Some people in Idiot America are actually doing something right.

Wall Street Journal

OPINION
COMMENTARY
CROSS COUNTRY

One of America’s Remotest States Makes Remote Learning Work

The Alaska district where my kids attend school has ensured they don’t miss out on an education.

By Kimberley A. Strassel

May 15, 2020

Palmer, Alaska

Free-market conservatives spend a lot of time analyzing government gone wrong. The coronavirus lockdown has reminded me of the importance of pointing out when—and why—government gets it right.

The Journal recently reported that many U.S. school districts are ending the year early, “giving up” on “cumbersome” remote learning. For two months we’ve read stories of disorganized districts that have been slow or unable to set up online classes, unwilling to require schoolwork, riven by fights over how to make the system “equitable.” Millions of parents and their children have been effectively abandoned by their educators during this shutdown.

Not so in my little northern outreach. I cover Washington, but I split my time between the Beltway and a home in Alaska. My husband and kids—a high-schooler, a middle-schooler and a third-grader—are way up north. We’ve been hunkering down in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, the fastest-growing region in Alaska. The experience has given me a new appreciation for the extraordinary importance of responsive, nimble local government that cares about meeting its citizens’ expectations.

Alaska starts and ends its school year earlier than many states, so coronavirus hit us midway through spring break. On Friday March 13, Gov. Mike Dunleavy extended the holiday by two weeks, but school officials understood even then what was coming. “All our principals were in the office Monday morning, calling staff to find out what they needed to do this longer term,” says Mat-Su Schools Superintendent Monica Goyette. “On Tuesday and Wednesday our teachers reached out to every family, to find out their needs.” Laptops? Access to internet? Food assistance? Did they prefer online teaching, or textbooks?

By week’s end, parents had received instructions on how to pick up textbooks and supplies safely. Elementary- and middle-school staff members bagged up kids’ possessions for collection. My high-schooler’s principal performed locker runs for families that couldn’t retrieve items because of quarantine rules. Schools lent out Chromebooks and worked with telephone providers to get families free or upgraded service.

Granted, week one of remote learning was a little chaotic—but mostly because Mat-Su was so committed to making it work. Emails flooded in to parents and students (in my case, from 17 teachers) providing instructions and codes for Google Classroom, passwords for online learning programs, times for online meetings, and expectations. The district put a focus on core classes—English, math, science, history—while paring back elective work. My grade-schooler’s teachers understood that younger children—mostly without phones—would struggle for social interaction, and started regular classwide Zoom meetings.

As we near the school-year end, we are a well-honed machine. Every morning my kids received projects, assignments, quizzes and grades. Teachers were constantly reaching out, taking feedback and adapting. Parents also did their part, working to keep their kids on track—even amid challenging work situations. “I have 24 kids in my class, and I don’t have a single one who isn’t participating,” says Kathy McCollum, a first-grade teacher at Cottonwood Creek Elementary. “These parents are on it; they are doing it.”

Mat-Su’s teachers also inspired kids to embrace the new reality. My high-schooler’s health teacher focused on stress and individual wellness plans. My middle-schooler’s physical education teachers sent amusing ways to keep fit in quarantine. The grade school encouraged students to submit videos for an online talent show. It also had a drive-through parade. Teachers and staff lined up (with proper social distancing) around our pickup loop. Parents drove their kids through, honking, holding signs. There were tears. The sense of community is impressive.

What accounts for this success? One big factor is school choice. Mat-Su is known as the conservative area of Alaska, and about 10% of its families homeschool. Far from fighting this, the district has welcomed diversity, creating a “blended” system. Homeschoolers can attend school classes and programs like art or sports; public-school students access online platforms. As part of this, the district five years ago committed to integrating technology into instruction.

All this meant that Mat-Su was better prepared for remote learning. “We love choice, and we’re seeing again it is what makes us such a robust district,” says Ms. Goyette. Many high-school and middle-school teachers were already using tools like Google Classroom, and the district had the resources to help quickly where needed. “The philosophy that came down was: We’re all trying to figure out a new normal, and there will be mistakes, but we are here to support you,” says Teeland Middle School’s principal, Jason Ross. “We had experts in every school reaching out, leading development.”

The other big factor is the district’s impressive employees. Mat-Su has teachers unions, but they aren’t militant, and even amid contractual disputes, these professionals put kids first. Many have worked their entire careers in Mat-Su and are deeply committed to the community. “We have a fantastic relationship with our unions, and our employees are great,” Ms. Goyette says. “They understand that there are times when some individuals have it harder than others. But they support each other.”

Ms. Goyette says the district’s approach going into this pandemic was “meaningful work” and “respectful use of taxpayer dollars.” Mat-Su’s employees who weren’t teaching took on other jobs. Recess monitors and PE teachers helped deliver 2,000 meals a day to kids who need food assistance. Bus routes kept running, delivering instructional materials to families that couldn’t—or didn’t want to—work online. Staff are deep-cleaning schools, organizing textbook rooms, engaging in online professional development, and getting ready for that hopeful day when we reopen.

It won’t be this spring. Gov. Dunleavy announced weeks ago that Alaska would continue remote learning until the end of its regular school year on May 21. But those of us in Mat-Su can feel confident our kids—when they go back—will be in good educational shape. For that, I thank a school district that got it right.

Ms. Strassel is the Journal’s Potomac Watch columnist.