MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — Until teachers are vaccinated, triggering more school openings, many schools are having to find creative ways to engage students, who have chosen to learn remotely. Middletown High School has opted for porch visits.
Educators from Middletown High Schools grade 9 teams love the Wednesdays they get to take field trips.
They fan out across the city to visit 9th graders, who may be disengaged or struggling academically because of learning remotely. And students welcome the teachers to knock on their front door.
"I thought it was gonna be like one or two people," Middletown High School freshman, Malique English, said when teachers, a vice-principal, and a counselor knocked on Wednesday afternoon.
"What we’re seeing is that those connections with our teachers, who take the time out to do this, really carry over into the classroom," said Dawn Brooks, Assistant Principal.
One of the teachers says he vividly remembers one of his students, who didn’t log in during the first several months of the school year. Then, the student received a porch visit.
"Our first porch visits with him, it was like our second round of porch visits, he started, the following week or two, he started logging in and he’s been logging in ever since," said Zack Tsahalis, a Middletown High School algebra teacher.
One of the students the ninth-grade team from Middletown High School is making sure gets back on track is Tyrell Hyde, who will be going back to school for in-person learning Thursday.
"It’s good in a way so that he’ll be around more people but it’s also like nervous and scary at the same time," said Tyrrell Hyde's mother, Rachel Gutfield.
Tyrrell experienced anxiety the last time he attended school in person during the pandemic and his mom has her own concerns.
"Because I have congestive heart failure," Gutfield said. "So, it’s like risky in a way, you know? It’s like Covid and everything going on."
But, for those who opt to remain remote, there are keys to remote learning success.
"Once you get the hang of it you just need to focus a lot into the work and obviously ask for some assistance from the teachers," said Malique English.
The results of a study released by New Haven-based education non-profit, The Rise Network, say those opting for remote learning were 60% more likely to be off track to promote to the next grade level than students who are in hybrid learning.