Ascension School rises to the challenge of teaching during a pandemic

Ascension teacher Bridget Kirby Younce has been reading to students via YouTube.

By David Pierini Staff Reporter

Teachers must be nimble to respond to the daily challenges of their classrooms. 

But how does a school prepare to teach when a global pandemic closes its doors and separates teachers and students with stay-at-home orders from the state?

Teachers at Ascension Catholic School in North Minneapolis say they are reinventing their jobs on the fly, using various online tools to engage students in some semblance of learning. A few of the teachers turn on on their webcams or smartphone cameras to record themselves reading a story or emulate the beginning of a school with a prayer and announcements. 

For now, teachers have been tasked with staying as connected as possible while the school draws up a more formal virtual school plan. In extending stay-at-home orders for another couple of weeks on Wednesday, Gov. Tim Walz said he has asked the state education commissioner to implement a distance learning period from March 30 to May 4. 

Tracy Carpenter made care packages for her second graders. Photo by Tracy Carpenter

“One thing our principal likes to say is, ‘Try not to build the plane as we’re flying.’ Every single educator in our building is trying to reinvent the wheel while also trying to ride the bike,” said Laura Justin, an eighth-grade English and social studies teacher. “This is a 180-degree shift in a lot of ways and we’re trying to figure out the simplest way forward that is academically useful for them.”

Educators at Ascension, a K-8 school, have continued to mobilize since they sent their 304 students home two weeks ago with workbooks and homework packets. The school has scheduled hours for families to pick up Chromebooks and have assisted households with no internet to sign up through free programs.

Teachers have turned parts of their homes into mini classrooms and work full days connecting with students, checking on both homework progress and emotional wellbeing. Students and teachers are connecting with software and platforms like Google Classroom, SeeSaw, GoGuardian and YouTube. Teachers send daily emails to families and talk by phone to those not yet online. 

Like the teachers, students and their parents are trying to reset. Students have reported a mix of emotions from boredom, fear of a contagious virus, and excitement about having a Chromebook at home.

Justin worries for her eighth-graders, who are in their last year and could potentially miss the school musical they’ve been rehearsing or getting their diplomas at a graduation prayer service. 

“They have a lot on their minds,” she said. “After nine years and now they’re not sure they’ll get a graduation [ceremony], there’s some grief there.”

To keep spirits up for her second-graders, teacher Tracy Carpenter made a video of herself doing the “The Git Up” dance and sent it to families, challenging them to dance with her. 

A recent message thread from Michael to his teacher reflected how much he misses school. Photo by Tracy Carpenter

For a recent Chromebook pickup, Carpenter left students with little gift packages. In each was a teddybear to remind them how much she cares for them and a frog to keep their minds focused on the work so they “will be ready to jump into third grade next year.”

“I had a cute conversation with a student on GoGuardian yesterday that totally made me cry,” Carpenter said. “He loves school and for him to communicate with me by typing is a huge struggle for him. He wrote, ‘Do you miss school? I do. School makes me me.’

“My students keep saying they miss me and miss school. They need structure and routine and this has taken it all away from them. You have to do your job a whole different way and there’s no time to figure it out.”

There are signs many of the students and teachers will be ready to jump into distance learning.

Teacher Bridget Kirby Younce is encouraged with how her third-graders are excited to have a computer at home. She can monitor their online activity and says many are regularly logging into math games.

Kirby Younce has been tasked with assisting older teachers, non-digital natives who may not use many tech tools, and all have been eager to learn, she said. Ascension’s scheduled Spring Break next week will be critical time for staff to finalize a uniform distance learning routine. 

“All in all, everyone is trying to figure out the new normal,” she said. “Not just schools, but homes and families. It’s a big change for all of us.”