Catholic schools shift gears quickly to online learning

By Christine Bordelon
Photos courtesy of Becca Worrel

“It was very similar as far as the unexpected disruption to the normal expectations of a school year,” Kathmann said. “Of course, this one is for our last nine weeks, and Katrina was in the beginning.”
    

Kathmann was assistant principal in 2005 when Katrina hit, and the internet and social media were nothing like they are today.
  

“What has been a game-changer here is the advanced level of technology that we have now and what we are capable of doing,” she said. 
    

“Many of our classes were already using Google Classroom, and our students already had their login information.”
    

While at-home learning certainly looks different, Kathmann said teachers have “gotten creative while understanding the limitations that may exist in some households.”
    

Teachers are making videos and posting to a class’ FaceTime group. The upper grades at St. Elizabeth are continuing to provide lessons and instruction through Google Classroom and class web pages on the school’s website.
  

 “We even have our early childhood teachers creating videos doing circle time, themes and class prayer,” Kathmann said. “I’m excited that we can still continue providing resources and have some interaction with our early childhood students. Parents have sent videos of their kids answering the questions for circle time.”
 

Working as a team
    

Kathmann said teachers, along with the help of the school’s curriculum and technology team, quickly were able to provide guidance and support to parents and students to help everyone get through this difficult time.

 

They sent out messages detailing what the “home learning” experience would look like and the expectations for parents and students. A Facebook group also was established so that parents could add content they found helpful.
  

“We are all disappointed that we are not at school with our children,” she lamented.
    

But schools in the Archdiocese of New Orleans weren’t left to their own devices to find solutions once classroom learning closed due to the coronavirus. 
    

The Office of Catholic Schools has provided webinars and tech support to them. Kathmann said schools were sent home March 13. Principals then had a Zoom conference call with the Office of Catholic Schools on the morning of March 16, which was very helpful. The Catholic Schools office also conducted an afternoon conference call with high schools to help ease them into at-home learning.
    

“We were asked to have our ‘At-Home Learning Plan’ turned in by Friday (March 20) with lessons to officially start on March 23, but I believe most of us were up and running in a day or two,” Kathmann said.
    

Dr. RaeNell Houston, superintendent of archdiocesan Catholic schools, said because of the variety of schools in the archdiocese, “plans will vary by school. Some will be high tech, some will be low tech, and many will be a combination of both.”
    

Office of Catholic Schools’ Kacey Webb, director of instructional technology, said OCS provides for school leaders to create home learning plans that will support their unique communities of students, families, teachers and faculty members. Home learning plans may include the following:
 

Guidelines for daily and weekly assignments
Frequent communication with students/parents
Staff and teacher responsibilities
Student and parent responsibilities
    

Each plan was also to include how they were supporting families through this pandemic.
    

“We are sharing resources with leaders from each school to help them support teachers in talking with students about the coronavirus,” Webb said. 
    

Webb was impressed with archdiocesan schools and teachers; many already had plans in place and were teaching remotely on Day One of the closure. 
    

In addition to the conference call, Webb has planned and facilitated optional webinars to support teachers, sharing high- and low-tech resources for at home learning and using Google Classroom as a learning management system to communicate with students, share assignments and send feedback.
     

“Our teachers have been incredible,” she said. “Schools closed unexpectedly, and many educators worked tirelessly to make sure they were ready to continue teaching and learning from a distance.  I want to support them in any way I can.” 
    

More than 500 teachers registered to attend the four webinars last week, and Webb foresees plans for additional sessions throughout the closure. Weekly calls with school leaders with any needed updates also will be held with school leaders, Houston added.
    

The family of Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of New Orleans will continue, albeit in a different format. The pandemic has prompted Houston and associate superintendents to devise new policies regarding future online learning, Webb said.
    

At SEAS, Kathmann was heartened to hear “parents and retired faculty asking if we needed help and thanking us for what we are doing.”
     

“We just continue to pray that all will remain safe and healthy, and we will see everyone soon,” she said.
    

Christine Bordelon can be reached at cbordelon@clarionherald.org.