COLLEGE PLACE FOCUSING ON CONNECTIONS
College Place Public Schools returned for the fall start to school on September 8th in a mode new to many public school systems across the system, fully online. At 9:00 a.m. sharp Tuesday, the nearly 1500 students across our Kindergarten through 12 system connected their district-provided devices to a completely new way of learning. Students would spend the next three hours getting to know their new classmates, their new teachers and connecting in an entirely new way.
Superintendent Jim Fry said, “We know that learning in our schools is based on connections. Connections with teachers, with classmates, with principals, with staff, and now we can add to that the fact that our students need an internet connection as well.”
CPPS checked out over 1000 portable devices to students to connect them, but the district’s stance is that the devices are only as good as the humans on both sides of that internet connection. CPPS believes that what matters is the human relationships. If it were just about the submitting of an assignment, then this important work could easily done by a robot. We believe that for deep learning to occur and for ideas to grow they need to be pushed, challenged, and nurtured. That is where human connections, interactions and relationships make the difference.
The first two days of the school year in CPPS overall went off without a hitch. CPPS staff have proven to be miracle workers in their ability to reinvent the entire we do school. A few login mix-ups here and a few computer glitches there did not stop the students from connecting virtually into their new classrooms. However, we know what will matter most moving forward is the human connections. CPPS will work hard in each virtual classroom each day to form relationships that will support student resilience in the face of adversity and provide life-long connections with others that will build strong, thriving communities for generations to come.
Tonight, on top of asking, “What did you learn about in school today?” also ask, “Who did you connect with in class today?” Our goal is to build relationships in these unusual times that will thrive post-pandemic and allow our students to accelerate on their path ahead. After all, it is these types of connections have gotten us through tough times in the past. #CPPS♥CARES