Hybrid at the High School
July 5, 2022
NESPA Winner: Feature Story, 2022
The Regional, Nashoba Regional High School, Bolton, MA
As of March 1st, Nashoba has transitioned from fully remote classes to a new hybrid model. While students are still given the option to continue remote classes, the schedule has changed for everyone, making this a large adjustment for the whole student body.
The hybrid students have been split into two cohorts, one going to school in person on Mondays and Tuesdays, while the other attends Thursdays and Fridays. On the days when one cohort is in person, the other cohort participates in synchronous classes with the remote cohort. This means that the only days when everyone in a class is in the same place at the same time is on Wednesdays, which is now remote and synchronous for the full day.
As someone who has stayed remote for the time being, I can definitely see a difference in the overall learning experience over the past few weeks. Without the presence of the whole class for most of the week, it can be confusing to try to communicate with classmates in different cohorts. Also, the lack of consistency in what time classes start each morning forces me to create my own routine a lot more than was seen in the past. Monday and Thursday have synchronous periods beginning at 11:50, Tuesday and Friday begin synchronous classes at 10:25, and Wednesdays start at 7:40. Since nearly the entire morning consists of asynchronous classes for most days of the week, it creates a sense of accountability to complete all work without any check-ins.
