RSHS seeing dips in attendance, grades

ROCKINGHAM — There are 1,305 students enrolled at Richmond Senior High School, but you wouldn’t know that by walking the hallways.

Of those enrolled, only about 150, or 11.5% of the total, are attending classes in person each week between the two cohorts, which alternate days on campus, though 187 have signed up for in-person classes. The rest are taking classes online.

“They have missed a lot,” said principal Jim Butler. “I feel for the class of ‘21. All of those experiences, good and bad, that kind of make you who you are in high school, are kind of lost. They’ll have a different experience, but certainly not the one that any of us planned on.”

Butler understands the concern over the lack of students in the building, but said it’s not completely unexpected.

High school students are only attending in-person classes two days a week, and Butler said there’s not any single reason why so many students and their families have decided that virtual school is a better option for them.

Parental concern about child care doesn’t typically apply to these older students. At this stage when students have gone ¾ of the school year virtually, Butler believes that some parents and students are willing to stick to the status quo of this academic year. Many students may have also gotten jobs, which he said is a good thing as long as it doesn’t interfere with school.

Butler emphasized that it’s not an easy decision to decide to enroll in-person or continue online learning, and there is not a right or wrong answer.

“It’s an individual decision that parents and students need to make based on their concerns about the coronavirus and how comfortable they are with students at home,” Butler said. “It’s not a one size fits all.”

Attendance remains biggest issue

The largest obstacle facing high school education at this stage is student attendance. The pandemic has made it far worse than ever in a typical year.

“Just not being here is the problem,” Butler said. “There’s a large number of students we’re having trouble accounting for. There are students with a tremendous amount of days missed.

“It’s difficult not having the day-to-day interaction,” he continued.

Butler said online classes rely entirely on self-discipline. Some students thrive in an online setting, while others need the structure of being physically present in the classroom.

While attendance has taken center stage, discipline and classroom management issues are entirely absent this year.

It’s not a technology problem, because the school is able to connect with students through Canvas, Zoom, email or phone. While students are tech-savvy, according to Butler, it’s more a matter of how responsive and involved the student wishes to be.

Butler said all the Richmond County institutions dealing with teenage students are “in the same boat” struggling with attendance and getting kids to come to school — whether that’s via a screen or in the classroom.

Teachers have worked hard to avoid penalizing students for missing class due to technology problems, but these excused absences still mean losing instructional time and create more makeup work, which Butler said has led to lower grades.

“I don’t think anybody would tell you online learning as a whole is successful,” Butler said. “It takes too much individual self discipline.”

Test scores are down, according to Butler. EOC exams for the spring semester of 2020 were cancelled. Fall exams of 2021 would normally be finished by now, but even that is still ongoing with student makeups. Butler added that both overall grades are lower and individual student grades are down.

While a lot can happen between now and the end of the year, the school is “not anywhere near where we want to be” for the student projected graduation rate, said Butler.

The graduation rate over the last four years has been steady at between 82-84%. Of the students who have stayed in school in the past, Butler said very few fail to graduate, but he expects more to miss that mark this year.

“It is possible that the graduation rate could drop below 70% this year,” Butler said in an email. “At the same time, there is still time to correct this problem.”

For students concerned about their number of missed days and feel like it’s too many to overcome, Butler urged them to contact their guidance counselor or teachers who are prepared to help them make graduation possible.

“They can find a path to graduate,” he said. “We’re not writing them off.”

Disparity between elementary, high school stats

Dr. Kate Smith, executive director of curriculum and instruction, said that one last survey will be sent to families to see if they want to attend in-person classes for the final 9 weeks.

So far, 300 responses have been recorded as of March 4 for RSHS. The survey will be available between March 1 and March 15. Two-thirds of respondents have said they wish to remain virtual so far.

In her presentation to the Richmond County Board of Education, Smith said that elementary schools have about 70% of their students attending class in person. Smaller middle schools such as Ellerbe and Cordova, have about 60 to 80 students a day. Larger middle schools have 80 to 100 students a day.

Teachers make adjustments

Another challenge was how to make the in-person learning unique enough that it justified a reason to be there.

“One thing we’re trying to do here, is to hopefully have some experiences that make you feel like this is where you want to be,” Butler said. “That’s a challenge whether you’re in a pandemic or not.”

Teachers have been incorporating high-interest items into their lesson plans for students attending in-person, giving them a reason to remain in person and do things they normally wouldn’t be able to do at home. This could include science classes doing more work with a microscope, or English classes discussing anime and manga.

Through the difficulties faced over the last year, Butler said that the staff have learned lessons of their own, and they’ve been forced to “stretch their teacher muscles.”

“Teachers have grown during this process and learned things they’ll still be able to use,” Butler said. “So many technology skills will still be valuable in back to normal classrooms.”

Mobile carts with monitors on them are being used currently and could be used in the future so that if kids are out of school because of a surgery or if they’re sick, they’re still able to attend class. Butler said students could still get the full classroom experience, and the teacher won’t be stuck behind a desk.

It’s not just students who have had to adjust, but faculty as well. For teachers who have 20 students online and two in the classroom, it can be difficult to balance. Many classes are set up so that the whole group is focused together for the first 45 minutes of the class, while the second half is more individually based.

The biggest adjustment that teachers have had to make is the time management and speed of the classroom. Group projects and collaborative work are harder to do online.

Engagement has become increasingly important for teachers to monitor. Students may be prone to checking there phone or other distracting things at home in front of a computer. Children can be in front of the screen and still not be engaged, said Butler.

Looking to next year

“There’s a lot more than just a classroom when it comes to high school,” Butler said. “I don’t want anybody to start feeling like this should be the normal. I don’t think its shown to be successful for students.”

Butler said he doesn’t think that the online experience can replace the deeper and meaningful relationships that can be formed at school.

Clubs such as Beta Club and the School Senate have still been active, both virtual and online. Events such as Friday Night Lights are still creating safe experiences for students. Students are now able to use the cafeteria while social distancing.

The principal expressed optimism that as COVID cases are going down, confidence in the vaccination is going up.

“I hope more students are back next year as restrictions are eased,” Butler said.