Moscow schools boss hosts online Q and A

Moscow School District Superintendent Greg Bailey fielded questions from parents and community members Wednesday evening concerning online learning systems and the school district’s preparedness for returning to live instruction in the fall.

More than 180 parents, teachers and other stakeholders attended the Zoom teleconference, “Community Chat with the Superintendent,” many posting questions to group chat and “raising their hands” virtually to be allowed to speak.

Attendees noted the rising rate of infection in most states, including Idaho, and a common question was whether it is even appropriate to return to live instruction in the first place.

“Until science progresses enough to provide adequate testing, contact tracing, treatments and vaccines for this devastating disease the only option for providing a safe education and workplace is to adopt a fully online approach,” parent Renee Hill commented. “We cannot risk the well-being and lives of our students, families and staff in order to attempt to provide a safe service that is both out of our scope of duty and beyond our capacity.”

Bailey said plans are not finalized as of yet, but there will be a way for parents to opt into the method of instruction that works best for them, including online. In response to suggestions the district start the semester online, Bailey said it is too soon to make such a call.

“I get that they want to have a decision now, but the biggest thing is we’re (seeing) changes by the week,” Bailey said after the meeting.

Last week, the Idaho State Board of Education approved a framework to help districts to decide when and how to reopen. The framework is broken into three categories related to community spread.

Bailey said Moscow schools fall into category 2 of the plan which gives districts with minimal to moderate transmission a great deal of flexibility to deliver instruction in person, online or through a combination of the two.

While parents in favor of starting the semester online were vocal in Wednesday’s chat, Bailey said he has also been hearing from parents who are eager to return to school. He said not only is the quality of instruction generally better in person, but it also helps working parents with day-to-day planning and provides a valuable opportunity for their children to socialize.

“If I feel like we’re going to put our students and staff in danger — I’m not going to make that recommendation. (I would) talk to the board and say, ‘I don’t think we should start this way,’” Bailey said. “But I also want to make sure that if we can start (in-person), that we can be in that position too.”

Other questions and comments dealt with the district’s adoption of an districtwide online learning management system, with some parents saying the district has been too slow to move to a single, cohesive module.

Bailey said Moscow schools were actually quicker than most other Idaho districts to identify and adopt a system and teachers were involved throughout the selection process. He said the use of numerous, disparate platforms between teachers and schools was a common complaint when the district moved instruction online in the spring, and so they wanted to jump on that issue quickly.

He said the district has decided to use the Canvas Learning Management Platform which will make assigning and grading class work for online students more homogenous between all schools in the district. He said once staff are trained how to use the system, parents will be able to access school work for their children on the same platform even if they attend different schools.

“We’re going to be ready for the start of the year,” he said.

Bailey promised to consider all comments and suggestions offered during Wednesday’s chat, and plans to host more question and answer sessions as the district nears the first day of school, Sept. 2.

Scott Jackson can be reached by email at sjackson@dnews.com.