Tacoma-area schools can ad-lib for now, but must improve during coronavirus closure
Pierce County parents are growing more restless with each passing day of the nearly two-week-old coronavirus school shutdown — and not just because of cabin fever or the angst of having 24/7 childcare responsibilities thrust upon them with little notice.
Many families are frustrated that local school officials have yet to deploy a cohesive distance-learning plan.
One Tacoma dad called it an “absolute cop out” when Tacoma Public Schools posted its initial statement after the closure announcement. TPS said it faced legal constraints to educate students during the shutdown “because we are not equipped to provide equitable opportunities for all.”
A Gig Harbor dad raised a similar complaint. He said it’s “almost incomprehensible” that other districts around the state and U.S. could quickly roll out online learning programs while Peninsula School District remained hung up on equity concerns.
Some of this criticism seems unfair to us, given the incredible complexity and extraordinary nature of the coronavirus crisis. Washington’s public and private sectors were caught flatfooted by the outbreak; why should people expect public school district bureaucracies — including Tacoma, the state’s third-largest — to be any different?
As a University of Washington education professor told the Seattle Times for a recent story: “The pandemic means that leaders have to reinvent a school system that was a century in the making but with only days to do it.”
Remember, too, that Gov. Jay Inslee ordered districts to prioritize feeding students two meals a day, which they did with admirable improvisation and speed. Meantime, the graduation calendar has forced them to prioritize credit completion for high school seniors.
But judging by the volume of letters parents have sent to education leaders and copied to our Editorial Board, impatience is running high, and it may climb as inexorably as the COVID-19 infection curve.
Unless South Sound school districts can successfully launch distance-learning programs in the next week or so.
School officials we contacted say they’re accelerating those efforts. They received more direction this week from the state school superintendent’s office, though OSPI’s overall communication since the start of the shutdown has been inconsistent and confusing.
(Notably, Tacoma has taken down the initial language about having its hands tied by equity issues.)
Now OSPI says all districts “should be providing educational services for all students” — though not necessarily instruction — by Monday.
Parents should be ready to hold their schools accountable to that deadline.
One of the most relentless watchdogs in Tacoma is Charles Mildes, father of two TPS students. Since classrooms went dark March 16, he’s sent a letter and several followup notes to district leaders.
His primary concerns? That TPS is relying on paper take-home packets and “one-off” efforts by individual teachers in the absence of an integrated distance-learning plan.
“As we’ve all heard, these are unprecedented times requiring unprecedented thinking and collaboration to solve big challenges,” Mildes wrote. “Healthcare providers, law enforcement, private industry, individuals are all making sacrifices and thinking outside of the box right now. Even private schools have made strides to continue the education of their students. Public administrators and educators, where are you?”
Mildes raises some good points; in particular, TPS and other districts should heed his advice to enlist local tech companies and community experts for help with remote-learning plans.
But expecting a large public school district to be as nimble as a private school is about as realistic as expecting a naval supercarrier to turn as quickly as a rowboat.
It’s challenging enough on a good day to serve households representing at least 40 language groups, hundreds of special education students and countless low-income families with unreliable computer or internet access. It’s exponentially harder during a crisis like this.
There is no “in case of pandemic, break glass” plan to replace classroom instruction. So local districts are ad-libbing. For example:
Tacoma has an extensive online portfolio of optional family learning resources (preschool through 12th grade). This past week, families without computer access could pick up hard-copy packets of the same materials. A laptop distribution plan is also in the works.
Puyallup launched a web page with family resources last week. Students in grades 4-6 can check out a web-accessible device if needed; those in grades 7-12 already have a district-furnished device.
Bethel has an advantage because every student has an iPad to take home, thanks to a 2014 technology bond. During the shutdown, teachers are able to meet with students via remote connection, and mobile hotspots are available for students without wifi at home.
While districts have no choice but to adapt on the fly now, the coronavirus outbreak of 2020 should be thoroughly reviewed when it’s over and used as a real-world training experience. And a humbling one, at that.
Parents aren’t the only ones who should expect a well coordinated distance-learning program; taxpayers should, too. In 2018, Tacoma voters approved a $144 million school technology levy, which is being collected over six years.
The true test is not how local and state educators handle an epic school closure that has no precedent. The true test is how they learn from it and handle the sequel.
This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 5:22 AM.