Fulton Board Of Education Reviews Reopening Plan During Workshop Meeting

FULTON – The Fulton City School District Board of Education held a board workshop live to the public via YouTube last night, August 17, where board members reviewed the district’s plan to reopen for fall instruction. 

Much of the meeting consisted of a presentation on the topic given by Elizabeth Conners, Executive Director of Instruction and Assessment, followed by answering any questions the board members had. 

“Our students are going to experience some face-to-face learning… They’re going to have some online learning, and again, it’s a blended model,” Conners said.

Conners explained that for students Kindergarten through Grade 5, those who have chosen the hybrid plan of both in-person and online instruction will attend school Tuesday through Friday in-person then stay home on Mondays for online learning. 

For students Grade 6 through Grade 8 (Grade 6 will be in the Junior High School this year), students will be split into two groups: A and B. Group A students will go in person Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Group B students will Thursdays and Fridays. When it is the other group’s day for in-person learning, they will be receiving online instruction. Both groups will learn online Mondays.

For the high school, students will be physically in school one day per week and then online learning the other four days. 

Several families have opted to have their students learn 100% online rather than go in person for part of the school week. At the time of the meeting about 773 students throughout the district decided on the online only option. 

Conners said that families need to commit to their decision of online only or the hybrid plan for ten weeks. 

She also explained two keywords related to the students’ schedules: synchronous and asynchronous. When students have a synchronous learning day, they are in sync with the rest of their class. They will have live/in-person instruction, instant messaging, live quizzes and live polling, etc. On an asynchronous day, their learning consists of discussion boards, recorded instruction, quizzes and polls, all moving at their own pace. 

“I want to clarify that both are learning,” Conners said. “They’re just different ways of learning.”

She said asynchronous is more driven by the student but it is also delivered from their teacher.

Conners showed the board some sample schedules of what a student’s schedule may look like, but emphasized that parents should not expect their child’s schedule to look like that.

“This has been an extremely heavy lift for all of us. Not only are our students learning in a different environment, but our teachers are teaching in a different environment and our administrators are practicing leadership in a different environment,” Conners said. “All of these things are a change process.”

Conners said that the school website now has a Frequently Asked Questions page for easier access to information families might have a question about. 

“All of the questions we have received from the community and our forums, you can now have them in writing,” Conners said. “We encourage everyone to take some time and visit the website. I think you’ll be pleased with what you see.”

The page also has information on the different reopening work groups and when they will be meeting, COVID-19 testing and contact tracing information, and a virtual tour of what the classrooms look like now.

“Parents are having to make the tough decision about whether they want their students enrolled in online instruction or in person,” Conners said. “There is no wrong answer. You have to do what is best for you and your family. And we will provide the structures that we can provide based on the information we have to work with and the staffing and facilities that we have to work with.”

The board then provided their thoughts and questions for Conners, which can be seen in the meeting video.

The full reopening plan can be found here.

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