SWK/Hilltowns

Gateway Superintendent’s Corner

Dr. David Hopson

Dr. David Hopson

As difficult as it is to believe, by the time many read this column our summer break will be half over as staff return to school on August 26 and students return on August 28. Most school calendars are a throwback to agrarian times and don’t necessarily meet the needs of modern families. Schools throughout the country have adopted different calendars with some seeking more days, and potentially more hours in each day, and others spreading school attendance out over the entire year rather than concentrating most of the time off in summer. In many respects this makes more sense – those schools tend to reduce the amount of academic ‘catch-up’ that’s required when students return from summer vacation; time off is more frequent for students, perhaps providing them with a more consistent and positive outlook towards school; ‘off season’ costs can be lower for families that travel; the ‘I’m bored’ syndrome that often sets in after just a couple of weeks of summer break may be eliminated; and absentee rates and illnesses are often reduced. Of course, there are always drawbacks – arranging child care, the potential loss of summer camp time, the inability to take weeks off at a time with your child, and, if you’re still farming, missing extra hands during growing season.
Another way that some schools are changing the school year is by using ‘blended’ learning, essentially providing some instruction using online lessons. This has many versions from a full time online education to one where students get their educational theory online and use face-to-face time with the teacher to put that theory into practice (so-called flipped instruction). Gateway allows online courses, primarily for those students who wish to take subjects that we don’t offer, such as foreign languages other than Spanish, micro or macro economics, certain AP courses, and a wide range of other subjects for which only 1 or 2 students may be interested. What this provides is a nearly unlimited choice of subjects for our students, despite being a small and rural school district. It’s also been suggested that online learning could potentially be used to eliminate ‘snow days’ by allowing lessons to continue even without students being in school. This is certainly something that may become more prevalent (and eventually be allowed in all states) as Internet access becomes more ubiquitous and schools move to a true one to one computer status.
We’ve certainly seen similar changes in the workforce with some folks allowed to work from home, and even more expected to work electronically beyond the work day, most often without any additional pay. Should working from home via the Internet become more prevalent and accepted, it is reasonable to assume that the pressure to do the same in schools will increase. We can already see this movement in higher education where many students are receiving degrees without ever having to set foot on a brick and mortar campus; in some cases this has spread to high school. Even at the elementary level, we see some movement to a combination of seat time and online time. While this is not the solution to all problems, and may not be appropriate for many children (either because they’re not ready for this or there is insufficient supervision in the home because parents are working), it does beg the question of what primary and secondary education will look like in the next 20 to 30 years and how these changes will impact not only our schools, but our entire society.

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