Thank You from the Superintendent
NASD Parents & Guardians:
This has certainly been a challenging end to the school year. It’s been challenging for our students. They have been asked to learn in new ways, organize their time differently, and do all of this without the daily in-person interactions with other students and staff members that are part of the traditional school experience. It’s also disrupted important milestones for our students, particularly our 12th graders who weren’t able to participate in many of the traditional senior activities. It’s been challenging for our families. They have had to organize dedicated learning spaces in their homes, serve as quasi teachers, and do all of this while maintaining a work-life balance.
It has also been challenging for all of us who work in the District. In a very short period of time, we completely changed our educational model and the ways that we interact with students and one another. We also learned that we can move mountains when there is a call to action. But through every situation, good or bad, you learn something that helps you grow moving forward.
Shortly after we moved into a remote learning environment, we distributed a survey to students, families, and staff members regarding their experiences. The feedback we received contains valuable information regarding how we responded to a remote learning environment and helps set the stage for future efforts. Some of the highlights from this remote learning survey include:
- Students and parents would like to see more real-time, live instruction between students and teachers. They miss these important interactions.
- Blackboard in grades 6-12 helps organize student learning.
- The lack of a consistent learning platform in grades K-5 is very challenging for students and parents.
- Staff members are asking for more professional learning around teaching in a remote environment.
- Students and staff members noted in the survey that there are concerns about their mental health and well-being.
This feedback proved valuable as we thought about the end of the current school year and how we might prepare for the 2020-2021 school year. To address some of our needs, we made the decision to change the last student day of the school year from June 11 to June 5. In doing so, we were able to coordinate opportunities for students to return school materials and pick up their belongings next week and this information was recently communicated with students and families. The change to the last student day also created time during the week of June 8 to begin preparing for the coming school year, using the feedback from the remote learning survey to help guide these efforts and provide staff with the professional learning activities that they have requested.
Next week will also give us an opportunity to continue our planning for next school year. We know that the coming school year may look different. We need to think creatively about how we can meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of our students as well as ensuring the safety of our students, staff members, and families. Recently, we developed a Return to School committee for the 2020-2021 school year. This committee, composed of stakeholders from across the District, is tasked with answering a variety of questions, including:
- How might we incorporate the CDC guidelines and Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) guidance in our planning efforts for next year?
- How do we support learning for all students in an environment that flexibly moves back and forth between in-person and remote learning environments when needed?
- How might we incorporate more live video if we are in a remote environment in the future?
- What does this look like for students and families who are physically unable to come to school in person?
- What are the parameters we have to work with at North Allegheny?
These questions, and many others, are being addressed by the Return to School committee.
Education is going to look different for all of us. So let’s take what we have learned over the past three months and build a better future for our students, for our families, and for our staff members. I am confident that we have the people in this District to guide this work throughout the summer in preparation for next year. Once these plans take shape, we will communicate them with the entire school community.
Thank you for embracing change. Thank you for being kind, because the world certainly needs more of that right now. And thank you for being the difference and supporting our remote learning efforts over the past three months. As Mr. Rogers once said, “Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.”
Sincerely,
Dr. Robert Scherrer
Superintendent
