During this time of Remote Learning, we are doing our best to continue to offer the best of the JRHS curriculum, experience and life formation, albeit from a remote platform. Certainly less than ideal, and not what we would choose as our optimum delivery, but it is indeed working, and in some cases really well. I wanted to hear from the parents, so, I put out a request for feedback, and here are some of the replies I got back. Thanks to all who supplied the at-home perspective.
“I wanted to give you feedback since we have completed 2 full weeks of remote learning. You and all of the staff are doing an AMAZING job! Seriously, the transition was seamless on our end. As far as I know, you were the first school to start remote learning and not losing one day of schooling! Very impressive! Not only did you achieve this task, but you all have done it with such grace and enthusiasm. Every time I hear a teacher on the other end of the computer, they are engaging, encouraging and enthusiastic! The heartbeat of JRHS hasn’t changed one bit even though our “classroom” has. Please share this with all the staff and tell them to keep up the good work! You all are such a blessing to our students and families! This has been a wakeup call for many to realize how VITAL our teachers are! The hard work you do every day and behind the scenes does not go unnoticed and is very much appreciated!”
“Thank you for your continued excellent leadership! The school, faculty, students and board are in our prayers that God continues to bless and growth and strengthen the JRHS community.”
“We wanted to say how impressed we have been with the quick action and teamwork of the JRHS team. To not even miss a day of classes is so impressive in this current environment! And we have appreciated so much the clear communication of how JRHS is addressing issues as they arise. As always, we are very blessed to be a part of the JRHS community. Thank you for all that you do!”
“Thank you again for all you and the rest at JRHS have done to position the school for Remote Learning. We were truly astounded by how proactively and effectively the faculty and staff at Jesse Remington High School were able to pivot the entire school's education delivery from face-to-face to remote learning in response to the Coronavirus epidemic. The students, who even under normal circumstances, face a challenging curriculum and workload, didn't miss a single day of instruction. Adopting strictly interactive video-based teaching has both allowed students to maintain their studies, but most importantly, permitted them to follow the recommended "social distancing" guidelines mandated by the outbreak. We attribute all of the above to the school's vigilance, rapid acknowledgement, and we're certain, sacrificing their weekend time so school could resume without interruption Monday morning. From our vantage, it was a complete success, for which we are very grateful! Again, our deepest thanks and best regards to all of you at JRHS!”
“I think Jesse Remington has been very successful. I believe that is in part to the fact that JRHS has maintained as much normalcy as it possibly can by having live classes at their normal time each day. This has required students to be accountable to maintain a schedule of normalcy and to be accountable to complete their work. It has also much better maintained the connection of a sense of community and that this is not just something that one student is doing but the entire student body and staff.”
“Remote classes has indicated that despite difficult circumstances we don’t get to just take a vacation, but we can further our learning and adaptability by learning new technology, by dealing with life distractions at a greater measure at home, and yet experience the coming together of the greater community because families can be involved by attending a chapel or by a parent or sibling sitting in on any of the students classes. Remote learning has caused each staff member, student, and family to be transparent during this time by basically overnight opening up ourselves and our families and homes to an entirely new way of learning, in new environments, but yet with JR, it’s with the same expectation of academic success.”
One student said the following about Mr. Knecht when asked after the first couple of days how things were going, "He is like a professional on-line teacher. It seems like he has been doing on-line teaching for years."
"As a parent, I was pleased that you offered chapel. I think it was wonderful for the kids to feel connected and to be fed spiritually. It is one thing to get the educational piece running, but equally as important to feed the spirit especially in trying times. I imagine many students look to JRHS as a bit of a lifeline in the spiritual department. We listened to chapel as a family on one device with a speaker, and I thought Pastor Steve's message was well said, with practical advice the students could utilize in a tangible way.”
“The faculty has been working above and beyond to make this successful. Faculty has still been available to help students with homework or assignments and are always friendly and adapting to be successful in their endeavors. I personally actually feel more connected with the school now more than ever because of being able to physically see what goes on behind the classroom doors.”