Facing the threat of the coronavirus, schools around the country are trying a new experiment in distance learning on a mass scale. We followed one family through the experience.
Facing the threat of the coronavirus, schools around the country are trying a new experiment in distance learning on a mass scale. We followed one family through the experience.
Remote Learning Comes to America as Coronavirus Shuts Schools
By Karen WeisePhotographs by Christian Sorensen HansenMarch 10, 2020
Facing the threat of the coronavirus, schools across the country are trying a new experiment in distance learning on a massive scale.
In the Seattle area, which has become the center of a major outbreak, the suburban Northshore School District on Monday became the first in the region to move all of its classes online.
Many of the district’s more than 23,000 students logged in at 8:30 a.m. to a new educational reality that school officials said could last two weeks or more.
Erin Peistrup and her two sons, Nils, 12, and Anders, 7 (“and a half”), woke up, had breakfast and got ready for class.
Teachers sent around schedules, with worksheets, live video chat links and prerecorded videos for lessons.
“Oh my God, we have no classes on Wednesdays?” Ms. Peistrup said. The day will be set aside for teacher office hours and independent work.
The district provided laptops and internet hot spots to students who needed them, preparations that were accelerated after a measles outbreak last year forced a closure.
Anders, a second grader at Westhill Elementary, worked from a card table in his bedroom. The second-grade teachers taught their lesson plan together as a group.
Anders's mother sat with him for much of the morning, helping navigate the online systems so that he could submit answers.
“When you are in second grade and still learning how to spell, it just took him awhile to type his stuff on the computer,” she said.
Parents in the neighborhood even organized a recess period.
“Instead of herding cats for an hour, now it’s an all-day thing,” Ms. Peistrup said of supervising her children throughout the school day. She took breaks when she could.
Nils, a sixth grader at Canyon Park Middle School, liked the video calls with his teachers. His classmates waved and made faces at each other.
Many forgot to hit mute when their teachers were talking, making things a bit chaotic at first.
The district said 98 percent of its students showed up for online classes. Meal pickup was ready at 22 locations for students who receive free- and reduced-cost lunches.
The district has been working to provide child care for about 280 students whose parents have asked for help.
At the Peistrup house, the boys finally got into a groove. Ms. Peistrup was able to put away dishes, fold laundry and work through emails for the local Little League she leads.
“I feel so fortunate that I don’t work,” Ms. Peistrup said. “I can’t imagine what it’s like for moms that do.”
The Little League is continuing to operate, despite the virus concerns.
“The parents I have talked to are really appreciative,” she said. “It is literally the only thing in our lives right now that is not canceled.”
Across the country, more than 500 schools with some 360,000 students have closed or are planning to suspend in-person classes, according to Education Week.
Those American students join almost 300 million globally whose education has been disrupted because of the virus.
Karen Weise is a technology correspondent based in Seattle, covering Amazon, Microsoft and the region's tech scene.
Photographs and Video by Christian Sorensen Hansen
Produced by Elijah Walker and Clinton Cargill