The whole “no school” thing is wearing thin, even for kids. To help maintain their connections with teachers and classmates, Provincetown is offering daily video conferencing.
Tracey Anderson, technology integration specialist for the Provincetown schools, says students are using the video conferencing app Google Meet to have a school-wide check-in that starts at 9 a.m. each day, followed by video chats with their teachers.
“For us it’s really about making close connections with our students, more than it is about dumping some kind of online learning framework down immediately,” she said.
The district offers online content each day until noon.
Anderson said part of the reason it’s a reasonable lift is Provincetown has a small student population. The district has about 130 students in Grades Pre-K through 8.
And while they’ve taken steps to ensure that every student has wi-fi and a web device, she said the district also supports families’ choice to spend the time in other ways.
“That’s completely respected,” she said. “The families know that we’re here as a learning resource if they need us, but also if they want to go dig the garden with their kids or do some cooking, whatever they want to do is OK by us as well.”
