{"id":1318915,"date":"2020-03-18T19:04:21","date_gmt":"2020-03-19T01:04:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/?p=994837"},"modified":"2020-03-18T22:21:01","modified_gmt":"2020-03-19T04:21:01","slug":"k-12-schools-cmc-look-online-to-maintain-learning-during-school-and-campus-closures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/k-12-schools-cmc-look-online-to-maintain-learning-during-school-and-campus-closures\/","title":{"rendered":"K-12 schools, CMC look online to maintain learning during school and campus closures"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A lone faculty member makes his way across the CMC Spring Valley campus on Wednesday afternoon.<\/strong>
Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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A classroom sits empty at the CMC Spring Valley Campus on Wednesday afternoon.<\/strong>
Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

As area K-12 schools and Colorado Mountain College extend campus closures until at least mid-April related to public health concerns around the COVID-19 virus, a move from classroom learning to online instruction becomes very real.<\/p>\n

Just how that might look could be very different depending on the grade level and individual school and campus capabilities.<\/p>\n

School districts from Aspen to Parachute announced Wednesday that they will jointly keep schools closed through April 18, which means school wouldn\u2019t be back in session until April 20.<\/p>\n

CMC remains on extended spring break this week, as well, but come March 23 will move to online or Webex classes until at least April 12.<\/p>\n

Many CMC courses are already taught online or in a hybrid format, and every course has a built-in online format if instructors choose to use it, Kathryn Regjo, CMC vice president of Academic Affairs, said during a special CMC Board of Trustees teleconference meeting on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach of our courses has an online system component for learning management,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, all of the instructors have that shell available to them to use.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, some faculty members may be more comfortable switching to an online format than others. So, campus deans and assistant deans have been busy during the extended spring break to implement the system and troubleshoot any problems, Regjo said.<\/p>\n

The bigger challenge could be for students who don\u2019t have reliable computers or internet access to be able to keep up with their coursework, college officials acknowledge.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome students can\u2019t just shift to working on their personal computers, and may rely on the computer labs that are on campus,\u201d Matt Gianneschi, chief operating officer for CMC, said during the tele-meeting.<\/p>\n

Students who need to be on campus, or who already are in campus residence halls and need access to the computer labs, will be allowed to do so, he said.<\/p>\n

Campus personnel will provide for proper \u201csocial-distancing\u201d and sanitation in the labs, he said.<\/p>\n

For K-12 schools, the prospect of online learning is more challenging, especially for younger students and given disparate circumstances for all ages of students who may not have online access.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur primary concern right now is that students stay connected to the learning community,\u201d Roaring Fork Schools Superintendent Rob Stein said in a letter to parents Wednesday outlining measures that are being taken during the extended schools closure.<\/p>\n

After spring break, \u201cFrom March 30 to April 17, we will provide recommended learning activities and online check-ins to keep students engaged and connected,\u201d Stein said in the letter. <\/p>\n

However, \u201cSince we cannot guarantee equitable access to instruction, attendance will not be taken, work will not be graded, and students will not be penalized if they are unable to participate.\u201d<\/p>\n

During a special Roaring Fork District school board teleconference meeting on Tuesday, Chief Academic Officer Rick Holt said the main goal is to try to maintain some type of virtual social contact between students during the school closure.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want students to feel too isolated,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are looking at ways to make sure families are having their needs met, including physical and academic activities to help students stay engaged.\u201d<\/p>\n

CMC officials indicated during their meeting Wednesday that they may also be able to assist K-12 schools within the college district with online instructional and interactive needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe college is considering ways to support our K-12 partners and children displaced from their learning environments, possibly by leveraging our online learning capabilities and teacher education program,\u201d CMC President and CEO Carrie Hauser said.<\/p>\n

Added Stein in his Wednesday letter to parents, \u201cThe decision to close school is never made without extremely good cause and careful consideration. We know that closing school places a child care burden on families and that many families rely on the critical services that schools provide.\u201d<\/p>\n

The district is also looking at potential ways to assist with daytime childcare needs during the closure, as well as possibly providing meals to students in need.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are committed to providing two free meals a day to all children who need them starting on March 30,\u201d Stein said.<\/p>\n

The district will announce where and how meals will be delivered before March 29. <\/p>\n

Garfield Re-2 schools have also been providing meals to students through a distribution program that began Monday, when the district began its extended spring break.<\/p>\n

jstroud@postindependent.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A lone faculty member makes his way across the CMC Spring Valley campus on Wednesday afternoon.Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent A classroom sits empty at the CMC Spring Valley Campus on Wednesday afternoon.Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent As area K-12 schools and Colorado Mountain College extend campus closures until at least mid-April related to public […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1318915","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-19 09:58:27","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":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1318915"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318915\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1318918,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318915\/revisions\/1318918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1318915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1318915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1318915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}