Columbia elementary teachers prep for distance learning as middle and high school continue virtually

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Elementary teachers and Columbia Public Schools families will transition back to virtual learning for the rest of the calendar year on Monday.

The Columbia Board of Education decided to send its younger learners back home at their meeting last Monday. Elementary students are set to return to the classroom on Jan. 11.

High school and middle school students will continue learning online but plan to return to in-person learning on Jan. 19 for four days per week.

Third-grade teacher and co-president of Columbia Missouri State Teacher's Association Ariel Schwarting said she was personally disappointed when the board decided to go virtual for elementary aged students. She said her classroom had been working well with the in-person guidance.

"Just knowing that things were going so well for me personally, then to have to change, is just a little bit disheartening because you think about how well it was going, and we didn't encounter any problems, fortunately," Schwarting said.

But she understands that her classroom is much different than others across the district, and understands the board's decision to go online.

"It's just kinda sad to be in your own world where things are going so well and you have to make a change that will hopefully help the entire community for the better," Schwarting said.

Teachers are prepping for the return to virtual learning. Schwarting said it will look a little different than it did at the end of last school year, but is hopeful it will be familiar for students and families.

Any online learning comes with its own set of challenges, but elementary education can prove more difficult with younger learners. She mentioned for the youngest elementary students, the technology can create a barrier.

"Their main focus is still learning their letters and numbers and reading and all of those fundamental skills that now having to learn this technology is kinda taking away from that," Schwarting said.

While she said it may be hard, Schwarting said people need to give the younger students more credit for being flexible with technology.

She also said it was an advantage to start the year off in person because she got to know the students face to face and was able to assess their behavior and needs more accurately.

As elementary students go online, middle and high school continue online learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Johanna Cox has children in a CPS middle school and high school and said virtual learning has been smooth sailing for the most part.

"Our teachers are working extra hard right now, they are connecting with kids in a different way," Cox said. "Our students are growing up in technical age, and maybe they are being connected to more on their level."

She said some of the classes lend well to the virtual model, where others like physical education are hard for her students to get into.

Her partner Stephen Quackenbush agreed, saying while there are some struggles, it's what he believes needs to be done right now.

"We are in the middle of pandemic, and we recognize that we moght not do the same things we would if we do if we weren't in a pandemic," Quackenbush said.

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