Instagram? Drive-in hotspots? How N.W.T. educators aim to keep teaching amid COVID-19

Educator Linsey Hope is looking for ideas. Language lessons on community radio? Drive-up mobile hotspots? Old-fashioned workbooks?

It's all on the table as she develops a plan for teaching students who can't go to school amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hope is the education director for the Tch Community Services Agency, which runs schools in Weekwet, What, Gametand Behchok. She's just one of the many educators across the Northwest Territories brainstorming learning plans for families as schools remain closed for the rest of the year.

"We're doing a lot of telephone conferences, a lot of sharing with our digital packages to come up with some creative solutions," she said.

This week, the territory's Education Department issued broad guidelines for what the expectations are for the rest of the year but left it up to local education authorities to fill in the details for each community, depending on their unique circumstances.

It's still early on, but communities will need to be creative especially places where internet access is a luxury many homes don't have. Hope is talking with her counterparts across the territory to come up with something that could work.

"We are definitely working with a lot of partners on this," Hope said. "That's going to be the great strength of the North."

Already, Hope hasstarted working with the Tch government to make sure food programs continue for vulnerable families and teachers are connecting with students to make sure they're taking care of their mental health needs.

'Share what you have'

In Dettah, teachers at the Kaw Tay Whee School are posting lesson reviews on Facebook and Instagram.

In recent posts, teachers go over the Pythagorean Theorem (a+b=c), review how to calculate the circumference of a circle and explain how our eyes see depth.

It's all on a volunteer basis for now as teachers figure out what works and what doesn't,explained Lea Lamoureux, the principal at Kaw Tay Whee.

They're also making sure that everyone in the community has equal access to learning materials and no one will be left behind no matter what circumstances are at home, Lamoureux said.

They're working within the spirit of one of the Dene Laws: "share what you have" to encourage others to post ideas, suggestions and learning materials to the page. Updates from the school will be posted there too, as a plan becomes available.

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Meanwhile, teachers working within the Dehcho Divisional Education Council which runs schools in the southern region of the territory are preparing take-home learning packages for students, explained Phillippe Brulot, the superintendent. He hopes they'll have them ready by April 14.

Online learning already happening in some communities

Things are going relatively smoothly In Paulatuk, one of the territory's northernmost communities, explained Mayor Raymond Ruben Sr.

He said some students in the high school have used online learning tools before, through the territory's e-learning platform for remote communities, so the new situation isn't that unusual for them.

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All four students who are expected to graduate this year remain on track, and they hope to have a graduation ceremony later this year, as long as it's safe to do so.

Teachers in the community are also dropping off unfinished projects at their students' home so they can keep busy while a long-term plan is being developed.

"I saw my granddaughter receive a package from her pre-school, an art kit to keep her busy at home," Ruben said.

"There's only so much that they can do with self-isolation. We're normally a very social, tight-knit community, so this is out of the norm," he said. "Certainly, whatever the school can do helps with the children."