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Minding a Big Gap: Digital Divide Leaving Students Behind by Al Hammond

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The Covid-19 pandemic has made profound changes in how we live. Many adults have had to adjust to working from home. But for school-age children, the change in their lives since schools closed this spring has been even greater. How are they coping with learning from home? The experience of two Eastern Shore counties—Talbot and Kent—suggests that distance learning can work, but that it doesn’t work for some children or even some teachers. The problems include:

The digital divide. Talbot and Kent are fortunate, because in both counties every schoolchild had already been issued a digital device (tablet, chromebook, macbook, depending on age). In both counties the majority of families with school-age children also have internet access at home—even if kids sometimes have to share it with parents working from home.

Interview with Kelly Griffith, Superintendent Talbot County Public Schools

But some children—as many as 15 percent—have no access at home, either because they live in remote locations or because their families can’t afford it. (In both counties, about 50 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.) Others have some access, maybe over a mobile phone, but not enough to stream a live session with a teacher or even to download a big homework file. So for these children, access means traveling to a WiFi hotspot, assuming that the family has a car and a parent at home who can drive them there and wait while the student goes online. Both counties have scrambled to provide more hotspots, working with county IT departments and commercial service providers; and both counties now have WiFi on their school buses, so that they serve as a kind of mobile hotspot. Talbot has also been mailing weekly packets of schoolwork to students who can’t get them any other way.

It’s not just students who lack access—so do some teachers is both counties. It’s a measure of their dedication that those teachers have been driving to school to deliver lessons from an empty classroom or even, in some cases, teaching from their car while parked at a WiFi hotspot.

Teachers are essential. As Bill Poore, Kent County Public School’s IT director says, “Zoom doesn’t replace a teacher’s hands-on help” with reading, or a stubborn arithmetic problem. And while some parents feel comfortable providing that kind of help at home, others do not—especially if it’s been a long time since they confronted an algebra problem or are simply not familiar with the devices and software tools that enable distance learning.

The schools are attempting to help: Kent County has adopted an on-line learning management system that simplifies things for kids or parents, and they have bought all-new devices for every student for the coming year. Talbot focused this past spring on basic topics that could be most easily grasped by a student or a parent without a teacher’s real-time presence (so-called “asynchronous learning”) and is working to have students catchup and finish any incompletes with week-long “boot camps” over the summer. But as Talbot County Public School’s Superintendent Kelly Griffith explains, “synchronous learning is important, because it increases student involvement.”

No one knows yet whether schools will be able to reopen in September, and even if they do, whether parents will feel comfortable sending their children while the pandemic is still active. So Griffith’s goal is to get everyone connected—to close the digital divide, one way or another—and she is seeking state permission for virtual programming. That might mean scheduled sessions with both teacher and students online together: English composition at 9, arithmetic at 10, science at 11.

Making rural broadband—and more effective learning—a policy priority. Last week, governor Larry Hogan announced a $45 million program to address the education digital divide. It includes a plan to build out wireless educational networks in western and southern parts of the state and on the Eastern Shore, using wireless frequencies reserved for educational use or other available frequencies. Hogan’s plan also includes money for devices and software tools, and for innovation grants to help public schools test new online educational strategies. It’s not likely that these new networks will be in place in time to help the coming school year, but it’s nonetheless a worthwhile effort that will eventually help to close the digital divide in rural Maryland.

The broader challenge, however, is to rethink education strategies. No matter how good the technology is, teachers will still need to play a central role. But why not design the educational process so that it happens seamlessly at school and at home? Why not use virtual reality tools (including virtual field trips) and hands-on interactive tools (such as 3D printers) to enhance student engagement—techniques now being rapidly adopted for industrial training? Why not use artificial intelligence tools to monitor student learning in real time and adjust the process individually to how each student learns best? It’s pertinent that in international comparisons, U.S. school children rank behind those of 12 other countries in reading and no better than 30th place in mathematics—and those dismal rankings haven’t changed in recent decades. Moreover the labor market is changing much faster than school curriculums—we’re going to need more software engineers and data managers and fewer truck drivers or assembly line workers.

Maybe the disruption of the schools by the pandemic—and the renewed attention to enabling every student to learn—will turn out to be the catalyst we need to reinvent education too.

