April 10th from Lynn Bowman

Dear Families,

A few weeks ago, Noni wrote to you at the dawn of our new learning community. She shared links to an overview of Phase 1 and 2 of Gordon's Online Learning Community and reminded us all that "the success of this endeavor relies on a strong family-school partnership based in patience, empathy, and mutual respect." At the time, everything was just a thoughtful plan and a shared vision. 

We all - teachers, students, and families - dove into this uncharted water, buoyed by the strength of our mission and the power of our collaborative, determined spirit. 

Judging by the affirming feedback from you, our teachers' joy in reuniting with your children, and students' own eagerness to connect and engage, our goal of creating not just a classroom online but a community online has been realized. 

We know that in order for learning to happen, students need to feel connected. What happens next will be all the better because of the foundation that has been laid, and it is dependent on your continued support, flexibility, and patience.

And what happens next?

Lessons learned

When we began this journey, we knew that Phase 2 would include covering new content and skills and creating meaningful assessments online. This intention still holds true. 

However, Gordon's approach to teaching and learning requires us to continually reflect on what's working (or not), integrate what we've learned, and pivot as necessary to meet the needs of our students, families, and faculty. 

It's clear that there are lessons we've learned in these first eight days that require a response. 

What we have discovered is not necessarily new. But faculty, family, and student observations and feedback have brought these ideas into the foreground:

• Students crave connection with each other and their teachers
   
• Students value choices
   
• Some approaches to instruction translate well to an online experience:
  • Small group instruction in smaller chunks of time is more effective
  • Online teaching can allow for more differentiation 
  • Short videos explaining concepts or directions that students can play over again can be more effective than live online instruction
     
• The arts, athletics, music, and theater are essential for students
   
• Project-based learning with clear checkpoints can work better than daily assignments that need to be graded. 

 

Tensions and compromises

It also has become clear that there are some inherent tensions. 

Some families desire more live Zoom sessions, for instance, because they know their children need to interact in real time with classmates and teachers. Other families are struggling just to get their children on the currently scheduled Zoom sessions and worry about falling behind if those sessions are missed.

These tensions exist for teachers, as well, who are deeply fulfilled by connecting with their students each day while also worrying about how long they can sustain the work of online teaching alongside their home responsibilities and the worries and anxieties we all are holding during these uncertain times.

These are not problems that can be solved; rather, they are competing priorities to recognize and continually manage. We know that some families will be pleased with the tweaks coming in Phase 2, others may be disappointed. 

We know we will not be able to make everyone happy. We can, however, commit to continuing to listen to the feedback from our families, faculty, and students and being as responsive and communicative as possible.

Most importantly, I request that you not take your frustrations out on our teachers. 

These are challenging times. Just like many of you, our teachers are working from home, managing their children's school schedules, supporting family and processing all of the emotions that we all carry as we try to maintain normalcy in the midst of it all. And true to their nature, as I am writing this on a Friday afternoon, my email notifications are firing away with messages from faculty reflecting on the week and sharing changes, ideas, and examples of what they hope to put in place next week. I know you share in the appreciation that I feel for this dedicated group of educators.

So, what's next? 

Phase 2 is not a dramatic rethinking of our Online Learning Community. You will not see the changes in an overnight reveal. Instead, the growth and improvement will be experienced by your child each day as new options appear in each class's daily schedule, and across the week as they engage in lessons that use a greater variety of structures, provide different kinds of feedback, and give them more chances to interact with a broader range of faces online.

There will be new flexibility and new options in the schedule

Over the first eight days, teachers have gained a sense of what's working for their students and what isn't, and I have been encouraging them to adapt according to what they've learned.

Some examples:

• In Middle School, many faculty are dividing forty-minute Zoom sessions into shorter sessions with smaller groups of students in order to provide instruction, give feedback, and allow for more student connection. 
   
• In Lower School, some teachers began thirty-minute Zoom sessions in the morning and afternoon for students to come and ask questions or connect with their classmates. These have been completely optional and student-driven sessions.
   
• Some Early Childhood and Lower School teachers have added office hours for students to ask questions and parents to get clarification on assignments.

I am also encouraging teachers to change the shape of their assignments and rethink how they provide feedback. Look for new clarity on how different assignments will be assessed and for long-range, project-based assignments that will not only reduce the need for daily written feedback, but also align more closely with our hands-on and experiential approach to teaching and learning.

This flexibility also extends to your homes. Teachers will continue to emphasize the choice within the schedule. Some families may only be able to do certain parts of the schedule at certain times. And that is okay. 

Some students will complete independent work quickly and want more challenge; others may need more support. In both of these cases, communication with the teacher is important, so content can be adjusted accordingly. Teachers are exploring ways to design learning activities that attend to these different access points, and the Division Directors and I will continue to keep you updated as the program evolves. 

Students will interact with a broader range of teachers and students, more often

We received a lot of feedback that students were missing interacting live with all of the teachers they saw daily when we were on campus together. These teachers missed seeing their students as well! Students also expressed a desire for more informal social time with their classmates and friends.

For starters, weekly Zoom sessions with music, visual arts, Lower School Spanish, Lower School science and library faculty have been added to the schedule at every grade level. These teachers are essential parts of the Gordon experience, and prerecorded lessons from them are not enough.

Daily opportunities will also be added for students to connect socially online, through a variety of strategies including lunch time student meetups supervised by a rotation of Gator staff, specials teachers, and administrators.

Finally, the week of April 20, after school programming will return, with spring athletics, Gators Live!, and a Middle School performing arts program, all of which will feature real-time opportunities to interact with coaches, Gators staff, teammates, and classmates from different grade levels and divisions. Look for sign-up information in next Thursday's email.

Be open to surprises

As the week comes to an end, I am also thinking of some of the pleasant surprises and creative choices that have arisen since this Online Learning Community debuted. The Britt Nelson Visiting Artist's residency is now taking place in a way that will reach more people than ever before. A read-aloud video library is growing, meeting the needs of young book lovers and of older volunteers eager to donate a volume. The Middle School Open Mic, the quintessential you-had-to-be-there live experience, is being reimagined for the internet. I look forward to seeing what else emerges from this community in the coming weeks.

As always, thank you for your support. Please continue to be in touch with your questions, encouragements, and concerns.

In closing, I would like to share a poem that I shared with the faculty today. Take a few minutes to listen to Social Distancing and consider that "the power between us is magnificent."

In partnership,

Lynn