Where will our students be in the fall? How will schools close the gaps from remote learning? How far behind will these students be?

There are all relevant questions; we don’t know all the answers. I do know we will act with the best intentions, focus on students first, and continue to serve each student.

Yes, there are going to be some gaps created by eLearning. Our teachers are doing their very best, but remote learning isn’t a replacement for face-to-face instruction. I’m confident our secondary students will be very close; our experience in Canvas and with iPads had these teachers and students prepared to respond to this crisis. We all have concerns with our elementary students; we have a lot of room for improvement. Nevertheless, all students will be in a similar situation. We will evaluate individual student progress and actively work to close the gaps. That’s what we do.

The focus now is to keep the learning going.  We aren’t going to punish students; we will lift them up.  Every student and every school will be in the same situation.  Our students going to college will be in the same situation as students already in college.  As a country, we need to have patience and be empathic.  Now isn’t the time to let fear or anger win; now is the time for our better angels to guide our actions.