Al Hammond was trained as a scientist (Stanford, Harvard) but became a distinguished science journalist, reporting for Science (a leading scientific journal) and many other technical and popular magazines and on a daily radio program for CBS. He subsequently founded and served as editor-in-chief for 4 national science-related publications as well as editor-in-chief for the United Nation’s bi-annual environmental report. More recently, he has written, edited, or contributed to many national assessments of scientific research for federal science agencies. Dr. Hammond makes his home in Chestertown on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

Dave Wheelan contributed to this article

The Future of the Liberal Arts with St. John’s College President Peter Kanelos

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Peter Kanelos, the president of St. John’s College, makes it clear that he regards his school as essential to the future of higher education. That doesn’t seem to be such a remarkable statement on its own. One could argue that every college president says the same thing about their school. But President Kanelos’ point is still quite bold given that his institution bases its entire curriculum on the reading of the “Great Books” of world culture.

In fact, at a time when students, and their parents, have been conditioned to think of higher education is a necessary gateway to a professional career, Kanelos says that a St. John’s degree may be one of the worst preparations for landing an entry-level position after graduation but also the best education one can receive.

While St. John’s is one of the oldest colleges in America, its mission dramatically changed in the late 1930s when it was hit hard by the Great Depression. Facing low enrollment and limited cash reserves, The college leadership, with the help of a team of academics from the University of Chicago, pivoted from their traditional model and embraced a Great Books program that centered on around 500 great books. By studying these classics, students could build their intellectual muscles far more successfully than a college major program.

It was an audacious move in 1937, and it’s looking like one in 2020.

In the Spy’s first interview with President Kanelos, he talks about this unique approach to education, and how he and his institution are still radically changing the nature of higher education. That includes doing things like reducing tuition by thirty-three percent two years ago or by making a compelling argument that the years of the college major might be over.

This video is approximately twelve minutes in length. For more information about St. John’s College please  go here.

Washington College President Landgraf to Leave in September

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This morning, the Washington College community was greeted with the news that Kurt Landgraf, who became the 31st president of the 239 year old school, would be leaving his position by September.

In his statement, Landgraf outlined his decision to resign:

“My three year contract as President will expire at the end of June and I will move on to the next phase of my career. The past three years have been extraordinary and I am indebted to each of you for your support of my leadership. My immense respect for all faculty and staff has no limit. I will treasure the relationship I have established with each of you!

I have agreed to stay as College President long enough to allow the Board of Visitors and Governors to transition to new leadership and to facilitate the beginning of the new Academic year in this very difficult and challenging environment. I am prepared to stay through the end of September, if needed. I believe each of you will play an important role in helping to effect a smooth transition. I have a lot of confidence in each of you and the important roles you have in the mission of Washington College.”

Steve Golding, chair of the Board of Visitors and Governors, noted, “the Board and I are extremely appreciative of the leadership Kurt has shown these past three years, restoring stability to our campus and building bridges with our local, state, and philanthropic partners, in addition to the broader Washington College community.”

 

 

 

St. Michaels High School Alumni Plan B for the Class of 2020

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For more than a hundred years, the St. Michaels High School Alumni Association has made a big deal of welcoming new alumni from this small rural school into their ranks.

From carrying on traditions like the wearing of the famed graduation cape, which has worn since the 1930s, to helping with annual college scholarship fundraising drives, the Association, one of the oldest in the country, can be counted every spring to bring well-deserved attention to some of Talbot County’s most worthy young people.

This commitment to St. Michaels High has never altered, even when it faced the last pandemic that hit the Eastern Shore in 1918-19, but nothing could prepare the school or its alums with the complete shutdown that has come with COVID-19.

But, in keeping with the school’s history of resilience, its alumni association has not been deterred. As J.R. Burkhardt, president of the St. Michaels High School Alumni Association, told the Spy a few days ago, they have simply had to creatively pivot on they recognize the new Class of 2020.

This video is approximately two minutes in length. For more information about the St. Michaels High School Alumni Association, please visit their Facebook page here.

 

 

 

Spotlight: Carson Scholar Jack Gonzalez

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Long before Dr. Ben Carson decided to run for president and later join the Trump administration as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, he and his wife Candy started a remarkable program in 1994.

That year, the Hopkins neurosurgeon and family started the Carson Scholars Fund. A project that not only provided a $1,000 check to promising students from 4th to 11th grade but gave them early recognition for their academic abilities at a time when most children were being celebrated for their success in athletics.

After twenty-five years of existence, over 8,000 young people have received these awards, and in 2020 more than 500 students across the country will have earned this distinction.

Jack Gonzalez, a 5th grader from Tilghman Elementary School, earned his Carson Scholar award despite his young age. While students in the 4th grade can qualify for these prizes, most do not have the required community service record that the Fund insists on for all applications. But Jack’s volunteer work with the Mid-Shore’s Women and Girls Fund over the last few years made these easy criteria to pass in addition to maintaining a GPA of 3.75 or higher at school.

