Lyndonville, VT - The COVID-19 outbreak has forced unprecedented changes to education and like other schools throughout the country, systems are being updated to respond to an environment of “learning from home.”

“We are starting to see opportunities to improve systems to keep our students and parents engaged during this time of stay safe and stay home,” said Michelle Ralston, Head of School. “School cannot be all remote learning. We are defining this period at Riverside as “home-based learning” where we work on standards and content that encourages the entire family’s involvement in their child’s learning.”

When the lockdown first started, parents where coming to campus to pick up materials to bring home. As the state increased the number of mandates for stay safe/stay home, parents became more apprehensive to drive to campus.

During the school week, Riverside faculty prepare individual student folders with learning materials for the following week. The folders are placed on the front porch of the school every Friday. On Saturday afternoons, Michelle Ralston, Sarah Broome, Assistant Teacher in Pre-K, and Sean Fortier, Health and Wellness Teacher for Grades PreK- 8 and the Director of the Extended Day Program load the folders into large family resource bags and deliver them to the homes of Riverside families. They also pickup completed student work to take back to Riverside to distribute back to faculty. Resource bags are delivered to families of students in grades Pre-K – 3, sometimes for families of grades 4 and 5 (they have a mix of hands-on and digital), and grades 6-8 are all digital. 44 families are being served within a 40-mile radius from the school. The entire process takes the drivers three hours to complete.

Students are still encouraged to interact with each other every day, but online instead of in-person. “Our elementary grades start the day with Morning Meeting, just like a typical school day. Our educational bags include hands-on materials such as worksheets, magnetic letters, manipulatives, and puzzles. These are supplemented with digital resources, like videos and online games. We are also working with parents to incorporate hobbies and passions of family members into daily learning,” said Ralston.

“This world event has become an experience where we all are managing change on a daily, if not hourly, basis. I am proud of our faculty, staff, and parents who are working together to ensure that this period in history is a safe, healthy, and positive learning experience for their children.”