Jim Shelton, Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement, recently visited VOISE Academy in Chicago to watch a “learning continuity” drill. The drill was held to make sure the school is ready to help students continue learning in case school were to be dismissed because of H1N1 flu or for any other reason.
VOISE Academy (Virtual Opportunities Inside a School Environment) is a non-selective neighborhood school. It is also a “hybrid” school in that it integrates face-to-face teacher instruction with a rigorous online curriculum. Each student has a laptop to use at school, and each family has a refurbished personal computer for their student to use at home. The drill was part of VOISE’s effort to be ready and confident that if school were dismissed, classes could be conducted remotely and students would not fall behind. A summary of Shelton’s visit is on the school’s website.
“Continuity of learning” was the focus of an August 24 event in which Secretary Arne Duncan, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and technology and publishing officials released recommendations to help education stakeholders start preparing for the impact that seasonal and 2009 H1N1 influenza could have this fall and winter on schools and the learning process. Strategies range from sending copies of assignments home with students to web-based distance learning coursework. The recommendations and other flu-related resources are at our H1N1 Flu Information page.
ED Staff