INDIANAPOLIS — As Indiana’s first group of students went back to school Wednesday, teachers elsewhere have been preparing for what will be a very different school year.
Jasmin Burch is a health and physical education teacher at Northview Middle School in Washington Township.
School for them starts back Thursday, but not one student will be class. The district is doing all e-learning for the time being.
“So the past 24 hours have definitely been a whirlwind,” said Burch. “The start of the school year is always a great opportunity to get ready for the kids and everything and now this year with it being virtual, we are making sure that everyone has devices and access to the internet and things like that.”
Burch said they’ve made an effort to make sure there’s more live instruction.
“It will be interactive, so we will start with the kids in a Zoom call very much like this, and they are expected to be on the calls and take attendance and run it like a regular day,” said Burch.
Wednesday, Indianapolis Public Schools also announced they plan on dramatically pushing back in-person classes. With school board approval Thursday, e-learning will be the norm at least until October.
“The goal is still to get our kids back in person as soon as we can, but we have to do it in a way that feels safe,” said IPS Superintendent Aleesia Johnson.
There will be challenges, according to a Ball State University study. Indianapolis has among the highest populations of households without internet access.
Johnson said in the coming weeks, they’ll make sure every student has a device, and they’ve ordered 1,500 wireless hotspots.
“All of our kids will have the internet access and the technology they need to be able to access their learning,” said Johnson.
Nearly every district will be doing e-learning to some degree. It may not be ideal but is necessary for now.