TR R-X has online focus for new year

Twin Rivers R-X teachers are instructing as usual while also preparing for a virtual classroom if the district needs to close for any period of time.

Dr. Ben Johnson, superintendent, said the district does have about 18% of students opting for fully remote instruction. They are learning with district teachers through live classes and pre-recorded lessons through Google Classroom.

Every student with the district has a Google email, he said, which can be accessed through phones, as well as computers.

“You can do a lot with that Google email,” he said. “Even parents that don’t have online capabilities or don’t have a computer, they have an email, and they can access it on their cell phones.”

Google classroom acts as a platform, Johnson said, where teachers can post lessons, work with students on assignments and participate in chat groups.

Not all teachers with Twin Rivers have virtual students, Johnson said, but even those who don’t are keeping up “as if they did just in case we do get shut down by the government.”

He continued, “we are absolutely ready for that. And, we have a database of lessons that have already been pre-recorded and ready to go for seamless transition.”

Johnson said older students are also getting together in private Facebook groups with their classmates where they can interact and ask questions.

“So far, just from the two days worth of polling when I was down at the elementary school and also the high school, it seems to be going well,” Johnson said. “They’re able to upload their lessons really well.

“They’re already hearing some conversations and feedback from students on the remote end. That’s a great start, and I’m very, very happy with how that’s going.”

Overall, Johnson said, the first two days of classes, both in-person and virtually, went well.

As a new superintendent, this gave him the chance to really interact with students.

“There’s such a buildup of planning and preparation, and then all of a sudden the curtains part, and it’s the first day,” he said. “It all came together in a way that we were all hoping and praying that it would, and just seeing the kids and how excited they were to be back and just interacting with them in the classrooms and in the hallways, and I just couldn’t ask for a better day.”

Some of the challenges were obvious, he said, with increased regulations and policies from the COVID-19 pandemic, but the students seemed to be adjusting to them quickly.

“It’s been five months since these students have been in school,” he said. “We have to shake the rust off.”

Along with COVID, the district also changed food service providers with the hope of saving money.

“I was kind of going around the buildings and kind of polling different students saying, ‘Hey, how do you guys like the food this year,’” he said “and just the overwhelming response was very, very positive.

“They really enjoyed the choices and just the quality of the food was good and saw a lot of kids eating, so that was a nice, a nice addition to start the school year as well.”