Dear Kadoka Area,
As we set into summer, I hope to continue weekly communication through this medium for the district. Consistency and access are chief factors in education and engagement for any form of attention. However, the topics we explore will shift from what is happening in our hallways to what we, as educators, do to prepare ourselves for the next school year. In the United States, we are unique because we operate on an agriculture calendar in our schools. In many ways, this still makes sense in the Dakotas, where I have spent a large part of my educational career, and will probably make even more sense in 9-12 as we advance.
Today, I will look back on the past three years and give some thoughts we could have learned the past three years in the onset of Covid-19 and the fallout. As schools and society, we hope to move away from the most disruptive and transformative time in public education to an altered place of normalcy. Again, these thoughts are my own, and my experiences are unique, so you as a reader may agree or disagree, but please know I respect your opinion. As a resident of our district, I would love you to stop by my office this summer and chat about our education at KAHS.
The four observations I want to reflect on are the value of teachers, online education, personalized learning, and the foundation of family engagement. While each is interrelated, they tested to the limit, and we learned quite a bit about them during our time of the pandemic.
The pandemic pronounced the need and emphasis that must be placed on quality instructors and teaching in our classrooms. MAPS, a national testing organization used in schools nationwide, saw as much as a 20% drop in learning retention levels for students strictly online in the grades 9-12 in a biannual review from January 2020 to January 2022. Ultimately, the faster schools can get their students in person for instruction safely, the better the adjustment graduates will have in filling in for the workforce and applying to higher education institutions without remedial intervention classes. In Indian country, this is ancient wisdom, and advances have recently been reported by technology companies attempting to fill the gaps in other mediums tried used in distance learning. However, at this time, nothing shows the effect of a fully engaged classroom and teacher in learning data. Districts that prioritize this method should benefit from going forward.
The next topic is an online education portal that was tested and used more than it ever has. At Kadoka Area, we currently use a di- vision of the Black Hills Special Services Cooperative, also known as Black Hills Online Learning (BHOL), as our primary online education provider for our students. I will be the first to say that the team at BHOL is as good as I have seen. The quality of education they produce is superior to other programs I have used. However, our state Smarter Balance Test data does not support the idea that students will tend to score as high in 9-12 as a student in the classroom at this time. Al- though we have seen some high scores produced due to the team’s outstanding work at Black Hills Online, they are not as frequent as those engaged as in-person students.
As I am the point person for k-12 in our online program at KAHS, I can honestly assess that the benefits of online education are more significant in 9-12 than in any other area, and if my son/daughter were to have an option to use online learning in an emergency below 9th grade. It could be done for a short time, but a high priority to push my student to in-person learning would be placed as we advance. It would yield better results for my child.
The problem with lower grades is maturity; as my advertising father stated, technology is made to engage you fully. An IPAD, or screen technology, produces more data and actions than a mind can fully process at one time at a younger age, and even with a parent sitting directly beside a student for a study period. The brain’s frontal lobe will tire out at a higher rate than in a classroom setting, and recovery will be significant due to the considerable recovery time for the brain under substantial stress. Brain fatigue leads to less learning per day and a tendency for a student to avoid the process altogether, far different than a teacher in a primary classroom who makes a student want to go to school each day. The process is much different to observe, as are the results.
Building off online learning, we discuss personalized learning, a new movement that started as a sales pitch in the second year of the pandemic. A study in Great Britain showed that student choice could significantly affect learning as light and air quality pace learning in a classroom. The major shift had the time to be explored as many districts stayed online and attempted to personalize their learning experiences for the students to keep them engaged and moving forward. In districts that followed this online engagement method, they did see better results than many online instruction models. Still, again, choice coupled with a classroom far out- weighs the effects of personalized learning through a computer. Quality in-person instruction still wins if the focus is on student success rather than distance engagement. Therefore, districts that came back in person this year, or will be next year, will benefit from investing in teachers that enable choice in their classrooms, with technology integrated as a choice rather than technology being the instructor and monitored by the teacher from afar.
Finally, we confirmed what has been known in Indian culture and this area of South Dakota since the founding of the state in 1889. Family support of learning and engagement of the village around the child in the learning process is the most crucial factor in education. It should be considered an evergreen tenant of every school that develops or evaluates a strategic plan in any district cabinet. It was reported that online learners of the Pine Ridge saw 15% engagement in their online classes in grades K-12. If parents are working during the day, it isn’t easy to allow the student to have the needed time to learn after a parental workday. However, those parents who engaged fully and totally in the learning process of the altered COVID-19 school saw better results for their children.
In closing, the changes from COVID-19 will have lasting effects on schools and students, but it is our goal at KAHS to have the best education we can go forward. As a member of our district’s leadership team, I hope to take what was learned and apply it for a better result for our students.
Sincerely,
Mr. Lukens