Our Grades faculty discussed the many challenges during this second full year of the pandemic in bringing as full a curriculum as possible to the students. As we have made it clear as a school, we prioritize in-person learning. In order to do so, and given the changes in quarantine and isolation from the Lake County Health Department and CDC, the Grades School will not be offering streaming lessons for those not in attendance.
Streaming lessons often take away from the experience and learning potential for those students attending in-person as well as cause a much greater burden on the teachers. In addition, much of the curriculum does not translate or is impossible to do online. We seek to give the best possible education to our students and feel that streaming video for a few students detracts from the delivery to the whole while also not properly delivering the curriculum as intended to those online. Teachers will still do what they can to post grade-appropriate material to those students not in attendance; however, the materials posted for an absent student will not be comprehensive and are not intended to fully mirror morning lesson or skills classes. The focus of the teacher’s time and attention will remain on the students at school.
We recognize students at home suffer not only from lack of their education but also the lack of social interaction. Though we are not offering streaming during lessons, teachers may offer to have a student stream in during snack or recess so students retain that vital social connection while allowing for a check-in from their teachers.
We strive to follow the LCHD and CDC guidelines to provide the safest environment we can for the students. Obviously we hope for as little interruption as possible for everyone, but the newest guidelines at least provide for a much shorter time away from the classroom for those students in isolation or quarantine. In case of a full class needing to be closed, the balance shifts in favor of online learning and that will be carried out on a case-by-case basis.
Best Regards,
Da Vinci Waldorf School Grade Teachers