The Spy reached Jack and his mother, Liz, by Zoom last week.

This video is approximately minutes in length. For more information about the Carson Scholar Program please go here.

Six Chosen as 2020 Sophie Kerr Prize Finalists

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Six Washington College seniors today were named finalists for the 53rd annual Sophie Kerr Prize, at $63,538 the nation’s largest literary award for college undergraduates. The finalists represent the liberal arts and sciences in a range of majors and minors, from creative writing and English to environmental studies and sociology.

Christine Lincoln, an award-winning author and motivational speaker who won the Sophie Kerr Prize in 2000, will preside over the finalists’ readings of their works and will announce the winner in a webinar hosted Friday evening at 7:30 on Zoom (bit.ly/SophieKerrPrize2020. Her stories have appeared on stage at Symphony Space and Word Theatre, read and performed by Don Cheadle, Gary Dourdan, and Lizan Mitchell. Her short stories have appeared in various literary journals including Pleiades Magazine and the Paris Review. She is Poet Laureate Emeritus of York, Pennsylvania, where she created a writing group at a local domestic violence safehouse to help survivors of trauma and abuse explore poetry as a means of healing.

“Although the Prize will be delivered virtually in 2020 due to COVID-19, the Sophie Kerr Committee is impressed with the real-world talents and promise for future literary endeavors demonstrated by the six finalists,” said Sean Meehan, Professor and Chair of English and Director of Writing who chairs the Sophie Kerr Committee. “The Committee notes remarkable strengths in the quality and diversity of writing that ranges from journalism, creative nonfiction, critical essays, and excerpts from senior theses, to various forms of poetry and fiction, both short and long. Judging from the advanced level of accomplishment and the maturity of voice and vision already demonstrated, the Committee expects to be hearing from these writers in years to come.

“As with the finalists, the overall group of portfolios submitted for the 2020 Prize was particularly strong in the range of academic disciplines represented, a hallmark of Washington College’s culture of writing,” he noted. “Majors and minors amongst the writers included communication and media studies, creative writing, English, environmental studies, journalism, editing &publishing, psychology, and sociology, among others.”

Pictured top row: Gabby Rente, Kai Clarke, Mary Sprague. Pictured bottom row: Saoirse, Heber Guerra-Recinos, Abby Wargo

The finalists are:

Kailani M. Clarke, an environmental studies major from Centreville, Maryland, has sought to learn from as many college experiences as she could. This led her to participating with the Student Environmental Alliance, MMA Club, Campus Garden, and Eastern Shore Food Lab, as well as completing the Permaculture Internship and helping establish a WAC chapter of Active Minds, a national suicide prevention organization, at various points in her college career.  Her academic achievement earned her a place in the Cater Society of Junior Fellows and the Kappa Alpha Omicron Environmental Honors Society. She has written the Pet of the Week article for The Elm since February 2019 and is a freelance writer for the shelter.

Clarke’s portfolio showcases her versatility as a writer with poetry, essays, articles spanning much of her college career. Fascinated by monsters, animals, and gray areas, her pieces explore themes of homecoming, mental health and chronic illness, injury and recovery, and wild versus domestic. At the heart of her work lies a deep reverence for nature, and a quest to embrace her place in the universe while learning to balance in a turbulent world. She is a three-time winner of the William W. Warner Prize for creative writing on nature and the environment.

Heber Guerra-Recinos, of Spring Valley, New York, is a double major in English and art &art history, with a minor in creative writing. A member of the first cohort of Washington Scholars, Guerra-Recinos was part of the Alpha Psi Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Habitat for Humanity, and a photographer and cartoonist for The Elm. His portfolio includes a collection of fiction and prose, many of which focus on personal experiences or exploration of forms and ideas.

Gabrielle Rente is an English major with minors in creative writing and journalism, editing &publishing. Hailing from Williamsburg, Virginia, she was a member of the Writers Union and Sigma Tau Delta, but her heart remains with The Elm, where she has been a staff writer, copy editor, and the Lifestyle editor. Rente’s portfolio contains a mixture of journalistic articles on subjects ranging from internet trends to environmental dilemmas alongside poems and short stories on family and growing pains. After graduation, she plans on pursuing a career in journalism.

Saoirse is an international student from India. She is a double major in English and sociology with triple minors in creative writing, gender studies, and journalism, editing &publishing. As an exophonic writer, her academic interests revolve around linguistic power dynamics, especially in connection to the land. Her research works in tandem with her creative pursuits in poetry and translation. In the future, she hopes to pursue a PhD. studying translinguality and the land-identity connection.

