In Conversation With … features an interview between a leader or figure involved in public education and a representative of the Kentucky School Advocate.
Beth Peterson (right), branch manager for the Kentucky Department of Education’s Division of Innovation and Partner Engagement, works closely with school districts that participate in the state’s non-traditional instruction (NTI) program. She talked about how the program has changed and grown in recent years.
Q: Participation is fairly flat from last year. Any idea why?
A. Initially we had 13 districts, then it jumped to 43 the next year and then to 72 or 73. This year it is 75. I think it might be the mild winters we have had. Snow days are really not on the minds of districts when the applications go out.
Q. The program is linked to snow days, but it can be used for other school closings, correct?
A. Yes. It can be used for any health or safety reason, but it has to be the whole district, not just a school. Districts have used it for the flu or for flooding – that is a big one in eastern Kentucky in the spring. Last year, when there was smoke from wildfires in Tennessee, one of the districts on the state line used it. Districts only get 10 NTI days, so a lot don’t do every single snow day. They might do every other one.
Q. How has the program evolved since it was a pilot?
A. When it was a true pilot, there were restrictions on how many snow days had to be missed per year but in 2014-15 (the legislature) took that language out and opened it up so anyone in the state could apply.
Q. What updates have been made since that time?
A. The program has stayed basically the same but we have streamlined the process to make it more transparent and understandable. We have made changes to increase the clarity of what districts need to do on NTI days. Also, districts used to send me paper copies of all their documentation; now we have online documentation. We came up with a guidance document that is on the website and in it we compiled the best practices we have seen from the program’s four years. We get a lot of the same questions so we have the answers in there as well as some “how-to’s” like how to record your attendance on NTI days.
Q. What is the typical format for an NTI day?
A. It can look different because each district decides how they want to do it, which is the beauty of this program. Since the districts know their students best they can make plans to accommodate them. So the district decides what the content is going to be on those days and the instructional method – online, a packet sent home, a project or some other activity. They also determine the staff duties – where teachers are going to be working from, for example. All of these are district-by-district decisions.
Q. So it is all very individualized?
A. Yes, districts submit an application and they tell us what they are going to do on those days. The only thing we say is that teachers, that classified staff are required to work because it does count as an instructional day, but, other than that, districts decide the rest.
Q. What challenges have districts faced as they have made this work for them?
A. When we first started, we had questions about how districts could make sure all students were getting an equitable education, but after that first year people talked to each another and figured out some practices. For example, they might have shared what they had done to help English language learners or gifted and talented students. Now common challenges or questions aren’t so much related to instruction but to other parts of school, such as classified staff duties or attendance.
Q. Is it difficult to get the program implemented equitably in terms of geography and technology?
A. We started off with mostly central and eastern Kentucky districts because eastern Kentucky always missed the most snow days, but now we are all the way across the state, from Hickman to the west and Pike to the east. We don’t have quite as many in the northern areas of the state where there are a number of independent districts. They don’t miss as many days. Technology hasn’t been a barrier, because if students don’t have internet access the district must have a plan for those students. When districts apply, they have to tell us how they will handle it.
Q. Do they usually go with a paper option?
A. They often do, although a lot are moving to project-based assignments. Teachers design five-day to 10-day projects and send the project home with students before the snow comes. Then on NTI days, students work on the project. In the spring, schools usually have a day where students present their projects.
Q. Are the projects multidisciplinary?
A. Yes, for example, the teachers might work together to create one unit for all fourth-graders with math, reading and science so it is not dependent on where exactly the students are in instruction. The project would instead review skills that the students have already had over the year or apply things differently than what they have done before. It would still encompass all the subjects. So students can work on it at home and they don’t necessarily need the internet for all of it.
Q. So projects are sent home well before the chance of snow?
A. Most districts send projects home in November and December. This allows teachers to use their (professional development) days to develop the project. I have heard that if they send them home too early, students lose everything.
Q. Is it difficult to qualify the quality of instruction on NTI days?
A. When districts apply, they are asked how their school district will ensure that learning on NTI days parallels learning on regular school days. They tell us their plan for that. There is also a question, “How are you going to collect evidence that learning is taking place on NTI days?” They have a plan what instruction is going to look like and how learning will be measured. Then in the spring they send us some samples to show that learning was parallel to regular days.
Q. Have districts fallen short in doing this?
A. No, we never have had a district fall short. They have always submitted required documents and many say, “Hey, look at what we did,” and “You are welcome to share this with other districts.” I have had requests from states that wanted samples of excellent instruction for NTI days so I can send examples from our districts.
Q. Are districts sharing ideas with one another?
A. Yes, and I like to serve as sort of the middleman. If someone emails me and asks if anyone has a good way to have their food service staff work on NTI days, I can look through what I have or put the request out to other districts for ideas. Also, in the guidance document we have provided on the website, there is a list of NTI contacts for each participating district so districts can reach out to one another.
Q. Can you give examples of innovative NTI day ideas you have shared with other districts?
A. Yes, the first would be the project-based approach. We had one district do it and then the next year it exploded. Elementary, middle and even high school kids are also using a special class designed online that teachers have designed as cross-curricular. One district did a cross-curricular class on forensic science.
Q. Several districts have innovative ways to ensure connectivity.
A. Yes, one district has Wi-Fi buses; students have access when the buses park in their neighborhoods. Another district gives students devices that allow them to have Wi-Fi hot spots. The district can turn these devices on and off at the central office to give students internet access.
Q. Have NTI days had unexpected benefits?
A. Yes, one has been integration of technology into everyday instruction, not just on snow days. Because of NTI days, teachers are seeing how well students do with it, so they integrate technology in their regular school lessons. It also helps with skills like time management or problem solving or creative thinking – things that are not tested for but are put into practice, especially for project-style instruction.
Q. Parents have said they have a better understanding of what their children are working on in school.
A. Yes, I hear that especially from middle school and high school parents, because those kids don’t always come home and tell their parents what they are doing in school.
Q. Are we the only state with an NTI program?
A. We aren’t, but I have not found many others that do have one. When we began, I reached out to all 50 states about whether they had NTI days and got few responses. I have gotten requests for information from Illinois, so they seem to be looking into a program, as well as West Virginia and Georgia.