Samantha West|USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
A recent statereport offers a predictably bleak picture of distance learning last spring, when Wisconsin schools were suddenly ordered to close and find new ways to provide instruction.
While nearly all districts in the state reported offering online instruction in some form, a USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin analysis of the Department of Public Instruction report revealed many of the state's 421 schooldistricts made little to noprogress on their curriculum after they were ordered to close in March.
Twenty-nine districtsreported no disruption to learning whatsoever, though ratings were open to schools' own interpretations.For example, several that reported teaching 100% of their curriculum also told DPI that distance learning was far from ideal.
"While 100% of curriculum was offered, some families chose to do very little," one district wrote. Another district noted all the curriculum was presented, but the low quality of remote learning experiences "did not ensure actual learning."
DPI told districts to assume they'd completed 70-75% of curriculum at the time schools closed, figuring about a quarter of the year remained. That means the 22 districts that reported completion of 75% of curriculum or less acknowledged that almost no meaningful instruction happened after schools closed.
The Appleton Area School District,the state's sixth-largest district and serves over 15,000 students, reported students received about 75% of curriculum they would have in a typical academic year.
Steve Harrison, assistant superintendent of assessment, curriculum and instruction, saidthey interpreted DPI's question to be asking how much of the curriculum they were able to engage all students with.
"With the challenges faced in ensuring universal access to instruction last spring as well as in student engagement, we were more conservative in our estimation," Harrison said.
Regardless, thereport supports previous acknowledgement by districts that they struggled to complete the year's full curriculum amid the pandemic.
Presented with the findings, Green Bay schools Superintendent Steve Murley said he was "not surprised at all." In his own district, the fourth-largest in the statewith over 21,000 students,students in grades 1-12 received, on average,about 80% of curriculum, according to the report.
"Anything that's not on site, face-to-face is not going to be as effective. It's as simple as that," Murley said. "Having these kids learning from home, even if their teachers are there to support them, is not going to generate the same kind of results as having them in classrooms."
Nonetheless, Green Bay schools have remained online during the 2020-21 school year, even as pressure mounts to return to some in-person learning, because of rampant community spread of the coronavirus.
DPI released the report last week, just ahead of a deadline set by state lawmakers, who required schools to provide data about how they provided online learning after schools closed in spring.
State legislativeproposals responding to the COVID-19 pandemic have called for school boards to provide similarreports on online instruction at the end of the current school year.
DPI's report documents other areas of pandemic education, too,like the number of meals school districts served, as well as the fiscal and staffing impacts through the duration of the public health emergency.
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Challenges following schools shutdown
School systems across the state cited barriers that prevented teachers from presenting all the instruction they would in typical academic years, ranging from a general lack of experience with online learning to families'access to child care and difficulty balancing school at home with caregiving, work and other responsibilities.
Perhaps chief among the challenges was Wisconsin's digital divide —the gap between students who have access to internet and the technological hardware to complete schoolwork and those who don't. According to the report, that disparity hit small, rural districts hardest.
"We tried to continue educating students, but with so many internet issues in our area it was TERRIBLY difficult," wrote officials in the Gresham School District, which serves just under 300 students near Shawano in northeastern Wisconsin. "Packets are not a great way to educate students. We did the best that we could under the conditions."
Gresham was among 13 Wisconsin districts that relied on printed packets to continue learning, and school officials there reported an average of 70% of curriculum was presented to students in grades 1-12.
The Clintonville School District, too, relied on packetslastspring due to connectivity issues and dead spots in rural portions of the small district about 45 minutes north of Appleton.
Superintendent David Dyb acknowledged the district's offerings last springwere not ideal. However, he emphasized that his staff worried less about academic rigor and more about providingmuch-needed social and emotional support to children struggling through the pandemic.
"We were not given a whole lot of guidance and we were not prepared. We felt we offered the best mode of instruction given the circumstances of where we were at that time," Dyb said.
Other districts across the state said they, like Clintonville, didn't attempt to teach new information in the final months of the last school year.
