Monday marked one week since schools in Washington state transitioned entirely to online learning, an unprecedented measure intended to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
It's a move that is giving us a look at the new "normal" for students in the Stanwood-Camano School District.
“There’s a coronavirus going around the whole world,” said a young elementary school student while picking up a bagged lunch.
Staff spent Monday handing out lunches to students while keeping their distance. Paper packets of classwork have now replaced a teacher’s physical presence in the classroom.
“We miss our families we miss our students, that’s… that’s why we’re in the business,” said Cedarhome Elementary Principal Jeff Lofgren.
At the direction of the state, all education in public, private, and charter K-12 schools is now happening remotely for the remainder of the academic year. The first week of remote learning has been an adjustment for parents, students, and teachers.
“It’s not as easy as I thought it was going to be,” said parent Michael Walsh. “It’s definitely a lot more structure than just staying at home and watching Netflix.”
Among the unfolding challenges is how educators reach students. So far, the Stanwood-Camano School District has handed out 120 laptops to families. In Edmonds, the district handed out more than 7,000. Amazon announced this week that it would donate and ship 8,200 laptops to Seattle Public Schools families to help with remote learning.
Meanwhile, Governor Jay Inslee said he’s working with service providers to upgrade internet service in urban and rural parts of the state.
“I mean, we’re trying to keep it normal for our kids, too. Just so that they cannot have this heightened worry or panic that things are not normal, so to speak,” said parent Eric Engbert.
But it's a system that’s far from normal. The state said it would begin asking districts to report participation numbers for remote learning. Some districts are requiring teachers to make contact with their students in some fashion at least twice a week.
“It’s uncharted territory for everybody, and we just want to help. We just want them to know we’re behind them and we’re trying to do everything we can to help them at home with their kids. It’s not an easy job,” said Lofgren.