Is it possible to switch from remote learning to hybrid learning or vice versa? Why or why not?

Students are allowed to switch from hybrid learning to full remote learning. In order to make this switch, all families need to do is contact the office and they will make the change in Home Access Center.

However, switching from full remote learning to hybrid learning is more complicated. 

“Conversations would be had about what is the rationale behind their request,” said Renee Reynolds, Assistant Principal of Curriculum and Instruction. “Most [students] when they’ve asked to return it has been for social emotional reasons or I’ve had a couple seniors where it is their senior year and they want to have their last semester in school.”

For students to be allowed to make the switch to hybrid learning they have to be returning for academic reasons. 

“They have to be invested in their education and wanting to engage with peers and wanting to engage with the teacher,” said Reynolds.

The student’s schedule is also taken into consideration when determining if they are able to transition from remote to hybrid learning. Due to limited classroom capacities, in order to switch to hybrid, there needs to be enough space available in the student’s classes. 

  “We would not move somebody’s schedule so that they could be in person. The thinking behind that is you’ve already built those relationships with teachers and with your peers in those classrooms. So that’s not best practice to have to shift expectations and new teachers,” said Reynolds.

Second semester statistics for remote and hybrid learning

The following data is based on an enrollment of 1,962 students. Each semester, some students arrive and others exit, so the exact number fluctuates.

At North, there are currently 1,317 hybrid students which account for 67.13% of the student population. 

For remote, there are currently 645 students, adding up to 32.87%. 

In the first semester, 538 students were full remote which equates to 27.7%. North had 1,403 in-person students which is 72.3%. Based on these numbers, North had an increase of about 5% of students going full remote from first semester to second.

The rationale behind families choosing to be full remote is similar to what it was first semester: hybrid learning wasn’t what they expected and concern over COVID-19 cases.

First semester saw a pretty even breakdown of grade levels in terms of remote versus hybrid students, but second semester was more significant.

“Our junior class has the highest percentage of students full remote, and to me, it’s significant. And then it’s clearly 5% higher than the next level, and I can’t speak as to why that is. But, I do find that interesting. Our freshmen have the lowest percentage of full remote students,” said Renee Reynolds, Assistant Principal of Curriculum and Instruction.

As Reynolds said, juniors have the highest amount of full remote students at 37.47%, or 181 students.

Sophomores follow at 33.89% remote, which is 163 students.

Then, the seniors at 32.64%, which is 172 students.

Freshmen have the lowest percentage of remote students at 26.99%, or 129 students.

Why was a new attendance code implemented, and what does it mean?

The start of second semester brought a new attendance code for teachers to use when taking attendance. The new attendance code is “AH” and is used for hybrid students who are choosing to work from home on a day that they normally would have been in person. 

The new code was made to better track how many students were in the building on a given day and also to ensure the safety of the people in the building.

“It’s a good safety precaution for us so we know if the students are at home or actually physically in the building,” said Tamara Druck, Administrative Assistant for Attendance.

By adding this new attendance code, “if something were to happen in the building and there are hybrid students, then we know they’re not there and [staff] would not have to go searching for them,” said Druck.

Why are North students not having finals this semester?

First semester finals were canceled, and on Friday, Jan. 22, the announcement came from Principal Audra Christenson that the second semester finals would not take place either.

The primary factor for this change were the adjustments to students’ curriculum that were made. Due to online learning, teachers focused on “the essential standards [for] this semester,” said Renee Reynolds, Assistant Principal of Curriculum and Instruction. 

“Our final exams that we currently have created would require us to go back and make many modifications to them because of how we’ve only hit the standards,” said Reynolds.

Reynolds also said that the time teachers would have to spend going back and restructuring the exams to more accurately reflect students’ learning was also a contributing factor.

The future of final exams has been re-evaluated. Other districts have moved away from the traditional system of final exams, and D303 is considering following suit. 

“We’re having some conversations about what does a final exam mean in terms of a student’s learning. And so all those different pieces combined, led us to believe that this is probably the best decision at this time,” said Reynolds.

She continued, “[This decision] gives us more time moving forward to determine if this is the pathway we want to continue or if we want to look at other options,” said Reynolds.