366 Gault Street, Santa Cruz, California 95062, United States
Distance Learning at Santa Cruz Children's School
Switching from a typical school day to shelter-in-place and remote learning in a matter of days in March 2020 was a challenge unlike any other that we have faced. And while we desperately miss our students, teachers, and families more than we can ever express, we will continue to adapt to whatever needs to be done to protect the health and safety of the community we love so dearly. No matter what the format, our commitment to a highly enriched and individualized education has not changed.
Individualized Curriculum: There is no one size fits all in education and the need to tailor lessons and curriculum to meet the needs of individual students is even more apparent when those lessons are delivered through a screen. Even in our tiny school, we saw a wide range of reactions to the new normal of remote elementary school. Some adapted well to distance learning (apparently going to school in your jammies is a great fit for some kiddos!) while others struggled with "zoom fatigue" and staying motivated from home. We also saw (and felt) the challenges for our families with trying to support an online student while working from home. With our small class sizes and with the lessons we learned in the spring, we are more prepared than ever to work with the needs of not only each student, but each family.
Enrichment opportunities: We are passionate about well-round education at Santa Cruz Children's School. Language arts and math are important, but without the arts and humanities and hands-on science and civics and ecology and on and on, there is little context for why the "3 Rs" are so important. In the spring, Santa Cruz Children's School students continued dance classes, art classes, instrumental music lessons, Spanish, STEM design challenges, biology, history, and more, all online. These classes played a crucial role in keeping students engaged through a difficult transition (and we saw more than a few parents find joy in zip lines and dance classes.)
Community: It's no secret that a big part of what makes SCCS so special is the community of engaged students, passionate teachers, and involved families. It's part of what has made being apart for so long very difficult. We are committed to finding even more creative ways to maintain that sense of community this fall, even from a distance. So, we will prioritize staying connected through all-school classes, storytime tutoring with older and younger students, team challenges, special guest workshop teachers, and adapting the 2021 Science Fair to be online if needed.
