Conversations with educators and reading daily news feeds make it seem there have been as many variations on schooling during the pandemic as there are schools. That could be a good sign if districts are customizing solutions to their unique circumstances. I meet many educators who are handling it with positivity, patience, and professionalism.
Upon leaving a 33-year career as a teacher and administrator this past July, I was hired by Sustainable Jersey and a coalition of organizations to develop the Roadmap for Remote Digital Learning. The doc is based on research, interviews, and input from practitioners from dozens of NJ districts. It was released by Sustainable Jersey at the end of August and promoted by the NJDOE via their weekly Broadcast at the beginning of the new school year and incorporated into their revised Virtual Learning Toolkit. If it hasn’t yet made it to your real or virtual desk, I recommend you access it here. While we’ve learned much since its publication, the guidance and examples are still incredibly relevant.
Roadmap (“version 1.0”) focuses on key issues necessary to make remote instruction as effective as possible. My continuing work, including helping create the new Sustainable Jersey Digital Schools platform, delves more deeply into these core learning issues as well as factors that strongly influence how students learn like leadership, equity and funding.
I encourage you to pass the Roadmap on to peers within and outside your district. I continue to present to organizations on its goals, and by doing say gain value feedback, insight, ideas and examples that I share for the general good. I have always believed that our collective wisdom and trial/error experiences are the key to helping all students succeed— and what support our state’s well deserved #1 ranking!
Unbridled from working in one position in a single district, I am continuing to help create programs and guidance for schools and organizations to address our current circumstances and foster more authentic learning in the long run.
During these challenging times it’s more important than ever to stay connected. Let’s continue our conversations and mutual support during and beyond the current crisis!
Dr. Marc
