It’s no secret that the education sector was one of the hardest hit by COVID-19;
schools, universities and academic services across the world suddenly had to radically pivot in order to accommodate
new safety protocols and precautions. Read on to get a better understanding of how some local learning establishments
and facilities rose to the occasion, and also get a glimpse at what the future of education in Rhode Island may look
like in the years ahead. ◆ EDITED BY KAITLYN MURRAY
ALL PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES.
MIDDLE AND
SECONDARY SCHOOLS
Highlander Charter School in Providence
Rose Mary Grant, Superintendent
BIGGEST CHALLENGE: Switching to distance learning in a week.
THE WORKAROUNDS: Using multiple technology platforms to
deliver instruction.
ON THE BRIGHT SIDE: We organized a senior parade where we went
to every senior’s house with lawn signs, senior sweatshirts and
graduation gifts. We also held a fourth-grade fundraiser for Black
Lives Matter.
LOOKING AHEAD: I think the ability to service students in the school
or remotely will be a part of the landscape moving forward. We are
just hoping to be back in the building doing the work we do! We
have some exciting work happening around cultural competence
that we are looking forward to, as well.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: highlandercharter.org
La Salle Academy/De La Salle Middle School
in Providence
Alana Parenteau, Principal of De La Salle Middle School/
La Salle Administrator
BIGGEST CHALLENGE: Some of our largest challenges during
COVID-19 involved transforming our “brick and mortar” classroom
teaching to digital platforms and supplementing this learning
curve with on-demand professional development to meet the
needs of our educators and students. Also, the difficulty of working
with students remotely versus in-person to assist with any
social-emotional or executive functioning concerns throughout
the entire day. Lastly, the continuous communication for all stakeholders
to ensure we knew all happenings with more than 100
educators in a digital environment was a challenge.
THE WORKAROUNDS: Some of the creative workarounds at our
institution involved: mobile hotspots and loaning out school
devices to help teachers and students have the tools they needed;
virtual town hall meetings with the entire teaching staff to
answer questions that were submitted in advance to the administrators;
and weekly virtual professional development for educators
on innovative technology tools to enhance their craft
(instructional delivery and assessment) via Zoom.
ON THE BRIGHT SIDE: La Salle Academy’s tenets of faith, service
and community are always the foundation of what we do and who
we are. During distance learning, we came together as a virtual
community to celebrate the class of 2020 with a senior drivethru,
individual senior time capsule messages/videos shared on
our website and social media to promote students’ awards and
accolades in the arts, athletics and service. Also, educators wrote
cards to each of their students and created end-of-year movies to
culminate their journey together as a class.
LOOKING AHEAD: Within our school-wide strategic plan, many
targeted goals have been reflected upon due to the COVID-19
shutdown. In preparation for the fall of 2020 and beyond, we have
instituted many changes and additions over the past few months.
This includes establishing a common device for all teachers giving
them the tools to be successful regardless of what the upcoming
year looks like; providing different possible modes of instructional
delivery (in-person, hybrid and remote) and assessment based
upon the audience; organizing virtual educator office hours for
students to promote another vehicle of two-way communication;
moving away from the notion of “perfect attendance” for in-person
learning; giving students access to live classes via Zoom while
at home to complete work; developing a flexible master schedule
to provide more opportunities for students to experience more
co-curricular offerings; and adding a graduation requirement of
one online course.
WHAT ELSE IS NEW: In the wake of COVID-19, new clubs/activities
(virtual and hybrid) will be introduced in the fall of 2020 to
elicit more student participation. The McLaughlin Athletic Center
expanded its strength and conditioning facility to provide fitness
opportunities for all students and to allow all athletes to enhance
their athletic skills. In fall of 2020, La Salle Academy will be launching
the Explorer Program. In keeping with La Salle’s mission to
be an inclusive Catholic school and guide the individual student,
the Explorer Program is designed for bright students with mild
learning differences. These students who have a strong desire to
attend La Salle Academy will develop as self-directed learners
and then continue their educational careers at competitive fouryear
colleges or universities.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: lasalle-academy.org
School One in Providence
Jennifer Borman, Head of School
BIGGEST CHALLENGE: We’ve continued to provide a great education
to our students, but we know that many of them have been
isolated and stressed. >>
BACK TO
104 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l SEPTEMBER 2020