NEW ORLEANS – As schools have been forced to close across the country in response to the coronavirus, many are moving to virtual learning so students can continue to be educated.
The Pelican Institute for Public Policy hosted a webcast on Facebook Tuesday featuring institute Education Policy Director Ethan Melancon and New Orleans charter school leader Aaron Jura, operarions manager of EQA, Educators for Quality Alternative Schools.
During the webcast, Melancon interviewed Jura about how EQA and other charter schools have created virtual classrooms to help students at home learn using online resources.
Jura formerly taught English language arts, social studies, and special education in Orleans and Jefferson parishes, and has experience in digital learning to help teachers establish virtual classrooms.
EQA operates two charter schools and has expanded to a pilot program with NOLA charter schools, including a middle school this year and a high school next year.
Jura says they first conducted an assessment of how many students have access to the Internet. They learned from the Census Bureau that 60 percent of households in New Orleans have high-speed internet in their homes.
Through a partnership with T-Mobile, EQA was able to rapidly deploy hotspots to families throughout the city so that students could connect to each other and join online lessons, Jura said. EQA also created an “intense case management system” that assigns students to deans and teachers to track their performance and well-being. Heads of the school system contacted families to find out what their needs were and expedited the process to purchase additional technology.
Jura says the crisis has underscored the need to expand access to technology, especially in rural areas of the state and country. School systems and smaller charter networks have had to identify the need for high-speed access to the internet, which is a necessity for participating in online learning programs.
A free app for teachers, Read+Write, has also proven to be invaluable for teachers helping children with special needs.
Jura says that within the short period of time they’ve been using virtual learning tools, students in the EQA system have higher participation rates, and attendance is up despite students being isolated at home.
Virtual learning is a critical tool, he argues, especially in light of the different kinds of students in schools today. Some students have children, he noted. Some are working and bringing in a significant portion of their family’s income. Many are dealing with difficult interpersonal issues.
Providing education outside of the traditional setting offers opportunities for every student to connect to some form of public education, the PeliCast noted.
“During these uncertain times, the Pelican Institute wants Louisianans to know that we remain optimistic about the future of our state and nation,” CEO Daniel Erspamer said. “Louisiana is a state that has boldly stared challenges in the face and solved them in the past, and I’m confident we will all pull through this together.”
On Monday, the institute, a New Orleans-based free market think tank, focused on priorities for legislators.
By David Jacobs of the Center Square
