How to Engage Students Virtually

As we are all navigating a new sense of normal, Rise is here to support you and your family support those with learning disabilities, virtually! 

#1: REFLECT ON THE NEW NORM

By now, your new environment is well underway. Your student is adjusting, sometimes not well, to spending time with their friends and teachers and to spending a lot of extra time home.

As we are all at home now, a lot of our social and physical connections have been put on hold. Your student went from seeing all their teachers and friends every day for at least 6 hours a day. Now they are seeing a little too much of their stuffed animals and their bedroom walls. 

 # 2: CREATE A STRONG FOUNDATION

  • Establish a regular time to connect with your child’s Special Ed (or other) teacher either through video or phone; a weekly or bi-weekly check-in could be helpful for both you and the teacher (and student, if you have an older student)

  • Questions to ask your child’s teacher include:

    • What is your child working on?

    • What is your role in helping facilitate their at-home-work?

    • Have you received everything your school district is offering (i.e., technology, work packets, etc.)?

    • What additional activities would be helpful for your child?

    • What additional materials do you need?

    • Are there other parents that you can coordinate ideas and support with?

  • Also, make sure the teacher knows any constraints you are operating under - there is no shame here!

    • If you are housing- or food-insecure, and/or living in a shelter

    • If you are providing home-care / home-schooling for other children (siblings or others) or home-care for elders

    • How much time you realistically have to spend with your child on schoolwork

    • If you are currently working as an essential worker and/or your child is spending time at an essential workers care center

    • If you have poor connectivity and/or haven’t received school notifications or technology support

    • Anything else that would be helpful for the teacher to know

#3: ESTABLISH ROUTINE

  • From #1 above, establish a regular communication routine with your child’s Special Ed (or other) teacher

  • Establish a set time each day that your child will do independent school work, and a set time each day that you and your child will work together (of course, your child’s ability to work independently will depend on their age, the degree of their disability, etc.)

    • This may require a little creativity depending on your situation. Remember that several short sessions with your child can work just as well as one long session, and may be more useful

  • Establish a set time each day when your child will have free-time and/or non-screen time.

#4: CHECK-IN 

Remember this vast change in atmosphere, and how challenging this can be for your child. Make sure to check-in with your child and get updates on how they are doing. 

  • Have a conversation with your child. Talk to them about what is happening in the world.

  • Ask if there is any way you can support them. 

  • Ask if they are having any troubles, or if it the opposite, and they are thriving on this new platform. 

This is important because we never know how these large changes can impact the routine of students and their mental health and motivation as well. 

#5: REVIEW 

Sometimes it can be really challenging to fully grasp a topic virtually. 

At the end of each week, assess progress. Find out what your child needs to practice more and what they are completely struggling with. Create a plan for the following week which may include:

  • Review of previous work

  • Exercises to reinforce learnings

If you want guidance finding resources for extra practice assignment, contact the Rise team at the “contact us” page. 

This may not always be the most fun thing for your child, but it is really important to avoid disregarding the remainder of their school year. Acknowledge that your child is in the process of building a foundation, and it is important to maintain a level of normalcy by continuing their progress. 

#6: MAKE CONNECTIONS

Through understanding our social situations are much more restricting than before, we need to improvise to instill a level of normalcy and fun in our children’s lives. 

This can be as simple as hand-writing a letter or setting up a Zoom call with your family or friends. Help your child maintain their connections during this time, and find a way that works for your family to do so. Scheduling a zoom call is often difficult, so never underestimate the value of “snail mail” at a time like this.

#7: ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES 

Make a commitment to keep your child off their computer, phone, or gadget, for some amount of time per day. Encourage them to practice hobbies and find something that brings them joy during this time that does not involve keeping their head in a device for an extended period of time. 

#8: ASK FOR HELP

You can’t do this by yourself. Don’t hesitate to reach out for help - but this help may need to come in different forms:

  • Is there free virtual support available for your child? Or even volunteers who can read a story or chat with your child?

  • If you have relatives, establish a routine where your child can speak to relatives each week

  • If you have limited technology (e.g., one phone for an entire family), establishing a schedule of usage will help to set expectations and prevent fights

  • Reach out to other parents and have a virtual happy hour or support meeting: you can sign up for Zoom for free; or just have a phone call

  • Get as much as you can from public agencies or other resources in your local jurisdiction

  • If you are in a high-rise, apartment, or shelter setting, band with other parents and try to coordinate support activities as much as possible within the bounds of physical distancing

    • Perhaps some parents can make phone calls to social services while other parents can make phone calls to teachers on behalf of the group

    • Be each others’ cheerleader

  • Ask for help from your kid or kids! Give them at least one chore to complete or rotate. Include one “fun” chore. 

  • Let Rise know what you would like us to focus on in terms of support.

#9 CLAP FOR YOURSELF

In NYC, every day at 7pm, New Yorkers clap for the front-line workers. Make sure to clap for yourself too. In managing your child’s Special Education in the midst of this unsettling time, you are doing something that is truly heroic. 

At the end of every day, take a few minutes to breathe, to sit quietly, and to give yourself a pat on the back.

We at Rise do not know all of the challenges that you may be facing, nor have we addressed every one of your needs. Many of you may be out of work, facing homelessness or food insecurity, or battling depression or other conditions of your own. Please let us know what would be helpful for you to know, so that we can continue to make our site helpful to you. You are our heroes and you are in our hearts.