The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is preparing to deliver education via distance delivery to students beginning March 30 until May 1. Governor Mike Dunleavy has official closed state schools until May 1.
While district students have been on an extended break due to the COVID-19 outbreak, school staff has since returned to work to develop a number of projects, notably the school meal delivery system that launched on March 17, providing meal delivery to drop-off schools throughout the peninsula.
The next step in the district’s attempt to offer students a return to normalcy is the formation of a distance learning program. After conducting a survey to all district families last week to determine technological needs, the KPBSD will be launching their distance learning program on Monday, March 30.
Pegge Erkeneff of the KPBSD offered comments on the process coming together and how it will look to parents and students: “What was that look like? Well, it’s going to be something different, and all of the families have been contacted. I hear a lot of concerns, getting some messages on social media and seeing it on different chats from parents who need to know details and are really worried about not having internet, what can they do. We are going to be working as best as we can, and they’ll know more later this week. We don’t have all of the answers right now. The focus right now is that teachers and staff are working and everything is changing every day, as well.”
She also reassured families that one of the basic staples of distance learning will be regular contact with teachers, even as something as simple as phone calls: “Even if it’s just a phone call every day and they don’t have internet yet – and we’re working on how we can make some mobile hot-spots, and we’re working with telecom – there’s so many moving parts right now. It’s really amazing. We do want families and students, especially, to know that once school starts up, they’ll have contact every day from someone at their school.”
More details are set to come as the week progresses, so stay tuned to KSRM for updates as the story develops.
