After asking for clarification on the process of hybrid learning compared to virtual learning being practiced by the county’s public schools this year, we learned that the two methods will result in a significant difference in instructional time received from the teacher.
Thus far, 2,924 students have enrolled in the Simpson County School District. This includes 700 students opting for virtual learning, and 2,224 students participating in hybrid learning.
Deputy Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Debbie Davis explained that K-8th graders participating in virtual learning will receive instruction four days a week, and in some cases Monday through Friday.
Kindergarten through second grade will have specific teachers dedicated to teaching virtual classrooms. In third grade and higher, teachers will split time between teaching hybrid and virtual classrooms throughout the day.
Hybrid students, however, will receive new instruction on the two designated days that they are slated to physically attend school. On the remaining two days of the week, excluding Friday, the students will have access to work packets that are to be completed and turned in physically or via Google Classroom. According to ELA Instructional Coach Stephanie Hubbard, the students will receive the packets on the days that they attend school. In order to be counted present on the days that the student does not attend school he or she must return the completed assignments. Fridays are designated as intervention days.
According to this information, hybrid students will receive approximately 14 hours of instruction time with teachers throughout the week. The remaining time would be spent completing assignments and doing practice on the instruction received on the days they were in school.
Virtual learning students will receive approximately 28-35 hours of instruction time depending on the number of days the child is required to attend virtual classes. Virtual students will have an opportunity to receive new instruction each day, which may result in their being further ahead in the curriculum than hybrid students.
Davis was asked if the significant difference in time would put virtual students ahead of hybrid students. She said with the smaller classroom sizes for hybrid students, teachers will be able to get further along in the lessons than anticipated for virtual students. Davis explained that virtual teachers will be faced with a different set of challenges each day in the form of getting students logged in, and establishing proper communication with students.
She explained that by the end of the week, hybrid and virtual students should be near the same area in the curriculum.
Davis said, after two weeks of school being in session, the Curriculum Department plans to sit down and assess the effectiveness of the learning plans for each grade, and make necessary adjustments.
The first week of school has been completed and the school district has already experienced one positive COVID-19 test which resulted in seven students being quarantined. According to Assistant Superintendent Dr. Robert Sanders one student from Mendenhall High School tested positive on August 18 after being at school on August 17. Dr. Sanders explained that contact tracing was conducted as prescribed by the CDC and it was determined that six additional students needed to be quarantined after being in close contact with the infected student. The seven students will remain in quarantine for a period of 14 days. None of the Mendenhall High staff members were affected.
A virtual teacher at Magee Elementary notified the district on Friday August 21 that her spouse tested positive, and she was making plans to get tested immediately. Dr. Sanders explained that the teacher was specifically a virtual teacher and has not been in physical contact with any students.
The Simpson County School District has done an outstanding job of mitigating risk and ensuring that social distance guidelines are followed as much as possible. Dr. Sanders said, “Overall the week went very well. We checked temperatures of students and staff every day, and no students or staff came to school with a fever the entire week.”
Simpson County is still classified as a high case and high incidence county. Simpson County registered 44 new cases during the within the latest one week measuring metric.
All Mississippi schools will be required to provide a detailed report of confirmed COVID-19 cases among teachers, staff, and students to the Mississippi Department of Health. This data will be used to identify what grade levels and areas of the school are being affected the most by the virus, and necessary changes will follow. The threat of catching the virus at school has not been erased, but with the precautions currently in place and a willingness to evolve with the situation, the Simpson County School District will continue to minimize exposure and spread as much as possible.
