Our students have been learning at home through most of the Spring. Parents have become closer to their learners than they have ever been. At TEN, we have been walking alongside parents as they ask questions about their students’ progress and identify joyful ways to engage as thinkers and learners. When the COVID 19 outbreak started, we knew immediately that we had a community of families that we would all be better off for leaning into. Since the beginning of March, we have hosted weekly digital parent meetings and set up a slack channel for families to connect and collaborate around what is working and what is not when it comes to their learner.
Here is what we have learned so far:
EQUITY: Families need resources to support their learners, recorded lessons to reference, and should have access to extended learning opportunities over the summer.
Parents should have access to recorded direct instruction to support their learners. Families who are essential workers and families who are managing multiple learners in their households need recorded lessons so that they don't miss class because it didn't fit into their schedule. Recorded classes help parents understand what their child is learning AND they can be interpreted into multiple languages. Additionally, as we approach summer, we believe families should have access to extended learning opportunities that solve for enrichment opportunity gaps.
ACCESS: Families deserve high-quality material that they can adapt for their learner and learning goals.
All kids should be making progress toward their yearly learning goals which teachers should be communicating to families. Free, public, and high-quality resources should be available to help them get there. We are proud to celebrate our partners like DSST’s Project Create and KIPP CO’s bilingual recorded classes that are accessible to anyone who wants to engage with them. Providing parents with options for what works for their child matters.
ACHIEVEMENT: Families deserve the ability to track their students’ progress.
We need ways to support parents as they track student progress. We believe goals and progress always matter. We hope that there will be multiple opportunities for them to check what grade level their student is at and then work collaboratively with schools to identify supports. On our call with DPS Board President Dr. Carrie Olson, she committed to assessing student progress in the fall, building individual learning plans with students who need to catch up, and working with the Superintendent.