By Jessica Mathews/News@whmi.com


Despite the shake-up with schooling for students across the state, things appear to be starting out well at one local district.

The Hartland Consolidated Schools Board of Education held a virtual meeting Monday night, where it was noted there has been good communication between teachers, students and parents. A report was given on the district’s Continuous Learning Plan – the implementation of which started Monday. Superintendent Chuck Hughes said he was extremely impressed with administrators and teachers, noting he viewed some sample lessons distributed by teachers and was blown away. Hughes said he’s excited about what they’re doing but also cautioned that this is not how they educate children and not what they want to see as a norm at all. He added most teachers were not trained for this type of teaching so what they’re doing is pretty awesome. Hughes commented that everyone has really rallied together and the relationships between teachers and administrators was evident from the very beginning.

It was noted during the meeting that teachers and administrators have spent countless hours on plans and around 90% of parents have responded well to efforts. It was said that for the most part the plans of other local districts are similar; although there are some differences. For example, some districts have a lot of issues with students not having access to computers. Hartland administrators said they have a plan that fits the Hartland community and works well, although it’s not easy because they have to get ever one on board. Superintendent Hughes and others agreed it’s going to be interesting to see the level of engagement from kids but they have to afford them the opportunity – emphasizing that it’s definitely not like being in the classroom and not ideal because it’s not how teaching is supposed to be. One board member commented that although Monday was the first day, some plans sent over were really neat. However, they cautioned that while teachers are presenting things, parents have to have some responsibility to get their kids in front of a computer and working since they can’t be monitored from home.

Board members with children in the district also offered their thoughts on how things have been playing out. Secretary Michelle Hemeyer said her child very much thrives on schedule and so she has kept him on more of a school schedule. She told the board it’s condensed but she makes sure her son does school things until around noon each day. Hemeyer said the teachers have been phenomenal and have gone above and beyond. Other board members with students echoed those thoughts, saying things are coming together. Board Trustee Chris Costa said all of his son’s teachers have reached out and provided some type of lesson or activity with the expectation that the gets it done by a certain time but also made clear they’re available. While it was only the first day, Costa said his son committed to a certain time and they made sure he was there, stressing the teachers are doing great job. For a high school perspective, one parent said their child’s AP and honor teachers have been in communication the whole time – including voluntary Zoom calls and information to use to study for upcoming tests. It was expressed that there has been a dip in the number of students participating since the beginning but again it’s voluntary and still available regardless.

Superintendent Hughes said one of the biggest questions he’s had from parents has really been around the idea of their having to participate. He said the politically correct answer is that they have to provide opportunity to participate - parents and students have to decide how much engagement they want to put into it and what they’re willing to do to take advantage of the continuous learning opportunity. Hughes commented the real issue is equity and how to create equal opportunity for all children. He said some parents want more time provided but that’s not realistic. Hughes said they’ll provide what they can, knowing they’ll regroup in the fall and regroup their alignment with curriculum to make sure they’re hitting any areas that might have been missed. Hughes said he believes they’re doing things right and hopefully they’ll get better but not so good that people think this is how they should educate children because that is not his belief at all – he stressed they should educate children in the classroom that’s where they do the best job.

Hughes noted that the district earlier did a survey and over 350 responded to say they did not have either computers or internet service. He said the district cannot provide service but can provide one device per family. Once things get distributed, Hughes said they’ll do another survey and keep working on it. It was also relayed that paper packets are being provided and principals are finding ways to distribute those to make sure all students have access.