EIGHT DAILY ESSENTIALS OUR AT-RISK STUDENTS ARE MISSING IN THE VIRTUAL CLASSROOM (AND HOW WE CAN TRY TO BRIDGE THESE [IMPOSSIBLE] GAPS)

I am an Educational Assistant, and like teachers, I am spending a lot of time these days trying to figure out how I can still do my job when all the ways I do my job in person have been taken away or changed.

This is my contribution in light of THAT reality.

In this new online learning environment, I have been very concerned about the students I support who are our ‘at-risk’ students. These are the students who come to school less equipped to do life in healthy growing ways than many other students. At ‘real’ school, in person, we give these students as much as possible in those few hours — things that they are or were missing in their home environment to such a degree that it has had and is having a lasting, negative impact.

As it is when the kids fill the building and we are all ‘doing school’, educational assistants focus on problem solving and meeting the particular needs of the students we support and others like them. So these days, while teachers are learning how to teach virtually at an amazing rate of speed, I have been thinking about our new virtual classrooms from my area of focus. Like we work together in ‘real’ school, sharing our perspectives regularly with each other for optimum effectiveness, I share my perspective here with the same hope and purpose.

So how can we do as much as possible for our at-risk students now, in this virtual learning environment? And even though it is impossible to do many of these things in the same way or with the same impact, can we at least try to bridge some of the gaps between in person and online learning?

I will be honest, it feels like trying to throw out a rope vs. building a bridge, but still. We have to try.

To look at this, I made a list. At school and in person, we (support staff) do the following for these students:

· co-regulation

· executive functioning modelling and support

· academic support and specialized instruction

· setting up for success

· personal validation/celebration/attention

· positive motivators, reinforcements and immediate feedback

· consistent routines and predictable expectations

· belonging, inclusion and community

Are there ways that we can bring these things into the virtual learning space? I have tried to offer a few suggestions and considerations for ways we might try to meet the needs of at-risk students. I am sure teachers and support staff out there have many more ideas!

Co-regulation

Co-regulation is the practice of supporting a student as they regulate their feelings. We do this by identifying the feelings, empathizing, validating, and eventually suggesting or supporting ways to return to balance. One way we might do this virtually is with response journals: each day sending a sort of check-in document/form, which asks “How are you doing/feeling today?” and shares the same of us with them. This can be done with quick, expressive selfies, Emojies, words and short videos. And as with response journals, teachers can respond with comments and acknowledgements. The goal is not to solve or end their feelings, but as with in-person co-regulation, to identify feelings (name it), validate, empathize and possibly suggest or affirm ways to return to balance.

Another important note to realize is that this child’s care-giver(s) is now their only co-regulator, 24/7. So anything that we can do to support the parent(s) and mitigate their stress will directly benefit the student.

Executive functioning modelling and support

Executive functioning is a big area. I think of it like the need for an admin assistant or an executive secretary. For students who struggle with this, we are teaching them how to organize themselves and make good decisions. In the online learning environment this can look like sending them one task at a time, or using a calendar/chart template for learning tasks. It can be outlining the task one step at a time, including gathering materials, and First, Next, Then type of instructions. It might be a task checklist or a report of start and end times from students.

This area can also include tips like using a timer to do school tasks, using First Then (choosing a preferred task to do after school work is finished) and other reward systems that parents might appreciate.

Academic support and specialized instruction

There are a myriad of resources that provide extra tutorials for students who need them. There are online math manipulative sites for students who need hands on learning experiences. This can also look like live chat while students are working, and answering questions online as quickly as possible. It can also look like teacher initiated questions as well, such as “How are you doing?” or “Was that hard or easy for you?” Students with executive functioning gaps often don’t ask the questions they need to be asking.

Setting up for success

When our students begin school in JK/SK, teachers work hard to set students up so that they can succeed at doing school. Their initial experience sets the tone and their expectations of themselves for the rest of their school life. We have a similar situation going on now, since online learning is a new experience for our students. It is important that we set them up for success. To that end, it is important to keep in mind that at risk students do not have the supports at home that are listed above. This means that the types and the levels of the learning tasks they can do successfully at home and online may be drastically different than what they are capable of in ‘real’ school.

Personal validation/celebration/attention

This is a big one. Along with co-regulation it is probably at the top of the list of what we all do so often for our struggling students. Every time they walk in the school doors someone smiles and says hi to them. Teachers pass them in the hall and say “how are you?” They come and we listen to their stories on the yard at recess. So how can we do this virtually? Firstly, trying to provide this as much as we can takes a lot of time, just like in ‘real’ school. The need for this is still much higher for certain students than for others. We all know that many hands make light work…and unfortunately these kids just have fewer hands. So the time they need from us is greater.

That said, how can we ‘see’ them as often as possible, virtually? Response journals could be one way. In many classrooms that use response journals, they are done once a week or even less often. But what if in the virtual environment the teacher set up response journals for only a few of their students — those with the highest need — and did them daily? It could look like three quick questions: How are you feeling? What’s one thing you did yesterday? And what is one thing you want to do today? The teacher can acknowledge the student’s answers and then give three answers of their own.

Other ways to provide this is to personally comment on all work turned in. I am sure there are many other ways out there that we can help at risk students be seen and heard. Even nutrition for learning drop offs communicate we see you to our students in need.

Positive motivators, reinforcements and immediate feedback

At school we often run class reward programs and do things like more DPA time on Fridays and class movies before major holidays. Are there ‘extra’ fun activities that come at the end of a learning task, as a reward? This could be quick and simple like a funny picture or video at the end of a learning task. Or it could be a link to a fun new game, movie or read aloud, sent out when work is turned in and before the next task goes out.

How can we support the care-giver as they struggle to motivate their kids to do their school work? If parents are interested, could they be sent a reward type system that they could try with their child?

Consistent routines and Predictable expectations

Sending out learning tasks regularly, with very specific instructions, providing real examples of a finished task, anchor charts…these are all things we do at ‘real’ school and can still be done virtually. Also, doing online learning in ways that copy how the ‘real’ classroom worked provides familiarity and keeps the connection to what we are doing now with ‘real’ school. This helps with the school mindset and expectations as well. If you did Fun Friday at ‘real’ school, can you keep it up online?

This is another area where we can support parents as well with suggestions and possibly resources.

Belonging, inclusion, community

Prayer and faith activities remind us that we belong to a much larger community. Can you set up a special intentions prayer page in your google classroom? Are there other class-wide rituals and opportunities that could be done virtually?

How can you connect your students with each other? Are there ways to make them more visible to each other as they all do their own learning tasks in isolation? Are there online learning games you can all play together at the same time, or play with each other?

I know I will keep thinking about these particular students and their needs and challenges as we continue now for quite a bit longer in this virtual learning environment. I know that you, like me, worry about our at-risk students all the time, and now even more that we cannot see them and high- five them every day in person. But, as with this whole situation, let’s not give up trying to make this very new and very strange situation work as well as we can until we are all back under the same roof again.

A rope is definitely not as good as a bridge, but it is better than nothing at all.

Remember we are all in this together. Keep your stick on the ice. –Red Green