Progress, challenges mark first week of Wake's remote learning

While her daughter is at work, Jean Carter is helping her two grandchildren with school on the internet. She says lessons and assignments from multiple teachers can stack up fast.

“We end up working from 8 o’clock to 5 o’clock everyday,” Carter said, "especially when they need back-up and they have questions, and the computer is not working right. It’s just causing so much frustration.”

Wake County school leaders say that's something they've heard from many parents as they and their students wrestle with the move to remote learning.

WCPSS Superintendent Cathy Moore said technical support continues to be a challenge.

Moore urged "grace and flexibility" as parents and students work to adjust to the change.

“What I want to say to parents is this – you are doing great,” Moore said. "Every effort you make to help your child learn at home is commendable."

She said the district will continue its work to get 20,000 Chromebooks and 3,200 internet hotspots distributed to schools and then to students who need them. Some Chromebooks were delayed because they had to be transferred between schools, she said, and the hotspots had to be ordered, but should arrive in the coming week.

“We understand there are still large gaps in equitable access to learning," added Wake County school board chairman Keith Sutton. "Those gaps are completely unacceptable, and sadly, they are not unique to Wake County.”

Moore said some schools are reporting high rates of student engagement, while others are seeing lower rates of participation.

Asked how many students were logging in to access the remote classes, Moore said schools' estimates are around 50 to 75 percent, which is higher than the national average. She said she expects that to rise as time goes on.

"I am confident that real learning is happening," she said.

Sutton said he's heard from many families anxious that their children are falling behind.

Sutton said remote learning has not replaced the benefits of the physical classroom. He said few schools in NC or anywhere else are teaching new curriculum right now, and very few are being graded.

"This is what happens when an entire country converts to remote learning without any experience," Sutton said.

The goal, he added, is to give every student "the best opportunity to learn and succeed," even under the current circumstances.

Moore said the district continues to produce and serve 20,000 meals each weekday. Since schools closed last month, she said, more than 400,000 meals have been distributed, mostly by district bus drivers who bring the meals out to students' neighborhoods.

Moore said the district is planning "on multiple fronts" depending on whether schools can reopen May 18th or not.

If they can't reopen this school year, she said, the district is hoping to extend remote learning through multiple school calendars and possibly through the summer as they prepare for the beginning of next school year.

She said it's possible schools might start next year earlier than usual, though no decisions have been made yet about the 2020-21 school calendar.

In the meantime, both Sutton and Moore said they're doing everything they can to maintain district plans for graduation.

"If we can salvage anything," Sutton said, "it would be that graduation experience."