District 202 Remote Learning Platform Is Mostly Effective: Survey

PLAINFIELD, IL – The majority of students, parents and teachers approve of the remote learning platform Plainfield Consolidated Schools District 202 has used so far this academic year, according to the results of a recent district survey, school officials announced Thursday.

Of the nearly 24,000 respondents who participated in the survey, district officials reported that nearly 73 percent of students, 70 percent of parents and 76 percent of teachers approved of the virtual platform that the district has used since August due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

In addition, 88 percent of students, 83 percent of parents and 79 percent of teachers approved of the amount of work students are receiving each day as the district slowly begins to move closer toward in-person learning later this fall.

Additionally, the district reported:

• About 67 percent of students said they have enough time to learn what is needed in class to do homework
• About 69 percent of students and 71 percent of parents said students are assigned a reasonable amount of homework
• About 90 percent of students and 97 percent of parents said they know how to reach teachers outside of class for help

“The survey results are very gratifying considering the tremendous amount of work our teachers and administrators did over the summer to improve remote learning from last spring,” District 202 Associate Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Glenn Wood said in a news release issued Thursday by the district.

“Obviously remote learning is not the best way to teach or learn, but it will now be a tool in our educational toolbox even after the pandemic is done, so we want our program to be as strong as we can make it.”

The district is slated to begin moving to in-person learning beginning on Oct. 26 when multi-needs and special education students will return to the classroom.

According to the news release, all 852 school districts in Illinois used some form of remote learning when the pandemic began in March. Wood believes that while many districts created their entire remote learning platform “out of thin air”, those districts that had some form of remote learning programs prepared were not ready to put them to use for an extended period of time.

District 202 had previously had a plan in place, Wood said, but had been focusing on professional development at a time when the district was increasing the number of laptop computers for both classroom and student use. According to the release, the district spent $7 million to purchase about 17,000 laptops for students and 400 mobile hotspots for district families.

When the pandemic hit, Wood said the district was “behind the curve” in making sure that teachers were prepared with how to effectively utilize technology in the classroom. But moving forward, Wood said he feels confident that the district has an effective remote learning program in place should it ever need to rely on such a platform again for an extended period of time.

“We will continue to improve our remote learning program and resources as we do with our in-school programs and resources, to make sure all our students have the best chance for success that we can give them,” Wood said in the news release.