WEBVTT - Permanent Virtual Classes for Vulnerable Students

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<v Speaker 1>It's Monday, September five. I'm Oscar Ramirez from the Daily

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<v Speaker 1>Dive podcast in Los Angeles, and this is reopening America

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<v Speaker 1>even a pandemic. Disruptions have faded and most schools have

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<v Speaker 1>returned to in person instruction. Permanent virtual classes are being

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<v Speaker 1>offered to protect vulnerable children. Districts in Texas, California, and

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<v Speaker 1>New York are creating full time remote learning programs for

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<v Speaker 1>this school year. The virtual option may only be appropriate

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<v Speaker 1>for a small percentage of students, but in an effort

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<v Speaker 1>to fight declining enrollment and disruptions from families moving, virtual

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<v Speaker 1>schools will remain part of the education system. Ben Chapman,

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<v Speaker 1>education reporter at The Wall Street Journal, joins us for

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<v Speaker 1>What to Know. Thanks for joining us, Ben, Thanks for

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<v Speaker 1>having me well. Coming off of the pandemic, I know

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of things have been easing up right now,

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<v Speaker 1>at least on the education front. I mean, we're almost

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<v Speaker 1>completely back to normal. It seems to be in person

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<v Speaker 1>learning is the way to go right now. But there

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<v Speaker 1>are certain districts We're looking at Texas, California, New York,

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<v Speaker 1>certain districts there that are providing full time virtual classes,

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<v Speaker 1>and you know, some students are still signing up for it,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, some with a certain health risk, others that

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<v Speaker 1>might have anxiety about going to school. It could still

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<v Speaker 1>be a really important way for them to keep on learning.

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<v Speaker 1>So then what are we seeing with this UM So Uh,

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<v Speaker 1>this is a lasting artifact UH that is coming out

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<v Speaker 1>of the pandemic, which is that UM, when the COVID

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen pandemic UM hit and schools shut down, schools UM

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<v Speaker 1>sort of figured out how to deliver internet lessons UM

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<v Speaker 1>to students over a period of a couple of years.

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<v Speaker 1>And UM, what has happened is that school districts have

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<v Speaker 1>added this tactic of delivering lesson and online to students

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<v Speaker 1>who are not at schools UM to their toolbox. And UM,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, so this is UM, you know, a new

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<v Speaker 1>tool that school districts have UM that they're using to

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<v Speaker 1>reach students. UM. And what we're seeing is school districts

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<v Speaker 1>around the country are using remote internet based lessons UM

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<v Speaker 1>to connect with the small percentage of students who want

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<v Speaker 1>virtual lessons rather than showing up in school. And again,

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<v Speaker 1>this is something new that that did not exist really

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<v Speaker 1>UM in any significant way before the pandemic happened, and

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<v Speaker 1>to be clear, right, this is for a small percentage

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<v Speaker 1>of students right now. I mean, the vast majority of

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<v Speaker 1>students and parents probably do prefer their kids to be

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<v Speaker 1>in school for in person instruction. But we're seeing uh,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, one of these UH schools in particularly, it's

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<v Speaker 1>the I Learned Virtual School in Dallas. But they're saying,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, maybe about four percent of students in Dallas

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<v Speaker 1>this kind of option could be good for. So it

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<v Speaker 1>is a small percentage of students that this would still

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<v Speaker 1>work for. That's right. That that appears to be about

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<v Speaker 1>the UM ballpark figure that UH districts seem to be thinking,

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<v Speaker 1>UM and researchers seem to be thinking, would be um,

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<v Speaker 1>uh you know, preferring UM remote lessons versus in in

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<v Speaker 1>person would be somewhere on the order of five percent, um,

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<v Speaker 1>four percent, three percent, six percent, some small percentage there. UM.

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<v Speaker 1>And And basically, to to sort of contextualize it a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit, UM, what we have here is UM this

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<v Speaker 1>UH school year, something in the order of better than

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<v Speaker 1>a quarter of school districts, to my best reckoning, are

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<v Speaker 1>probably offering UM some kind of virtual school lesson UM.

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<v Speaker 1>The research shows that before the pandemic happened, Um, it

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<v Speaker 1>was just about three of districts, So it's a it's

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<v Speaker 1>a big increase in the number of districts who are

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<v Speaker 1>offering these lessons, but the districts are saying that, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>it's still something like, you know, four or five six

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<v Speaker 1>percent of kids at those districts that are offering the

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<v Speaker 1>lessons that are taking them up on on you know, uh,

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<v Speaker 1>taking classes at home rather than going to school. And thankfully,

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<v Speaker 1>in all this, I mean, it's not too hard to implement,

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<v Speaker 1>right at least now that more kids are back for

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<v Speaker 1>in person instruction, there's limited infrastructure needs, it's not very

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<v Speaker 1>expensive to operate, so some of these schools districts can

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<v Speaker 1>offer this. And you know, one of the criticisms criticisms

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<v Speaker 1>that was happening during the pandemic is kind of the

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<v Speaker 1>academic setback or the emotional learning setbacks that were happening

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<v Speaker 1>because kids weren't interacting with teachers and other students. And

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<v Speaker 1>at least for now, for some of these remote schools

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<v Speaker 1>or schools offering these remote programs, this is a bigger

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<v Speaker 1>part of what they want to institute. They want to

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<v Speaker 1>make sure that they have the same goals for instruction

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<v Speaker 1>the same goals for socio emotional development for these remote learners. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>it's UM. It's a way for them to you know,

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<v Speaker 1>connect with with students that they feel like our best

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<v Speaker 1>served UM with uh you know, not going to school

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<v Speaker 1>in person. UM. And these maybe students who have UM,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, health concerns about being exposed to the coronavirus

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<v Speaker 1>or other UM, you know, illnesses that they could get

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<v Speaker 1>exposed to being out and about in public UM. Or

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<v Speaker 1>they could have a family member who could get sick

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<v Speaker 1>if UM if they came back and and spread something.

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<v Speaker 1>Or perhaps their family is moving around and and this

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<v Speaker 1>is the best way for them to sort of stay

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<v Speaker 1>engaged in a school or UM. Perhaps UH the student

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<v Speaker 1>is taken on some responsibilities around the house or even

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<v Speaker 1>gotten a job UM, and so the remote lessons offer

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<v Speaker 1>the flexibility for them to attend to whatever those other

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<v Speaker 1>responsibilities might be. UM. So those are some of the

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<v Speaker 1>different types of scenarios that we see students UM who

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<v Speaker 1>prefer these programs. UM. There are also kids who UM

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<v Speaker 1>you know have uh psychological men you know, social emotional challenges, UM,

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<v Speaker 1>who who may be stressed out, may they may have

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<v Speaker 1>anxiety or or different um situations where they just feel

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<v Speaker 1>more comfortable at home taking classes rather than going in. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>we'll see how this continues, I mean for now though,

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<v Speaker 1>we'll see this being kind of a permanent fixture. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>what the future holds for remote learning, but at least

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<v Speaker 1>for now, we'll still see it around. Ben Chapman, Educational

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<v Speaker 1>Report at the Wall Street Journal. Thank you very much

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<v Speaker 1>for joining us. Thanks so much, have a great day,

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<v Speaker 1>Appreciate it. I'm Oscar Ramirez and this has been reopening America.

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<v Speaker 1>Don't forget for today's big news stories. You can check

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<v Speaker 1>me out on the Daily Dive podcast every money through Friday.

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