FORT SMITH -- With a new semester on the horizon and the covid-19 pandemic still ongoing, the Fort Smith School District has changed how its high school students can partake in learning.
The district announced on Dec. 2 that these students would be able to choose between two options for instruction during the spring semester: virtual or on-site. Another option that the district offers, blended learning, would only be available for students currently participating in it who qualify.
The blended-learning model of on-site instruction, a school district news release stated, "allowed students to listen to lectures, complete assignments at home, and attend on-site classes when they believed they needed help with the material." This model also provided high school students the flexibility to attend one, several or all classes during the school day.
"Blended learning, as it is structured now, has demonstrated very limited success, and warrants a change to ensure future success and progress toward graduation for all students," the release states.
In an email on Dec. 9 responding to questions on the matter, the Fort Smith School District described blended learning as "an innovative idea that works for some students as long as those students maintain adequate pacing."
"Students, we believe, have become discouraged and do not know how to get the required learning completed by the end of the marking period," the district wrote.
Midway through the semester, campus leadership and staff, began noticing a significant number of students at risk for failing one or more courses required for graduation, according to the district.
The school district began the #OnTrack initiative to help high school students struggling academically during the pandemic.
NEW QUALIFICATIONS
In light of the "very limited success" demonstrated by the blended-learning model, the district set forth the following qualifications blended-learning students needed to meet to continue participating in it:
• Students must have had no grade lower than 80% at the end of the current fall semester.
• Students may have been provisionally approved for blended learning based on grades prior to the end of the semester, but removed if their final grades include one less than 80%.
• The grades of a student approved for blended learning will be reviewed at each 4½-week period. Any students who do not maintain grades of or above 70% in any class will become a full face-to-face student without the option to return to the blended model.
• Blended-learning students who engage with the curriculum from home will be marked as "virtually present." Students who do not engage with the curriculum will be marked as "unexcused."
When asked for his opinion on this development, Fort Smith School Board President Bill Hanesworth said in a Friday email that he was a "big supporter" of the blended-learning program when it was first introduced. To him, it provided an opportunity to reduce student count in schools during the pandemic and "explore the use of innovative instruction," in addition to allowing some students to minimize exposure.
However, Hanesworth said that in practice the blended model demonstrated the importance of both classroom structure for the success of most students and parental involvement. He said the model made monitoring the progress of students, especially those needing a structured environment, difficult for parents and teachers.
"I had a letter from a parent whose senior student had a near-perfect grade point average," Hanesworth said. "This student ended the Fall 2020 semester with little more than a C average. They assumed the student was going to the blended classes, but was not.
"Another parent assumed their child was attending blended classes, but was sitting in the parking lot with friends instead of attending needed classes. Thus, blended was modified, and the program #OnTrack was introduced to get these students back into class and caught up on their academic progression toward graduation."
Despite this, Hanesworth said blended learning has its place in the Fort Smith school system under the current environment. He believes that it will also have a place for certain students after the pandemic.
Fort Smith School Board Vice President Talicia Richardson said in an email that in education it is necessary have multiple options available to meet the needs of a diverse student population. A student thriving in a traditional in-person classroom may or may not have the same experience in a self-paced or blended model.
"I have heard from parents and students stating they have enjoyed the blended model, as it works well for their family, and want to see it continued," Richardson said. "This indicates that the needs of a specific student were achieved. Just as there are students achieving positive outcomes with an in-person and blended model; there are students that are not with either approach. I am thankful for teachers and administrators for their attention and hard work with specializing a learning plan for these students."
Richardson concluded by saying that this is uncharted territory for everyone.
"The days of the traditional 20th century classroom have been in question for some time, and covid-19 has forced educational institutions across our country to react swiftly and with purposeful intent," Richardson said.
Dalton Person, another member of the Fort Smith School Board, said although the blended-learning model was "a creative attempt to be flexible and provide safe options for students this semester" it does not provide adequate supervision and guidance for many students.
"This is not a unique situation in Fort Smith," Person said. "The complexities brought by covid-19 present common issues for districts throughout the nation. I believe the modified blended approach this spring will provide sufficient oversight for eligible students who need it the most."
The Fort Smith School District wrote on Dec. 9 that the fall semester saw 1,615 blended-learning students at Northside High School and 1,206 blended-learning students at Southside High School, although it noted that any on-site high school student during this semester falls into the blended-learning category. At the same time, there have been 177 and 148 virtual students at Northside and Southside respectively.
The district wrote that 345 blended students at Southside and 248 blended students at Northside had an 80% or higher in each class as of Dec. 9. About 350 blended students had applied for blended learning for the spring semester at that point as well.
However, the district said that grades were shifting on a daily basis, and it wasn't able to provide a concrete number of blended students with grades lower than 80%.
Registration for the spring 2021 semester was open from Dec. 1-15, according to the school district. The fall semester ended on Friday, with the spring semester slated to start on Jan. 4.