Mary Sprague is an English major from Ellicott City, Maryland. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Collegian and a copy-editor for The Elm. Sprague’s portfolio, Diorama, is a collection of short prose pieces most often about interpersonal relationships, sexuality, sexual assault, and isolation. Sometimes they’re also about bricks and ducks.

Abby Wargo is an English major with a double minor in creative writing and journalism, editing and publishing. She is from Hampstead, Maryland. At Washington College, she served as the Editor-in-Chief of the student newspaper The Elm for two years. Wargo is also a member of Omicron Delta Kappa leadership honors society and Sigma Tau Delta English honors society. Her portfolio contains samples of poetry, creative nonfiction, journalism, and academic writing, many of which address issues of sex, love, trauma, and mental health. She plans to work as a journalist after graduation.

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Washington College’s Kurt Landgraf on COVID-19, Hodson Trust and WC’s Future

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It could have been predicted in advance that when interviewing a president of a small liberal arts college amid the coronavirus crisis to hear some bad news. COVID-19 has considerably disrupted colleges and universities with many of them facing severe financial consequences or even extinction with their tuition-based business model collapsing since the outbreak took hold in the middle of March.

So it was with some trepidation that the Spy’s John Griep and Dave Wheelan, both graduates of Washington College, began our interview with its president, Kurt Landgraf, yesterday to discuss Maryland’s historic center of higher learning and its future.

Those predictions were premature.

It will be surprising, and quite a relief for many, to hear President Landgraf give a very optimistic overview of Washington College’s plans and long-term viability in the face of a severe economic recession and a dwindling pool of prospective students.

There are several reasons for Landgraf’s confidence. He cites the college’s positive projections for a new freshman class starting in the fall; its high ranking among the 1,000 liberal arts colleges in the country; and its $200 million endowment as reasonable indicators for sustainability in a post-COVID world.

Mr. Landgraf also notes the painful cost-cutting moves his administration has had to make to counter a projected $4-5 million operational deficit. Despite the unprecedented costs related to COVID-19, the school will show a balanced budget by the end of its fiscal year on June 30th.

But, saving the best for last, Landgraf disclosed that the Hodson Trust, a philanthropic foundation that has supported the college for decades, will be providing Washington College with an enormous final donation when, by charter, the Trust goes out of business in the next 12 months.

While the president did not (and can not) disclose its final contribution from Hodson, it has long been rumored that this gift may exceed $50 million based on the Trust’s total assets.

The donation will be part of a final distribution that includes WC and three other Maryland schools (Hood College of Frederick, St. John’s College of Annapolis, and The Johns Hopkins University of Baltimore) to fulfill the wishes of Colonel Clarence Hodson, the benefactor who established the Trust in 1920.

Spy readers will need to rely on reading President Landgraf’s body language for the moment to assess the kind of lifeline the Hodson Trust will provide Washington College.

This video is approximately 19 minutes in length.

Mid-Shore Counties OK Level Funding for Chesapeake College

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Mid-Shore counties voted Monday night to provide level funding to Chesapeake College for the next fiscal year.

The college initially had sought a 3 percent increase over this year’s funding, but the COVID-19 pandemic has county governments tightening belts in anticipation of lower revenues.

Clifford Coppersmith, Chesapeake College’s president, said the proposed budget reflected the college’s strategic plan and touched briefly on effects of the pandemic.

Dr. Clifford P. Coppersmith, Chesapeake College president

“We are doing everything we can to maintain the college and our workforce,” Coppersmith said.

With the campus closed for social distancing, the college moved all instruction online that could be, he said, and plans for summer courses to be online as well.

The college also is preparing for distance learning for the fall semester if required.

Coppersmith said the college had been working on plans to improve its workforce education and training programs and would be ready with those courses when the economy is ready to go again.

In its initial budget process before the pandemic, the college had called for a tuition increase of $3 per credit hour, but that increase has been rescinded, he said.

Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot counties allocated a total of $6.5 million to the college for Fiscal Year 2020, which ends June 30. Four of the five counties voted unanimously Monday night to provide the same funding for next year; Dorchester County did not have a quorum on the call.

The total funding from the Mid-Shore counties is divvied up based on the ratio of student enrollment. If Chesapeake College students, for example, came equally from each county, the counties each would fund 20% of the total $6.5 million.

Talbot County Council President Corey Pack said Talbot had budgeted about $1.65 million for the college for next year. The county also has put about $50,000 for the college in its contingency fund, representing the 3 percent increase the college had sought.

