As schools prepare for online learning, students find digital connections

Educators get creative during pandemic



CONNECTING—Alexander Alvarez, a fifth grader at La Mariposa Elementary, has been virtually hanging out with his friends through conference calls during the school closure. The 10-year-old said he gets excited when he’s able to see his pals. Courtesy photo

CONNECTING—Alexander Alvarez, a fifth grader at La Mariposa Elementary, has been virtually hanging out with his friends through conference calls during the school closure. The 10-year-old said he gets excited when he’s able to see his pals. Courtesy photo

A few days after schools closed March 16, Alexander Alvarez got to see his friends. Not on the playground or in class like he’s used to, but through his mother’s laptop, using a videoconferencing program.

Since their first call last week, the small group of La Mariposa Elementary School fifth graders have been choosing a project to make with Lego pieces and presenting their creations during their virtual hangouts, Alexander said.

“I made a spaceship,” the 10-year-old said. “Tomorrow we’re making a robotic giant machine.”

His mother, Jamie Alvarez, organized the video calls with the other children’s parents. Alvarez, a kindergarten teacher at Pleasant Valley School of Engineering and Arts, said it’s important for students to stay connected with their friends and teachers while schools are closed in the midst of the pandemic.

“I think it means a lot for him right now,” Alvarez said. “Their outlet is to go see their friends.”

During the boys’ first conference call, Alvarez had their principal, Justine Wienken, join the call to surprise them.

“You should have seen their faces,” she said.

Like many educators in the county, Wienken misses her students. Since schools closed, she’s been sending letters and videos to parents to let students know “we’re still here,” she said.

“It was painful because none of us got to really say goodbye. We thought it would be a week or two,” Wienken said.

Now that schools have announced they will be closed through May 1—though Gov. Gavin Newsom has warned parents that closures could last through the end of the school year—the principal said she’s grateful technology lets educators engage with students.

Alvarez said she has used the video program to connect with her own kindergarten class as well.

“It’s a new norm,” Alvarez said. “It’s new for all of us, so we just have to be creative.”

Since the first day of school closures, Pleasant Valley School District teachers have filmed themselves reading children’s books and posted the clips to social media for elementary school students to follow along.

On March 16, Dos Caminos Elementary School Principal Robert Waggoner kicked off the read-alouds by reading “It’s Only Stanley.” The next day, which was St. Patrick’s Day, transitional kindergarten teacher Jennifer Case read “How to Trap a Leprechaun.”

“(Our) goal is to use one of the best features of technology—ability to connect with people regardless of distance—and allow the kids to see some smiling and familiar faces,” Waggoner said in an email.

Many parents appreciate the effort to engage their kids. Some, like Stefanie Imoto, a mother of two Dos Caminos students, have responded with photos of their children watching the videos or reading their favorite picture books.

“They’re excited that they get to see the teachers,” she said of her daughter, Audrey, 7, and her son, Logan, 6.

Both Imoto and Audrey have pre-existing conditions and have been in strict self-isolation since March 16. Imoto, a criminology student at Moorpark College, said anything that gives her family a sense of regularity while Ventura County Community College District and PVSD transition to online coursework is helpful.

“It helps keep some normality . . . for us right now, which is really great,” Imoto said.

Throughout the first week of school closures, Rio Mesa High School Principal Mark Contreras featured honor roll students on his Twitter account. He put out a call at the beginning of the week, asking students to send him photos of themselves with their honor roll certificates.

“I miss my Spartans and it’s only Tuesday,” he said on Twitter on the second day of the social distancing break.

Daryl Myers, an English and drama teacher at Adolfo Camarillo High School, said teachers have shared resources, humor and emotional support as they attempt to navigate unfamiliar circumstances.

“With everything that’s going on, we just almost immediately came together,” Myers said.

Since school districts announced the first round of school closures, Pleasant Valley and Oxnard Union High school districts have been in high gear preparing to teach students through what’s been dubbed “distance learning.”

OUHSD staff distributed nearly 2,000 laptops and hotspots for students without computers or internet access at home.

PVSD staff put together workbooks for students with lessons to prepare them for their next grade level. They also compiled a list of enrichment activities for parents and caretakers to stimulate and educate students at home.

In the whirlwind of preparation, Wienken said, she’s hardly had time to process all the changes. The video call with Alexander and her other students helped her realize that.

“Admittedly, I got a little emotional when I hung up,” Wienken said. “I’ve been so busy and haven’t really had time to reflect on it all.”

Follow Brooke Stanley on Twitter @BrookeStanley_.