Dufur School Flips The Switch

Dufur School Teacher Ty Wenzel has some real go-getters.

The economics and math teacher said she has several seniors that have either completed or are close to getting their work complete in her online Economics class.

“Some finished in a week,” she said on Thursday afternoon.

All ON-TRACK SENIORS WILL GRADUATE

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced earlier this week that high school seniors will graduate if they were on track to pass their classes before the statewide school closure. All students who were on track will receive a passing grade and, under Brown's order, cannot be penalized by public Oregon universities for changes to their education during the closure.

Students who were not on track to graduate will be subject to local guidelines, according the Corvallis Gazette-Times. Local districts are to work with those students to find "creative ways" to allow them a path to graduation. Those measures can be taken up through Aug. 31. Students who complete those local requirements by that time will still be considered a part of the class of 2020, the story said.

FAST AND FURIOUS

“It’s been fast and furious over the last couple of weeks to get things going in the right direction,” said Dufur Superintendent Jack Henderson. “Teachers have done a nice job of pulling the best product together and putting it forward in this unique situation.”

Dufur had a rolling start and staff his been amazing at pulling off reading lessons via YouTube, for example, he said. Students are being served far ahead of the April 13th launch date.

GETTING ONLINE

“This was a big week of getting online and getting kids going,” Wenzel said, noting she has been helping students figure out passwords as well as Algebra.

Wenzel said explaining how to solve math problems is not simple online. She often will work a problem out on paper, take a photo of it and send it to the student who is struggling to derive the answer.

She has also been using a mix of tech tools to connect with and teach students during the past week. She is using Zoom video conferencing, emails and Khan Academy – an online resource with study materials, videos, quizzes and tests – to teach her students.

Students also were able to check out computers from the school if they needed them. And bus drivers have been handing out paper homework packets to students as they drop off lunches.

During a Zoom meeting this week, “most of her students showed up,” Wenzel said, noting others were either working or babysitting. She is connecting with absent students in separate one-on-one online communications. In addition, she also continues to instruct students on college credit class, Algebra 2.

“You miss the kids and being there and doing what you like to do,” she said. “It does not feel like teaching. You ask them to go watch videos and do these assignments.”

The Dufur first-grade teachers Marcy Bales and Sue Kelly used a Zoom video conference to do a show-and-tell.

“What a great idea,” Wenzel said.