KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Flexibility and creativity are going to be key for students learning at home so when a disruption, such as a power outage, won't be an issue.
Power outages affected hundreds of households throughout the Kansas City metro on Monday, which also made it difficult for some students learning from home to connect to their lessons.
Many school districts recognize the concerns and stress that come with these situations.
"Electrical issues, our internet goes off, our basement floods and the emergency of the moment overwhelms the need for school," said Brian Huff, associate superintendent for the Raytown school district.
If a student misses out on hours of live virtual instruction, the Raytown school district factored in some flexibility. The student won't be counted as absent and can work with their teacher to figure out a plan.
"We're recording all those synchronous lessons during the day, so a parent can come home in evening and can help their kid get on the synchronous portion of the lesson," Huff said.
Students also have asynchronous lessons, such as watching a video, working on a project, or other tasks they can do on their own.
"Being able to offer instruction at more than just the moment of instruction is one of the strengths," Huff said.
The Raytown school district purchased 400 WiFi hot spots for families who don't have the internet at home. Huff said they also improved the connection on the outside of all the school buildings so a parent can park in the parking lot and their student can connect to the internet that way.
"I think parents just need security in knowing that their child is going to be able to troubleshoot," said Emily Frost, a parent and a teacher in the Shawnee Mission school district.
Frost is also starting the Westwood Learning Group, which falls under the "Pandemic Pod" umbrella. Her home will serve as a space for students to learn virtually while their parents are at work. She will have up to 8 students from kindergarten through 5th grade.
She will factor in time for special lessons and physical activity tailored to what the student and parent are comfortable with.
Frost is not the teacher, but will serve as the go-between for students and parents.
"Scheduling is going to be different for everyone, and daily — keep it consistent as much as possible," Frost said. "A lot of positive praise and focusing on what you are getting done. I think a lot of us are going into this feeling like we are behind."
Frost said the benefit of virtual learning, even if disruptions arise, is being able to individualize learning for each student.
"What are your child's interests? Make sure that whoever is monitoring this process knows about that. Sometimes you know when this student is hungry or tired and might need a brain break or snack," Frost said.
She said it's important to always have a back-up plan in place if technological problems come up, and sometimes it may involve "old-fashioned" pen to paper.
Evergy gave 41 Action News this statement about working with school districts with power outages:
"Our operations team works hard to keep the lights on for our customers regardless of where students are learning. We have a customer solutions team that has fostered one-on-one relationships with facility leaders at area school districts. The team also provides 24/7 outage support for the districts.
The schools that are starting remotely (several not until after Labor Day) still have buildings occupied with staff teaching those remote classes and schools are also providing and distributing meals. So keeping their power on or restoring it quickly due to outages is always a high priority."
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