COVID & the Classroom

For many students with disabilities, school closure has been a major setback. That’s because in addition to regular classes, these students get extra support - anything from tutoring to help walking and eating. And as NHPR’s Sarah Gibson reports, many families are wondering when their kids can resume these services in person.

The New Hampshire Department of Education has created a task force to determine how public schools should resume this fall.

The School Transition Reopening and Redesign Taskforce will look at lessons from remote learning and at different approaches schools could take next year as the pandemic continues.

Karena Czzowitz, a junior at Manchester School of Technology, is studying to be a Licensed Nursing Assistant. LNA’s are in high demand across New Hampshire, especially in nursing homes.

But with school closures during the coronavirus pandemic, Karena is missing a big part of her education. 

Before school closure, Dr. Susan Pike’s classrooms were loud, and she prided herself on it.

Students in her high school science classes at the private school St. Thomas Aquinas High School, in Dover, would do calculations together on the white board, bounce between group experiments, and crowd over microscopes to inspect pond scum.

“One of the favorites is the pond water [lessons], where we're looking at different species and then doing things with food webs, and they're all looking at microscopes and finding these disgusting worms,” she says. “And people are talking to each other and sharing their ideas.”

It's been a tough week for New Hampshire students, teachers and parents.

Governor Chris Sununu officially closed schools for the rest of the academic year, which means seniors like Cadence Solsky of Concord will spend their last semester of high school at home.  

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Gov. Chris Sununu has ordered remote learning at New Hampshire schools to be extended through the end of the academic year. That means all public schools, and private schools, will remain closed, as students continue their studies from home.

NHPR's Morning Edition Host Rick Ganley spoke with Department of Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut about what this means for students, parents, and educators across the state.

(Editor's note: this transcript has been edited lightly for clarity.)

It’s been one month since schools in New Hampshire were shuttered to stem the spread of coronavirus, and now, they'll be closed for the remainder of the academic year.

Since then, teachers, parents, and administrators have been working to implement remote learning for students in kindergarten through high school. Teachers have had to re-work their curricula while coordinating with parents about students' academic needs.

Meanwhile, students are feeling the pressure, and many are already weeks behind on their schoolwork. In the first hour of our special on how N.H. students are adjusting to remote learning during stay-at-home orders, we talk with teachers, parents, and administrators about how it has been going for them and what changes might be made in the future.

Air date: Monday, April 20, 2020, from 9-10 a.m.

One month ago today, Gov. Chris Sununu issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency in New Hampshire due to the coronavirus.

Since then, the governor has issued more than two dozen additional emergency orders, touching nearly every aspect of life in the state - shutting all public schools, closing nonessential businesses, and encouraging Granite Staters to stay at home unless necessary.

Families are spending a lot of time together these days, often confined to their houses – and if they’re lucky, some open space or woods nearby.

That's led to some deep explorations for one family into the mysteries behind their house.

For parents staying at home right now, there's added pressure besides trying to figure out work, money, and other stressors related to the coronavirus pandemic. That pressure is all about learning at home...and we're wondering, how's that going in your house?

This program aired on Wednesday, April 1st.

New Hampshire school districts began another week of remote learning with a new timeline: school closures until at least May, if not the rest of the semester.

Schools are figuring out how to deliver the essentials to students at home, but a lot of teachers and families say that even those basics are overwhelming. 

Schools are wrapping up their first full week of remote learning - and for many students and teachers, that’s meant a lot of time online. But this transition has been particularly difficult for families without reliable internet at home.

It’s a big transition week for school districts in New Hampshire. By next Monday, they’re expected to begin remote learning for students until at least April 3, as part of the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Districts are communicating with families and teachers about how this will all work, but many questions remain. 

With New Hampshire schools now closed, teachers are facing an unprecedented challenge: how to teach their students remotely for at least three weeks. Schools are figuring out how to get meals and computers to students in need, and teachers are trying to figure out how to keep students engaged while isolated at home. NHPR’s Sarah Gibson has more.

As states across the country announce school closures in response to COVID-19, an increasing number of districts in New Hampshire are following suit, as they assess their ability to offer remote learning in the event of long-term shutdowns.