Miguel Cardona was on the verge of being named President Joe Biden’s pick to replace Betsy DeVos as education secretary in Washington. Record marveled at how quickly her students and classes shifted to online learning. One former Lamont aide likened Connecticut's benchmark to nailing the final, golden spike into the transcontinental railroad. CONTINUE READING: Some kids never logged on to remote school. Now what? - POLITICO