Moving to a remote format was a big adjustment for everyone in our community at Match Charter Public School. One of the key supports our school provides is a structured, safe learning environment with a predictable schedule and supportive adults. It can be easy to underestimate the tremendous value that the physical building and our structured culture with caring adults provide to students.
Absent our building, our routines, and our time together as a community, Match, like many other schools, has radically altered plans for the end of this year. We paused some units to allow us to launch remote learning. In other classes we cut final units or adjusted which books we would cover this year versus next year. Many courses also changed the pace of lessons to allow for a flexible and reduced schedule for staff and students.
Overall we will teach significantly fewer topics and do fewer tasks than in previous years. This was not an easy decision as we believe all our content is essential, but we know it was the right thing to do for this moment in time and for student achievement. This change has asked us to prioritize content in a very concrete way as we decide on essential assignments and change our pacing. We thank our amazing team for how quickly they worked together to make this possible.
Most schools and teachers prefer to plan far in advance; "I'm a planner" is something I hear every day from staff. We often hesitate to cut units, content, or assignments because of a fear of losing coverage or dropping rigor. This situation has asked us to take a hard look at those worries and adjust plans quickly on the fly.
Time will tell the true impact of these changes on learning, for both students and teachers. We honestly don’t know yet which of our changes and cuts were effective. In the end though, it is likely that we will learn some of the content we once considered essential is truly optional. Other things we will learn are essential and will need to be scaffolded or taught when needed in later courses and grades.
I personally hope some of the cuts we have made are here to stay as fewer units and topics at more depth would give both students and teachers more space to debate, to write and revise, to consider, to think deeply, and to feel less pressure to rush through meaty topics. I hope one important lesson we learn is that fewer things done at more depth over more time allows students' intellectual curiosity to bloom and improves the quality of their work. And maybe we will consider skipping some topics in the future.
Emily Stainer, Chief Academic Officer
