SALAMANCA, N.Y. — It's kind of always been standard operating procedure in classrooms, but taking attendance is very different during the pandemic with students learning in school, at home, and doing the hybrid model.
It is important to note that there's a difference between attendance and participation when it comes to virtual learning.
In this story, we are talking about participation rates -- students who are actively engaged, learning, and doing the work -- and not students who are just turning on the computer and checking-in.
In the Salamanca City Central School District, 28 percent of elementary school students are doing the hybrid model. District administrators told 2 On Your Side that number is going up. As of this week, they have participation rates of more than 95 percent for those students.
For kindergarteners through 3rd-graders, about 90 percent of the students doing e-learning attend school regularly online and participate. For grades 4 and 5, administrators say that rate drops to 85 to 86 percent. And for 6th and 7th-graders, about 80 percent actively participate.
"The tech issues have dropped off. Now it is really a matter of follow through, consistency, and support in the home setting," Salamanca Deputy Superintendent Mark Beehler said.
Beehler is learning how to adapt to this new way of learning every day.
"We find that students are engaged in classes that they like to be engaged in, and ones that they value. But ones that they don't necessarily value as much, the participation rates begin to drop down, so for us, it's an awful lot about building a positive relationship with the students," Beehler said.
That can be challenging when you aren't in the classroom face-to-face.
"We can't pick up when there's a concern or some resistance that might be conveyed through body language as opposed to what they're saying. So, that's a big struggle for us, and when we talk about the communication barriers, not seeing and having a learner in our physical presence, really is something that we have to try overcome, and that's where we begin to find the limits of virtual or e-learning," Beehler said.
The district is actively getting students to participate at higher levels, including going to their homes to check-in on them.