Synchronous Learning Survey for Families (December 2020)

Dear Amherst Elementary School Families:

We hope you are enjoying the December vacation with your family.

As a follow up to the ARPS distance learning survey from the Fall, we are hoping to gain further insight into how we can best meet your children's needs in the Amherst Elementary Schools, specifically about the amount of time spent online for synchronous (live) instruction.  Please note: this brief survey is unrelated to any discussions about potential return to in-person instruction.

Based on feedback from educators and families, the district focused on providing high quality small-group instruction as a core principle for our young learners when designing the elementary virtual schedule last spring and summer. The rationale was that in a virtual environment, small group instruction would promote higher levels of engagement for students who could actively participate in lessons more readily with smaller group sizes, typically under 10 students per group. Additionally, we felt that small group instruction would provide more support for well-being and emotional connections that we know are challenging in an online setting, particularly when the sheer number of students on a video call prevents more active participation and collaboration.

An alternative approach that the district opted against was to provide somewhat more synchronous instruction, but in exclusively whole group settings.  That was due to concerns that with 20 students on a video call for much of a day, there would be limited opportunities for individual student’s active participation, which is directly related to engagement and is already more challenging for many students during virtual instruction.

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (DESE) has recently been requiring more synchronous instruction during distance learning to promote students’ well-being and emotional health.  In their opinion, one strategy to increase synchronous learning time  is to “Increase remote group size” as “remote classrooms have no physical limitations on group size.”  While this was not a strategy we chose, we want to gather feedback from parents/guardians, as required by DESE, on this question.  

Please fill out the survey below by January 5.  Because the survey is so brief (5 multiple choice  questions), and knowing which grade level is being commented upon is critical, we will ask that you complete a separate survey for each child (grades 1-6 only) who is in the Amherst Public Schools, even if they belong to the same family. Thank you for sharing your perspective.

Best,

Michael Morris, Superintendent
Derek Shea, Principal, Crocker Farm
Diane Chamberlain, Principal, Fort River
Nick Yaffe, Principal, Wildwood
Tim Sheehan, Curriculum Coordinator