A Salem-Keizer School District graphic outlines what students and parents should consider before enrolling in all-online school in the fall. (Screenshot from district website)
Hundreds of local students have already signed up for all-online classes through the Salem-Keizer School District next year, despite scant details about what the program will look like.
The all-online program is one of two options families have for their children’s education in what’s likely to be the most unusual school year in Oregon history. Students who don’t sign up for online classes will receive “hybrid” schooling, with most attending classes in-person two days per week and completing assignments from home on other days.
District administrators this week opened enrollment for an online academy they’re calling EDGE, Enhanced Digital and Guided Education. Since registration opened this week, 512 students representing every school and grade in Salem-Keizer have signed up, district spokeswoman Emily Hicks said. The district has about 41,000 students.
But comments on the district’s Facebook page and in other parent groups show widespread confusion and frustration about plans for the fall, with many parents saying they can’t make an informed choice with little idea what either system will look like.
Parents have until July 31 to register students for the all-online program, a deadline district administrators gave because they need to know how many students will be online to figure out staffing and finalize a plan for physical buildings.
“There’s lots to be decided and figured out,” said Jim Orth, director of career technical education, who has led planning for the online system.
Hicks said that’s a “soft” deadline and won’t be the final opportunity families have to make a choice. Parents will have a chance to switch students from EDGE to hybrid classes or vice-versa if their chosen option isn’t working well for them mid-year, she said. Those changes will be by application at selected dates to avoid the chaos of student switching in and out of each model at different times.
Online classes would look different then the spring remote learning that caused frustration for many families and educators, often because students found classes weren’t academically challenging. Classes would be graded and attendance recorded, assistant superintendent Kraig Sproles said in a presentation to the school board on July 14. State rules required all classes to be pass/fail in the spring after classes moved online.
Students would have real-time online classes with teachers as well as work that could be completed on their own schedules, Sproles said. They would remain enrolled in their neighborhood schools and could still participate in activities like after school clubs or sports if those activities are able to reopen in the fall.
Orth said district administrators are figuring out how they can offer music, art and other elective courses to students who sign up for EDGE.
Dual language programs, which combine native English and native Spanish speakers so students learn both languages, won’t be available in EDGE, Orth said.
If enough students sign up to form a class, Orth said the district intends to offer bilingual classes for native Spanish-speaking students who typically get a mix of English and Spanish instruction during the day.
Special education students who opt for all-online class will have their individual education plans reviewed and modified as needed to adapt to online learning, Hicks said. Some special education teachers will be assigned only to the EDGE system to work directly with those students.
EDGE will be separate from the online classes offered for hybrid students who attend school in-person, Sproles said.
Currently, information about EDGE is only available in English on the district website, but Hicks said translators are working to get information available in other languages.
Hicks said district employees will host Facebook Live events next week to answer questions about the academy in both English and Spanish. Parents can learn more about the academy and register their children on the district website.
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Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.
