What if your school had to close?
I began writing this piece on Sunday evening, sitting outdoors in Lagos. My dinner plans changed and I found myself with a few free hours. With the reporting of COVID-19 and the closure of schools in Italy and Iran, I began to wonder what my company’s clients would do if schools were shut for an extended period of time.
This is a question I’ve considered before, sparked by the closure of schools in parts of Malaysia due to smog. As a result, I decided to work on a deck and internal workshop plan our clients and others could use for contingency planning. On Saturday evening, it felt like an academic exercise. In fact, I included additional closure scenarios (fires, cyber-attacks) so that my efforts would not come across as an over-reaction. By the time I returned to Dubai and I finished the deck and workshop, it was Thursday. I felt an increasing sense of urgency around helping education systems and schools prepare for the (still unlikely, I hope) possibility of a medium-term shutdown.
Schools are now closing around the world — China, Hong Kong, Japan, Bahrain, Iran and some schools in Pakistan, Italy, and the UK. US schools have been asked to prepare contingency plans. Perhaps there are others now. The possibility of school closures highlights the lack of equity in education globally. Most of our clients in the Middle East and Africa, for example, are reasonably well-equipped schools with digitally savvy students, families, and teachers. Below I share our recommendations for these schools. These recommendations are steeped in privilege and access, but some of the underlying questions are worthy of consideration for all schools.
In the midst of preparing our recommendations and workshops, I got together with a friend in government in Lagos and mentioned my concerns. We spent time talking about how solutions would be different in the Lagos context — or any context in which internet access, devices, and power can not be guaranteed. Ultimately, I suspect that Telcos will need to work with ministries to ensure that there is some academic continuity. This can take place on localized apps — perhaps even micro-content pushed out through WhatsApp and with underwritten data. While this may provide some academic continuity, it does little to provide the other benefits of a school for many children around the world.
We will continue to do our part to provide free advice and low-cost to free solutions for schools in need. In the meantime, below are several key questions and recommendations for consideration. Please email tonie@miraipartners.co for a copy of our contingency planning workshop.
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What if your school had to close for two or more weeks? How would you ensure that instruction continued without interruption for your students? While schools are accustomed to brief closures due to winter storms or flooding, for example, very few schools are equipped to provide sustained learning to students over an extended period of time.
Based on our experience working with diverse private and public sector schools, we recommend the following:
- Work with stakeholders to develop a strategy for a medium-term closure. Not unlike a school plan, this strategy should provide clear answers to the questions below:
What, if any, will be the mandated hours of learning/working for students and staff?
What forms of accountability will be in place?
How will instructional content be shared with students?
How might staff and students engage in learning and in projects with one another?
Who will monitor this work?
What other communications should, parents, staff, and students receive?
What channels will be used for communication?
2. Back-map from a range of scenarios, work with stakeholders to identify accessible resources to help based on the scenarios, and communicate an emergency action plan before you have an emergency.
School closed but students and staff able to meet in-person, ie, a fire or flood rendering the building unable for a period of time
Students and staff quarantined or home-bound with no personal contact, but without disruption to digital services
Students and staff quarantined with limited or no digital access
3. Build a library of resources for a smooth transition based on the scenarios detailed such as:
Self-guided learning content and exercises
Self-directed and team projects applying knowledge to solving problems
Partnerships with low-cost or free content providers
4. Establish and test working and communications platforms.
Conduct a home audit — ensure that you know your students’ level of access — laptops, tablets, mobiles per household
Employ a learning management platform — Office 365, Google Classroom, Canvas, Classera, and build use during non-emergency times.
Be realistic. If your families only have access to social media (WhatsApp, Facebook, etc) base your plans on social media.
5. Consider completing a test-run, if possible.