For example, the Racine Unified School District, the state's fifth-largest school system, told DPI it focused on "review and enrichment" at all grade levels.
Another district that focused on "remediation, enrichment and mental health support" wrote: "We felt that it would be more beneficial to review essential standards rather than try and teach new standards to our students because of the uncertainty and stress of dealing with the pandemic."
Even districts that estimated their students received 90% or more of curriculum reported difficultywith internet connections and availability of devices.
Beaver Dam Unified School District officials reported students in grades 1-12 received about 90% of the curriculum,but methods of instruction were new to staff and students, andposed challenges.
"Therefore, we can expect that the retention of information was lower than we would normally experience," they wrote.
And, districts reported, it was toughest to teach the youngest learners, particularly those at the elementary level.
"Kindergarten and first grade normally move through more of their curriculum in the second semester due to greater development of reading readiness skills and an understanding of routines and procedures," the Lac Du Flambeau School District wrote, explaining why their numbers were below the 70-75% baseline suggested by DPI.The districtreported an average of 68% of instruction was provided to pupils in grades 1-5. In grades 6-8, they reported 70%.
In Green Bay, Murley said it was hard at first for kids to adjust to the online school environment. This year, though, the quality of school is markedly improved, he said.
Although Green Bay has remained online this school year, all students meet with their teachers virtually four days a week for instruction and social and emotional support,Murley said.
He said the roll-out of online learning in the spring was challenging because districts like Green Bay had never really explored online learning before, as administrators and teachers worried about how they could supervise children through a screen.
Now, kids and families have by and large figured it out, Murley said.
"There just was not as much independent use of technology with children," he said. "So now, when we send them out to this brave new world of being independent users of technology, that's going to take a bit of growth."
"But I would say the kids are pretty adept with technology now," he said. "They're quick learners."
Dyb touted many improvements to instruction this year at Clintonville, which has been in a hybrid learning model for most of the yearapart from a few weeks in the fall, when community COVID-19 numbers spiked and forced the district to shutter school buildings.
Withtime to prepare over the summer, Dyb said the district has been able to make online learning work when administrators close schools or kids need to quarantine at home. Some families still have trouble with internet access, but overall it's "much better," he said.
"Our teachers have never been virtual teachers. They had always been in-person, classroom teachers," he said. "So they've had to flip the switch, and now they're much better prepared."
Dyb said he's not concerned about getting students who struggled last spring caught up. COVID-19 aside, he said, children's growth isn't always linear.
"In any given year, sometimes kids fall a little bit behind," he said. "Some days are a step back; other days are a big leap forward."
Murley, too, said he's confident students will catch up, and challenged the notion that kids are falling behind.
"'Behind' is an artificial construct that's setting kids up for failure," Murley said. "Every kid grows at different rates. Andwhether they have one year or 12 yearsleft, they have the ability during their time left with us in the public school system to know and be able to do everything we expect in time for graduation."
Staffing, fiscal impact not as dramatic as some thought
Wisconsin schools were affected by the statewide school shutdown last spring in many other ways.
COVID-19's financial impact on school districts was all over the board.
Thoughthe majority of districts (71%) reported decreased expenses in the spring. About 26% reported increases, and 3% reported no changes, according to the report.
School closures don't appear to have led to a significant number of layoffs. Fewer than 20% of districts laid off employees as a direct result of the public health emergency and school closures, according to the report.
The greatest reported increases in expenditures occurred in the personnel and food service categories, while the greatest decreases were in the transportation costs.
The story will be different going forward,though: Asked about the 2020-21 academic year, about 82% of districts expectincreased spending, the report says. Meanwhile, just 7% anticipatedecreases and around 11% expect no changes.
Personnel and food service categories, again, are the areas where most districts anticipate increases. In written responses, districts most commonly reported needing to hire more employees and spend more due to remote learning, as administrators sought more professional development and training opportunities.
Districts also reported they needed to add staff tasked with cleaning and disinfecting school buildings to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
Contact reporter Samantha West at 920-996-7207 or swest@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @BySamanthaWest.