Tracy Krupka’s seventh-grade son saw his classmates for the first time in weeks Wednesday via Google Hangout. He was excited, she said, but by the time the Google Hangout was over he was nearly overwhelmed.
Sudden changes are hard for her son, who has cerebral palsy and autism. Another son in fourth grade, who is in general education classes, has different needs.
Without the structure school provides, Krupka, who also works as an occupational therapy assistant for Kaneland School District 302, and her husband have been trying to establish a routine that allows them to work and their two sons to thrive.
“You’re trying to juggle the role of mom, teacher, therapist, homemaker, cook,” she said. “And then still, if you work, do your job as well.”
More than three weeks into their new reality, her family is managing well, she said. But she knows not every family has the resources hers does.
Schools’ shift to remote learning, set to last through at least the end of April, poses a variety of concerns for students, teachers and parents. The state has recommended measures to ensure grades not count against students, but other challenges remain for families that don’t have reliable internet access, those who don’t speak English at home or those, like Krupka’s family, with children who have special needs.
During remote learning, those facing the highest barriers could be hurt the most, said Laurie Elish-Piper, dean of the college of education at Northern Illinois University.
“Some of the children who probably need their education in school the most … tend to be in a disadvantaged situation because now they may not have families that have access and can provide the support to them, because they’re under-resourced,” Elish-Piper said.
As Fox Valley school districts work to provide meals and resources to families and quickly implement plans for remote learning, sometimes creating new plans from scratch and sometimes expanding previously limited plans, they are also working to address these challenges. Some are providing internet hotspots or alternate internet workarounds. Many are offering online meetings and resources for English-learners and special education students.
Still, it’s not the same as in-person instruction, they say.
“Is this an ideal situation? Absolutely not,” said Carol Smith, spokeswoman for St. Charles School District 303. “Are we doing the best that we can with what we have? Yes, we are.”
Krupka, who is both an educator and a parent, said she is likely at an advantage in working with her son with special needs because of her job.
Still, in taking on the role of her son’s teacher and therapist, she said she must be careful that she doesn’t impact her role as her son’s mother, she said. She worried that where a teacher might give feedback, it could come across as judgmental from a parent.
“It’s out of context for them for their parents to be their teachers or their therapists,” she said.
There have been positives, Krupka said. More time at home has meant more time to work on life skills with her seventh-grader such as dressing independently, which are areas of particular need for him. It has also meant more time to share knowledge with both her sons, like talking about the music she and her husband love.
But she knows other children with special needs might need more work in academic areas, and regression might be a concern.
“I know that whenever we come back to school, we will again meet the kids where they’re at,” she said. “And if it takes time to recoup, if there were skills lost, we will put a plan in place to help them recoup it.”
Many special education students receive individualized education programs, or IEPs, that serve as a plan specific to their needs. They sometimes include in-person services such as occupational therapy or physical therapy. School districts are now tasked with determining how to provide those services and whether families are equipped to provide services typically offered by trained professionals, Elish-Piper said.
“There’s already a gap there, they’re showing that they’re discrepant from the kids who are in their same age peers,” said Nicole Full, a special education teacher in the Kaneland school district. “And as much as we want to be able to provide the instruction for them to access at home, there’s nothing that is going to be able to aggressively close that gap as compared to when we’re in school.”
Full said to help with learning while students are home, she is reaching out to the families of her students and suggesting strategies, such as limiting time spent on work, and incentives, such as video games.
Still, some of her students have faced challenges transitioning to learning at home. And she knows that she, as a teacher, will likely have to adjust as remote learning progresses.
Students who don’t speak English at home also face challenges, both in accessing online learning and in improving their language skills without the day-to-day interactions they typically have in school and in the community, said James Cohen, an associate professor at NIU’s college of education who focuses on non-native English-speakers and immigrant students.
The issue is likely widespread in both Aurora and Elgin, the Fox Valley’s two largest cities, where about 16% of residents over age 5 reported speaking English less than “very well,” a 2018 Census estimate showed.
Parents new to the country might not fully understand the education system yet, Cohen said. They might come from areas where the internet is less prevalent or might not speak English themselves, posing a challenge to helping their children complete schoolwork.
“The issue is the newcomers who do not know how to do school in the United States yet, they are going to have a heck of a time because they don’t know what the teachers’ expectations are,” he said.
There is also a risk some students could fall off the grid, he said.
Elish-Piper and Cohen said communication between families and teachers about the challenges they are facing can help, though Cohen said that, too, might be difficult for families with limited internet access or who can’t pay a phone bill.
For educators, it’s about finding a balance between providing opportunities for students to learn, but realizing that a family might not have access to the internet, or might be sharing internet and computer access between multiple students and adults working from home, Elish-Piper said.
“This is an opportunity for us all to be flexible and kind and gracious,” Elish-Piper said. “Yes, children’s education is important, but it has to look different right now.”
Districts have undertaken a variety of steps to try to address the various challenges remote learning poses. Many are working to get devices such as Chromebooks and iPads into the hands of their students, and creating work packets for special education students who might work best offline. In some cases, special education providers are meeting virtually with parents and students.
At least one district, the St. Charles school district, has been lending hotspots to families without reliable internet, including some provided by the local library. So far, the district has given out about 50, Smith, the district’s spokeswoman, said.
In East Aurora School District 131, where state data shows about 41% of students are identified as English-learners and 70% are low-income, the district expects to be distributing iPads to elementary students in the coming weeks. Middle- and high-school students in the district are already using iPads.
A committee of educators has identified reading- and math-focused apps that don’t require internet access and can store data internally. They can automatically upload students’ work to district servers whenever they are next connected to the internet, East Aurora Superintendent Jennifer Norrell said.
For families that don’t speak English at home, the district is providing opportunities to complete work in students’ native language. For now, the first goal is learning and language acquisition is secondary, Norrell said.
The district is working to provide tailored work packets to special education students who cannot work online and, for students who receive occupational or physical therapy, activity assignments that can be completed at home, Norrell said. When needed, such learning packets are delivered to families’ doors, according to the district.
Special education families will receive phone calls from special education staff, in addition to weekly check-ins from certified staff for all families, Norrell said.
Still, she said, nothing replicates in-person learning, and she doesn’t know what challenges her students might face at home. So, the district has shifted its focus away from completion of work and grades, she said.
“It’s about keeping kids emotionally and physically safe, fed and allowing opportunities for continuous learning,” she said.
One of the state’s largest school districts, Elgin’s School District U-46, faces unique challenges reaching students who don’t speak English. About 34% of students are identified as English-learners, state data shows.
During remote learning, district officials have provided support to teachers and families of English-learning students, including teachers at one elementary school who are supporting families who speak Polish, Urdu, Gujurati and Tagalog, spokeswoman Mary Fergus said in an email.
Principals and school staff are calling families the district has not heard from, Fergus said.
For special needs students, officials are looking to create more individualized services moving forward that will better align with each student’s individualized learning plan, Fergus said.
Elish-Piper commended teachers’ work to meet the challenges, but said school will have to look different when students return. Some students will make progress during remote learning, and others will not.
“We’re going to need to make adjustments,” she said. “We’re going to need to meet students where they are.”
sfreishtat@tribpub.com
