Tuesday, July 15, 2025
57.0°F

Still on the clock, educators get creative about lessons during closures

DEVIN WEEKS | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 3 months AGO
by DEVIN WEEKS
Devin Weeks is a third-generation North Idaho resident. She holds an associate degree in journalism from North Idaho College and a bachelor's in communication arts from Lewis-Clark State College Coeur d'Alene. Devin embarked on her journalism career at the Coeur d'Alene Press in 2013. She worked weekends for several years, covering a wide variety of events and issues throughout Kootenai County. Devin now mainly covers K-12 education and the city of Post Falls. She enjoys delivering daily chuckles through the Ghastly Groaner and loves highlighting local people in the Fast Five segment that runs in CoeurVoice. Devin lives in Post Falls with her husband and their three eccentric and very needy cats. | March 20, 2020 1:12 AM

Still on the clock, educators get creative about lessons during closures

School may be closed, but it's still in session.

Teachers in the Coeur d'Alene School District are stretching their imaginations to continue their students' education despite the lack of their normal classroom setting. They're sharing educational videos, discussion questions and other activities for their students to use as daily lessons as they work from home.

And yes, they're still on the clock.

"It's just thinking of different things that we do in class that we can do at home," Winton Elementary first-grade teacher Kimberly Kibby said Thursday.

Kibby has been communicating with her students and their families through the ClassTag app. She created a "Yummy Math" video to show her students how to build different numbers using snacks like licorice and carrot sticks.

"One of my kiddos who spends a lot of his time watching YouTube on the weekends, he was in shock I was on YouTube," she said.

Coeur d'Alene High math teacher Adam Hanan has connected with his students using one of their favorite social media sites: Instagram. He created a math Instagram account "to post curious math questions for them to be looking at as they're scrolling through social media to make them think about math every once in a while," he said.

He’s also using Google Classroom, a paperless file-sharing service for schools, as well as directing the students to Khan Academy, a useful math resource with instructional videos and demonstrations. Students also have access to their textbooks, either online or hard copy.

"It's a stretch to go from having that daily interaction with kids and then trying to engage kids outside of the classroom," he said. "The stretch for me as a math teacher has been about just looking at the math around us and trying to tie that into the class."

Hanan said when things get back to normal, the CHS math instructors will have to determine what the priorities are to catch up their students so they have the knowledge they need heading to the next grade level. Some concepts will have to be sprinkled into their next school year, he said.

"I think the ripple effect will require us to be, as a school, as a community, aware of how to fill in those gaps over time," he said. "I’m confident in our ability as a team at the high school to focus on what’s going to be essential for the kids."

At Lake City, journalism and speech teacher Nik Bjurstrom is incorporating the coronavirus chaos into his curriculum by having his students create a magazine with a quarantine theme. He said they're inviting the LCHS community to contribute to documenting what is happening in their world at this unprecedented time. It's a time these students will remember forever, much like previous generations remember 9/11 or the Challenger explosion.

"I think this is a good outlet to remember and create something tangible," Bjurstrom said. "A document in history for what students and staff did to cope and get through an unknown moment in time."

The needs of students in special programs are also being addressed. Frank Maier, director of special education, said the special education department "is working in collaboration with other departments to provide and support resources that are accessible to students with special needs."

"We are looking at possible solutions to providing services to students with special needs if the closure continues for a longer period of time,” he said.

The district is emphasizing the importance of schedules and routines to keep kids on track during coronavirus closures.

"Every day it's been different," said district spokesman Scott Maben.

The "At Home Learning" resources and Portrait of a Graduate Challenge on www.cdaschools.org provide several options for families to engage their students and keep them learning, and constant communication from teachers is encouraging them to stay plugged into their studies.

photo

Atlas Elementary School second-grader Madeline Keinert watches a video from her teacher, Stephanie Walker, Thursday morning at home. Walker asked the students what they’re reading and shared that she is reading “How to Eat Fried Worms” with her son. Students responded in Google Classroom with titles of books they are reading. Madeline is reading “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”

MORE COVID-19 STORIES

Parents feel virus shutdowns leave disabled students behind
Columbia Basin Herald | Updated 5 years, 3 months ago
Remote learning poses hurdles for students with disabilities
Columbia Basin Herald | Updated 5 years, 3 months ago
Remote learning poses hurdles for students with disabilities
Coeur d'Alene Press | Updated 5 years, 3 months ago

ARTICLES BY DEVIN WEEKS

3Cs to award $115K in grants this summer
July 15, 2025 1:06 a.m.

3Cs to award $115K in grants this summer

Members of the Cancer and Community Charities nonprofit announced Monday they will award $115,000 in grants to community organizations during the annual 3Cs Appreciation Lunch in August.

Really BIG Raffle grand prize winner tours new home with family
July 12, 2025 1:08 a.m.

Really BIG Raffle grand prize winner tours new home with family

Really BIG Raffle grand prize winner tours new home with family

The fireplace, the under-cabinet lights, the spacious rooms, the plentiful windows, the plush green lawn. Every aspect of the brand-new Post Falls home on Alsea Loop was exciting as Really BIG Raffle grand prize winner Steven "Kyle" Hephner and his family toured their new home for the first time Thursday after Hephner's winning ticket was drawn during the livestream event the previous evening. "It's very nice, it's surreal," Hephner said. "There's a lot to go over."

Post Falls School District refinances bonds to save taxpayers over $800K
July 12, 2025 1:07 a.m.

Post Falls School District refinances bonds to save taxpayers over $800K

Taxpayers in the Post Falls School District will save $805,000 in bond repayment costs as a result of a recent bond refinancing.