Providence High School closes and moves to an online learning platform through April 17
As schools close to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Burbank’s Providence High School followed suit and switched to an online learning platform school officials set into motion years beforehand.
Providence High closed its campus to students, faculty and staff starting March 16 and running through April 17. Depending on how the coronavirus unfolds over the upcoming weeks, the school plans to resume in-person classes on April 20. The only exception to the school closure is for the science department chair to feed the animals kept in a science classroom.
On Tuesday, students began using the online learning model scheduled for most of the school closure — Block Online Learning Days. Students are required to log onto Schoology to complete online classwork with a deadline, and teachers run live class sessions using Microsoft Teams for video conferencing. From home, students follow a set schedule for the day. Schoology also allows for online grading.
“We did a trial last week that really blew us away. We saw amazing things happening online with our students and faculty collaborating in ways that I think will affect the way we do things around here for a very long time even when we go back to normal operations,” said Head of School Scott McLarty.
For a few years, the school had implemented Online Learning Days in which teachers assign work for students to complete at their own pace remotely. It was an effort to prepare students for long-term success in a technology-based life and future workplace.
McLarty said school administrators have assessed the needs of the Providence High community to anticipate what they could need like enhanced Wi-Fi and digital devices. The school is prepared to financially assist families and faculty that don’t have the resources for online education.
“We’re really proud of the fact that we’ve been able to make this transition without a single day lost of instruction,” said McLarty.
He added that employees who aren’t on-campus serving the students directly are being paid their regular wages and he doesn’t anticipate a scenario where the school can’t continue to do so.
Providence High is a private Catholic school governed by Providence St. Joseph Health, a healthcare system that operates hospitals and clinics across six states. The school’s primary sources of funding come from tuition and philanthropy.
“[Sponsors] know that we still have needs. In the coming weeks as the economy is impacted, we might have families who have unforeseen financial needs, and we need to have those resources at the ready so that we can support our employees and families.”
With that in mind, Providence High redesigned a gala scheduled for April 4 to be virtual. The purpose of the gala is to raise funds for the school community.
“We are really coming at this from a position of strength being a ministry of Providence St. Joseph Health. We have access to incredible expertise and advice ... and that really set us up to create proactive, not overreactive, responses to the situation,” said McLarty.
