Today is the first day back to school for some districts in Michiana, but most students won’t step foot in a physical school building due to the coronavirus pandemic. Some teachers had to adjust for their first day of virtual classes.
Mishawaka School students will take virtual classes for at least the next six weeks. After that, school officials plan to reevaluate and see if it’s safe for students to transition to in-person classes.
Shelley Yoder teaches government and world history at Mishawaka High School. She said there were a few hiccups with setting up her classes Wednesday morning, but nothing more extreme than any other first day of school.
“We’re used to that sort of thing happening on the first day of school, getting everybody in the right place," she said. "I don’t think it was anymore stressful, it was just different getting [the students] where they needed to be virtually, instead of in person.”
Yoder had some practice with teaching virtual classes for summer school which she said helped her prepare for elearning during the regular school year...unlike last spring when she says she had to abruptly transition to online teaching due to the pandemic.
South Bend students officially started virtual classes today which will continue for at least the next eight weeks.
Jan Henderson teaches first grade at Madison STEAM Academy. She says one challenge with virtual learning includes making sure families have all the materials they need...but she’s also worried about forming relationships with her students.
“When I have children that are going to be shy to talk to me they just still need that chance where I go up to them one-on-one, just doing those special things to make connections really helps make those kids feel more comfortable and I just am like ‘how am I supposed to do that when they’re just sitting at a computer because they might not push the button to speak’”
Henderson said it’ll take some adjusting to find new ways to connect with students and build those relationships virtually.
South Bend School officials plan to start looking at COVID-19 case numbers in mid to late September to start evaluating when it may be safe for students to return.
Contact Annacaroline at acaruso@wvpe.org or follow her on Twitter at @AnnacarolineC16
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