If the economy and tax revenues are better than expected, the county council could vote to allocate that money to the college.

Caroline County officials said that county would be allocating about $7,000 more than last year due to changes in the enrollment ratio.

Queen Anne’s County Commission President Jim Moran said that county’s share would be about $1.88 million.

Queen Anne’s was the only county to support the 3 percent increase, with Moran noting the county would be paying less next year as a result of enrollment changes.

Kent and Talbot county officials said those counties were planning on flat county budgets for FY21 as well,

“We’ve done that with all our departments,” Kent County Commissioner Ron Fithian said in the conference call. “We’re letting everybody know it will be the same as last year.”

The counties also unanimously approved the college’s total operating budget of about $23.1 million by category and nearly $400,000 from the counties for maintenance and repair costs.

Tina Jones, the college’s chief financial officer, said the counties provide about a third of the college’s total budget with other sources, including tuition, providing the remainder.

With a bad economy as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, college officials said Chesapeake could see increased enrollment, which means additional revenue from tuition, but also higher instructional costs.

Approving the total budget by category allows the college to make decisions based on enrollment, revenues, and expenses without having to return to the five counties for approval, Jones said.

Schools to Stay Closed Through May 15, With Talk of Extended Summer School

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Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Karen B. Salmon announced Friday that Maryland is extending the closure of schools through May 15 due to the COVID-19 outbreak, using the month-long postponement to consider long-term recovery procedure.

She said that school superintendents across the state are looking into additional distance learning and recovery plans, including the possibility of extended summer school.

“State and local school officials are preparing for a number of scenarios depending on when our educators and students would be able to re-enter school buildings,” she said at a news conference outside the State House Friday.

Salmon explained that the summer school program being planned by superintendents across the state would provide “expanded opportunities.” She described it as “robust.”

School districts are expected to deliver continuity of learning plans to the Maryland State Department of Education, including sample workday plans, procedures for measuring student performance, ways to address equity for kids with special needs and a list of resources to help everyone gain access to online instruction.

The last day of in-person classroom instruction across the state was March 13.

Efforts are underway to reactivate the state: During the news conference, Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) said that his administration has been long at work on a plan.

“The recovery plan that we have been developing over many weeks has four building blocks that must be solidly in place before the lifting of restrictions,” he said. They are:

• Increasing coronavirus testing capability

• Expanding hospital surge capacity

• Strengthening the state’s access to personal protective equipment

• Establishing a “robust contact tracing operation”

Salmon said that the state has to meet each of the four marks in the governor’s plan before she could consider calling schools back into session.

Cheryl Bost, Maryland State Board of Education president and a Baltimore County elementary school teacher, called this “the right decision,” adding that while distance learning is not ideal, teachers will continue to do their best for their students.

“We know that this type of learning is no substitute for in-person learning, and we will need to be thoughtful and serious about how we help students recover from this crisis,” she said. “Recent weeks have magnified existing inequities — whether of technology access, food security, or otherwise — that our students face every day and that challenge their ability to succeed in school. We must come together to address these issues over the short- and long-term.”

Distance learning inequities for kids in under-served areas have been at the forefront of the conversation for education advocates across the state.

Salmon stated that school districts have increased their ability to reach students through online learning mechanisms, and are getting better at it.

“We are helping school systems obtain these resources such as additional devices, platforms for learning and expanded broadband capabilities that they need to carry out their plans in equitable and meaningful ways,” she said.

Maryland received $207 million in funding for schools provided by the federal CARES Act that passed late last month.

Salmon said that 90% of that money will go directly to local school districts in an effort to address gaps in distance learning resources.

The state superintendent acknowledged the anxiety that the extended school closing have created across the state.

This may be especially true for high school seniors who are set to graduate in May and June.

Salmon explained that local superintendents are looking into “creative alternatives” to traditional graduation ceremonies.

“There’s a lot of superintendents who have talked about virtual celebrations,” she said, ”and so I don’t think that we’re going to be seeing the, the types of ceremonies, at this point, that we had in the past.”

During the newly extended school closures, the Department of Education will continue to provide childcare services for essential workers.

Under the federal CARES Act passed earlier this month, Maryland has received $45.8 million to maintain these programs through the public health crisis.

Salmon said that thus far, 25,000 children have been enrolled across 3,700 state-funded sites, with the potential to serve an additional 20,000 kids, if necessary.

Essential workers in need of these services can find operating locations through a service available on the Department of Education website.

By Hannah Gaskill

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