Episodes

“If we’re face-to-face, we’ll be pretty good with that. If we’re remote, we’re 80% there,” says superintendent Corey Miklus in Seaford, Delaware, about the upcoming fall semester. “The real question is if we go to a hybrid format, because in that hybrid format there’s probably about 50 to 100 different scenarios you could work out.” Should they have A days […]

Dr. Sonja Santelises joins ExtraOrdinary Districts in Extraordinary Times to discusses the Black Lives Matter protests and the decisions she faces as superintendent of Baltimore in planning for the return of students in the fall — from what equipment she is having to buy to what changes in the curriculum she will have to make. Surveys to gather information and […]

Dr. Sonja Santelises joins ExtraOrdinary Districts in Extraordinary Times to discusses the Black Lives Matter protests and the decisions she faces as superintendent of Baltimore in planning for the return of students in the fall — from what equipment she is having to buy to what changes in the curriculum she will have to make. Surveys to gather information and […]

By using gyms and deploying every possible teacher, even if they don’t have all the proper certifications, Steubenville’s superintendent Melinda Young is hoping to “open up all day every day.” The only exception is that 4-year-olds will attend three days a week and 3-year-olds will go two times a week. “We just feel so strongly that we need those students […]

By using gyms and deploying every possible teacher, even if they don’t have all the proper certifications, Steubenville’s superintendent Melinda Young is hoping to “open up all day every day.” The only exception is that 4-year-olds will attend three days a week and 3-year-olds will go two times a week. “We just feel so strongly that we need those students […]

Increased costs in the face of massive budget cuts means that the already difficult task of re-opening school buildings becomes even more complicated. “It’s overwhelming,” says Vincent Romano, principal of Malverne High School in Nassau County, New York. In this episode of ExtraOrdinary Districts in Extraordinary Times, Romano and Sergio Garcia, principal of Artesia High School in Los Angeles County, […]

Increased costs in the face of massive budget cuts means that the already difficult task of re-opening school buildings becomes even more complicated. “It’s overwhelming,” says Vincent Romano, principal of Malverne High School in Nassau County, New York. In this episode of ExtraOrdinary Districts in Extraordinary Times, Romano and Sergio Garcia, principal of Artesia High School in Los Angeles County, […]

“The money exists to ensure that all students are served,” says Tricia McManus, the brand-new deputy superintendent of Winston-Salem Public Schools in North Carolina. The question, she adds, is whether we as a nation are willing to spend it. When the pandemic closed schools, McManus said, it shone a light on the needs of all children. “We definitely saw that […]

“The money exists to ensure that all students are served,” says Tricia McManus, the brand-new deputy superintendent of Winston-Salem Public Schools in North Carolina. The question, she adds, is whether we as a nation are willing to spend it. When the pandemic closed schools, McManus said, it shone a light on the needs of all children. “We definitely saw that […]

Providing distance learning is much harder than providing an education in person, says Mary Haynes-Smith, principal of Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School in New Orleans. Bethune is a school that runs on personal relationships and hugging, and building a culture of resiliency is much more difficult when done through computers, she said. “This is so much of a harder task […]

Providing distance learning is much harder than providing an education in person, says Mary Haynes-Smith, principal of Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School in New Orleans. Bethune is a school that runs on personal relationships and hugging, and building a culture of resiliency is much more difficult when done through computers, she said. “This is so much of a harder task […]

“The biggest bonus” of the remote learning that Godwyn Heights School District in Michigan has been doing is the strengthened ties between school and families, says Mary Lang, principal of West Elementary School. Another bonus, says Michelle Krynicki, director of curriculum and instruction for the district, is that bonds among teachers have also been strengthened. She has heard teachers say, […]

“The biggest bonus” of the remote learning that Godwyn Heights School District in Michigan has been doing is the strengthened ties between school and families, says Mary Lang, principal of West Elementary School. Another bonus, says Michelle Krynicki, director of curriculum and instruction for the district, is that bonds among teachers have also been strengthened. She has heard teachers say, […]

Jennifer Robbins, principal of Ladd Acres Elementary School in Hillsboro, Oregon, has been collecting and studying data about which of her school’s students are showing up to distance learning classes and what they are learning. She wants to know, “What types of lessons are really working?” One sixth grade teacher, for example, says he is getting better results in math […]

Jennifer Robbins, principal of Ladd Acres Elementary School in Hillsboro, Oregon, has been collecting and studying data about which of her school’s students are showing up to distance learning classes and what they are learning. She wants to know, “What types of lessons are really working?” One sixth grade teacher, for example, says he is getting better results in math […]

After delivering 10,000 devices, thousands of Wi-Fi hot spots, and 300,000 meals per week, Mobile County Public Schools created a hybrid system of instructional packets, online instruction, and television instruction to provide children and families choices in how continue their education. Many systems around Mobile “just gave worksheets or busy work,” Superintendent Chresal Threadgill says, and he has faced backlash […]

After delivering 10,000 devices, thousands of Wi-Fi hot spots, and 300,000 meals per week, Mobile County Public Schools created a hybrid system of instructional packets, online instruction, and television instruction to provide children and families choices in how continue their education. Many systems around Mobile “just gave worksheets or busy work,” Superintendent Chresal Threadgill says, and he has faced backlash […]

That sounds like an obvious statement, says Daniel St. Louis, principal of University Park Campus School (UPCS) in Worcester, Massachusetts. But “a big part of how we see our identity has been taken away” by the school closures following the pandemic. “One of our great, great strengths is the relationships — the social learning, group work, learning together, being with […]

“It hurts my heart tremendously” to know that gaps in achievement will grow during the shutdown of school buildings, says Jennie Black, principal of Washington Elementary in Junction City, Kansas. She is most worried about the students who were already struggling in school before buildings closed and aren’t logging into school lessons during this time. She and her teachers have […]

Before their school building closed, teachers and leaders at Garfield Prep Academy in Washington, D.C., learned as much as they could about COVID-19 and shared that with students and parents. The next step was to gather materials and lessons that students could take home. Once school closed, says principal Kennard Branch, “the first order of business was to make sure […]

Educators in Steubenville, Ohio, have been scrambling ever since hearing that their schools might close. With no clear standards for how to operate schools remotely, they have been trying things, evaluating them, and revising. “It’s a learning process,” says Superintendent Melinda Young. Initially thinking schools would only be closed for two weeks, teachers put together packets with review materials that […]

Corey Miklus became superintendent of Seaford (Delaware) Public Schools in January. On March 13 he closed the buildings to students. “These are some challenging times, but we’re figuring it out just like everyone else is.” Since closing its doors, the district has distributed 600 computers to families and worked with local internet providers to provide Wi-Fi for low or no […]

“This is different. This is hard for some of our parents. We have to show compassion and patience,” says Faith Belle-Lucy, principal of Dr. Robert W. Gilliard Elementary in Mobile, Alabama. Parents and students are facing a brand-new world of distance learning, she said, and not all are ready. Over the past few weeks a team of 10 volunteer teachers […]

We are “creating the new normal,” Superintendent Dr. Nicholas Stirling says. As his schools closed this spring, Valley Stream 30 in Nassau County, New York, phased in its response. The first two weeks, “phase one,” recognized that “everyone would be dealing with the fear and the anxiety, the emotional impact of what we’re being put through.” During that time the […]