Lorain Schools: First week back with hybrid learning brings tech struggles, changes

LORAIN — Lorain Schools is ironing out wrinkles in its in-person return to school, while families flex between the options offered. Elementary and middle school students started in-person classes Monday. Split into two cohorts, the roughly 40 percent of the district that opted for its hybrid option had their "first day of school" either Monday or Thursday depending on the group they were assigned to. As the days of hybrid learning have gone on, the discomfort has eased, CEO Jeff Graham said. Initially, educators throughout the buildings expressed concerns with teaching both the handful of students in-person and those children logged in online at the same time. But the technological hiccups and other barriers are easing every day, Graham confirmed. "It's still difficult to teach when some kids are on a computer screen and some kids are in the classroom," he said. "… It's easy to pick up on the science of it but the art of it takes a little bit of time." On the student side, Communications Director Erin Graham said she was told by building staff the children did great with the district's mitigation strategies, and were "truly excited to be there." A typical class is about six students, Jeff Graham estimated. Buildings are already seeing students fluctuate between in-person and online, Jeff Graham said. In talking to staff at Stevan Dohanos Elementary, they saw about 15 transfers of students either newly opting into the hybrid model or leaving for the longstanding remote option. The number of changes was almost five times that at the high school, which returns to regular classes Jan. 19 after end-of-course exams. The flexibility was built into Lorain Schools' plan, Jeff Graham said. So too is the continued support for its online learners. Attendance for in-person students is a more standard school procedure — a child is either in the classroom or they're not. But for online students, they are counted present if they are on the live video feed with those in-person students or if they are absent from the Zoom session but complete the work from that day within 48 hours. "Ideally we want the children there livestreamed but sometimes there's no control over things that get in the way of that … whether it's day care, family situations that just prevent them from being there but if they're getting the work done I think that needs to be acknowledged," Graham said. "There's a big difference between a child who doesn't show up and doesn't do any work compared to a child who couldn't show up but still does the work." District staff also had to mitigate a potential conflict with pacemakers and the Bluetooth speakers provided to in-person classes so students online can interact with those in the buildings. The box for the Jabra brand wireless speakers included a warning that those with pacemakers should consult their cardiologist before use, Erin Graham said. A staff members' physician had concerns, but on further research it found it was no different from any other Bluetooth device and safe for use. Additionally, the speaker can be used with a wired cable, disabling the Bluetooth concerns, Graham said. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.