Here’s a blog post I wrote for longtime client Inly School to highlight their successful approach to virtual learning during the lockdown.
Custom instruction, counseling and enrichment for all ages
Daily classroom meetings and one-on-one teacher check-ins are still part of each student’s day at Inly School, an independent Montessori-based school for grades PreK–8. A full schedule of curricular and co-curricular classes are still delivered by each teacher, along with after-school enrichment activities like yoga, cooking, ballet and Tae kwondo. In the Upper Elementary and Middle School classes there are additional “help desk” hours, where students can pop in, hang out, and ask questions — just like they’d do on an ordinary school day.
But while physical facilities are closed during the pandemic, these all happen virtually through Inly At-Home Learning, a technology platform designed to help students stay connected and stay on course, wherever they may be. To minimize disruption to learning, the new Google-based platform was developed by a team of Inly tech specialists and teachers over the school’s spring break in March. It was up and running, and populated with fresh content and assignments, the day students returned to session. From home, students have been able to bond with their teachers and classmates while engaging in as “real” and well-rounded a school experience as possible — and then some. [Read full blog post here.]