Engaging parents during hybrid and fully remote learning

Educating students during a pandemic has been challenging for everyone. In the Northern Lehigh School District, the efforts of building leaders and teachers to better engage and inform parents in a timely and actionable manner has had a significant impact on the relationship between school and home as they work through obstacles and frustrations together.

Principals Mr. Scott Pyne (Slatington Elementary School) and Mr. James Schnyderite (Peters Elementary School) are meeting virtually with parents on a monthly basis to hear the perspectives of families and give an in-depth explanation of the current educational initiatives. Some of the topics discussed have been hybrid v. fully remote models, livestreaming, and school-wide positive behavior interventions and supports (SWPBS) in a virtual model.

At the elementary schools, educators have been able to provide a number of opportunities to address parent concerns regarding both technology issues of accessing the online platform and student engagement. The principals work together to provide parents with opportunities for evening sessions regarding increasing student engagement in the virtual environment. First, emotional support teacher Mrs. Beil led a session called, “Supporting Your Child in the Virtual Environment” on Wednesday, November 19. There were separate sessions entitled “Parenting Through Crisis” led by the Center for Humanistic Change for Peters Elementary School (December 1) and Slatington Elementary School (December 2). The focus in the future will adjust to center in on instruction. After the New Year, there will be a session focused on Eureka Math – the curriculum at both Peters and Slatington. The district is also looking at focusing on reading strategies and hoping to incorporate a school-wide reading initiative at Peters. This would likely start in February or March.