The Albert Gallatin Area School District adopted new technology during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure students who couldn’t attend classes were able to keep up with their school work, said Superintendent Christopher Pegg.
Pegg said the district used the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSR) to purchase Chromebooks for all of the district’s students and laptops for all of its teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“One silver lining in the pandemic is it did move our district forward technology wise 10 years. We were able to get this done in a year or two, so the ESSR funding did help with technology and moving in that direction,” he said.
Students who were required to quarantine were able to use Chromebooks to access their live instruction remotely, Pegg said.
“That was a big help, and kudos to our teachers for helping us connect to our classrooms throughout the year. The students were able to tune in, livestream, see what was happening and participate,” he said.
He said the school district monitored COVID-19 trends in the area, in addition to contact tracing throughout the school year and notifying parents of possible exposure to the virus.
“I think our district did a good job of providing continuity of education through it all,” he said. “That seemed to be a never-ending concern, was just getting kids in school in person.”
The school is also using supplemental learning tools, including Skooli and iTutor, to provide students with online access to teachers for extra help. In total, the school adopted about 30 new educational platforms, primarily with the goal of addressing learning loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
This summer, the district is hosting camps to provide additional help to kindergarten through 8th grade students. Pegg said the camps were also held in the summer of 2021.
Pegg said the district was able to loosen its COVID-19 restrictions in 2021, making masks optional instead of mandatory.
“Everyone is excited for the progress we’ve made throughout the year. That’s something everyone has been looking forward to is getting through this year, and next year we’ll be off to a more normal start,” he said.
The school district is also adopting new social-emotional health programs, and entered a contract with Adelphoi to provide students with additional resources in addressing mental health. The school will be using 7 Mindsets, a social-emotional learning curriculum, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion instruction.
Pegg said they are also continuing their partnership with Seneca Valley School District to provide a cyber school option for students, Colonial Online Learning Academy (COLA).
He said that looking back on the past two years rekindles his pride for the entire school district, including students, parents and staff. Pegg said the school was able to keep students safe and fill a void for many students, including delivering meals to students at home.
“Just looking back on everything we’ve done for two years, it’s just remarkable what everyone has done,” he said. “I’m just very proud of the Albert Gallatin Area School District, and as we’re moving out of this pandemic, we’re excited for the future.”
Gloss