{"id":22568,"date":"2020-04-24T10:17:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-24T16:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyhinews.com\/news\/west-grand-students-teachers-persevere-during-shutdown\/"},"modified":"2020-04-24T10:17:00","modified_gmt":"2020-04-24T16:17:00","slug":"west-grand-students-teachers-persevere-during-shutdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/local-news\/west-grand-students-teachers-persevere-during-shutdown\/","title":{"rendered":"West Grand students, teachers persevere during shutdown"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/04\/WGSchools-shn-042420-1-1024x682.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/04\/WGSchools-shn-042420-1-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/04\/WGSchools-shn-042420-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/04\/WGSchools-shn-042420-1-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/04\/WGSchools-shn-042420-1-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/04\/WGSchools-shn-042420-1-2048x1363.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><figcaption><strong>West Grand High School hasn&#8217;t had students in the building since March, but most teachers and students seem to be adapting well to distance learning.<\/strong><br \/><em>Sky-Hi News File photo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In a press conference Monday, Gov. Jared Polis announced that Colorado schools will not be returning to physical classrooms this school year. On Tuesday, West Grand School District Superintendent Darrin Peppard took to social media to convey the governor\u2019s announcement to students and parents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWest Grand schools will be continuing with online and packet learning through the end of this school year,\u201d Peppard concluded.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">West Grand schools implemented distance learning March 23, the week following the district\u2019s spring break, and by all accounts, the district has handled the transition quite well.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cOur teachers responded,\u201d West Grand High School Principal Elizabeth Bauer said. \u201cThey spent their spring break planning and preparing to make the move to online classes without much training.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\" readability=\"6\">\n<div class=\"row shn-donation shn-donation-mobile p-0\" readability=\"7\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/02\/shn-logo-2x-wht.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/02\/shn-logo-2x-wht.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\" onclick=\"handleDonationButtonClickMidArticle()\">Donate<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">On March 24 and 25, students visited the schools to retrieve personal items and pick up books and supplies. Students who needed one were also provided a Chromebook.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cMany of our students didn\u2019t have computers at home,\u201d West Grand K-8 principal Jack Daly said of making sure students had access to technology.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In addition to checking out more than 190 Chromebooks, the district has also assisted families with internet access.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThe bigger issue (we\u2019ve had) has been internet,\u201d Daly said. \u201cIn some cases, for students without internet access, we\u2019ve handed out hot spots. We\u2019ve also hooked up Visionary (broadband) to some homes. We\u2019re down to only two or three families who don\u2019t have internet access, but we\u2019ve been making accommodations \u2014 printing and delivering materials to those houses every week.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">By the end of that first week, West Grand had swiveled entirely to online learning. Teachers have been delivering daily lessons using Google Classroom, assessing projects with Google Hangouts, and hosting weekly video chats for students to interact with each other.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Fourth grade teacher Alesha Birdsall has continued to read aloud to her class every day, recording passages that students can access as it\u2019s convenient during their home school routine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cOur main goal is to make sure kids are engaged, using their minds, and continuing to think,\u201d Daly said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want them to be overwhelmed, and also don\u2019t want them in front of a screen eight hours a day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">Out of sight, not out of mind<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">To keep students accountable for their work, completed projects are posted in Google Classroom. Many online assignments have \u201cSubmit\u201d buttons students click to notify teachers when the assignment is complete.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Despite the large geographic footprint of West Grand\u2019s district, distance learning hasn\u2019t let students off the hook. In fact, Daly and K-8 Assistant Principal Nathan Tedjeske have been making house calls.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cFor families who are struggling, and kids who are not participating at the level we would like to see, Mr. T. and I visit the house to check in with the student from the front porch,\u201d Daly said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Taking responsibility for their own learning has impacted high school students perhaps more than the other grades, reflected Bauer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cMoving quickly to an online platform did not allow us much time to prepare the students,\u201d she said. \u201cHowever, students are resilient and have responded well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">As with the younger grades, high school counselor Jennifer Hooks and athletic director Cori Kassib have reached out to connect with students who are falling behind in their school work.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThere are a wide range of challenges with this situation,\u201d Bauer continued. \u201cSome students are working, some are taking care of siblings and family members, and some are finding it difficult to have that intrinsic motivation to do their work without a teacher in front of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The abrupt end to in-class teaching has taken a toll not just on students, but on teachers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cOur teachers are going through withdrawal from their kids,\u201d Daly said. \u201cIt\u2019s a struggle for them emotionally, too. There\u2019s a reason they chose to be teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Elementary special education teacher Marveen Terryberry expressed that struggle Tuesday following a district-wide meeting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThere was not a dry eye on our Zoom meeting today when our superintendent officially announced that we would not be returning to in-person school for the rest of the year. We have all adapted to online learning, but I miss the hugs, the high fives, and smiles from my students. I miss March 12 and all of the days before that. I miss their misbehavior (kind of), I miss their voices, I miss their shuffling feet, I miss them dropping their pencils 100 times, I miss their individuality, I MISS THEM!!!\u201d Terryberry said in a Facebook post.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In spite of the trials and tribulations, there have been moments of grace and strength exhibited by administrators, teachers, students, parents, and the West Grand community during the shutdown.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cOne of the things that I am most proud of is how we as a school and community have shown resilience,\u201d Bauer said. \u201cEven though we have to be apart physically, now more than ever we are coming together as a school and community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyhinews.com\/news\/west-grand-students-teachers-persevere-during-shutdown\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Sky-Hi News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>West Grand High School hasn&#8217;t had students in the building since March, but most teachers and students seem to be adapting well to distance learning.Sky-Hi News File photo In a press conference Monday, Gov. Jared Polis announced that Colorado schools will not be returning to physical classrooms this school year. On Tuesday, West Grand School [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-20 21:14:06","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KRKY Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22568"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22568\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}