VOA慢速英语--华盛顿特区的学校在健康危机期间进行实验

Schools in Washington, DC Experiment During Health Crisis¹

Returning to school in Washington, D.C. during the coronavirus crisis has been an experiment in learning. Charter² schools are trying out in-person schooling³ for small groups.

A charter school is a tax-supported school created through a legal agreement between a school board and an outside group.

Meridian⁴ Charter School, for example, experimented with ways to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. The school set up tall, three-sided dividers to keep students separated. But then school officials learned that this would not really prevent the spread of the virus. Now the dividers are not required. But more than half of the students still use them as personal organizers – putting notes and pictures on them.

"It's all a learning experience, and it's all playing out in real time," said Matt McCrea, Meridian's head of school.

Most of Washington's 52,000 public school children are dealing⁵ with learning on computers in virtual⁶ classrooms. But more than 10 charter schools have experimented by giving in-person classes to small groups of students.

The charter schools are smaller and sometimes have better resources than the D.C. Public Schools system, or DCPS. So they have been able to make these changes quickly.

"This is our attempt to redesign school," said Myron Long. He is executive⁷ director of the Social Justice School. It is offering in-person classes to about 15 of its 50 total students.

It is a process that Washington D.C. Public Schools has watched as the organization plans its own return to the classroom.

Mayor Muriel Bowser had planned to start the 2020 to 2021 school year with a combined model. The idea was to have virtual learning with two days each week of in-school teaching. However, the city had to change that plan because of safety concerns raised by the teachers' union.

The city studied the charter experiments "to see what's working," Bowser said. But, she noted⁸, "...DCPS will have to make decisions that affect...60 buildings, 50,000 [students] and over 4,000 employees."

The most recent reopening plan for Washington D.C.'s public schools seems to take ideas from the charter schools' experiences. Parents are given choices for how they want their child to attend.

For example, one choice would give in-person classes to a small group of students. Students with special-education needs, students learning English and students who are homeless or otherwise at-risk would be included in this group. Those are mainly the kinds of learners D.C. charter schools chose for their own student groups for in-person classes.

"We wanted (the spots) to go to students and families that had the greatest need," said Justin Lessek. He is executive director of the Sojourner⁹ Truth charter school, which is giving in-person classes to 20 of its 93 students.

In some cases, "spots," or placements, were given to the children of essential workers. Meridian Charter School had to deny some parents. But the Social Justice School was able to take every student whose parent showed interest.

"Some parents contacted us and just said, 'We have nowhere for them to go during the day,'" Long said.

Each charter school develops its own health safety rules. At Meridian, all students and visitors have their temperature taken upon arrival. Social Justice School does more. There, visiting reporters were required to wear full medical clothing, including hand and face coverings, just to enter the building.

There is a huge amount of trial and error, said Shannon Hodge. She is with the D.C. Charter School Alliance¹⁰, a nonprofit group that advocates for the charter system.

At the Social Justice School, each of the three student groups is given a bathroom to use.

At both Meridian and Social Justice, water fountains are not in use. Students at Meridian have their own water containers and can fill them at special water devices.

The Social Justice School opened its doors for the first time this fall after approval from the D.C. Public Charter School Board. So, it has never operated under normal conditions.

The school places importance on the values of social and racial awareness¹¹. It seeks to build a strong community around its 50 students and families. But it has been nearly impossible for this new community to meet over the summer. Now, school officials have started holding outdoor gatherings¹² around the city on Wednesdays. During those hours, there are no classes, so students, parents, teachers and other workers can safely meet each other.

The school has also launched a new kind of in-person teaching. Students attending class in-person are joined by students attending online through video. Everyone in the in-person classroom is on a computer. The teachers in the classroom teach all of the students together.

Long said the idea came about partly because the small school did not have enough teachers to teach in physical and virtual classrooms. But the communal¹³ plan also fits the school's values of equality, he said.

Mayor Bowser's education officials have been in contact with charter schools to learn from all of the activities.

Words in This Story

virtual –adj. existing or taking place on computers or on the internet

(labor) union –n. an organization of workers formed to protect the rights and interests of its members

essential workers –n. workers who are required to work during a business closure to meet operational requirements

advocate –n. a person who argues for or supports a cause or policy

fountain –n. a device that sends out a stream of water (for drinking)

awareness –n. knowledge of something

1 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

2 charter   

n.特许状，执照，宪章；v.特许，发给特许执照

参考例句：

• This new law amounts to a tax evader's charter.这项新法律简直成了为逃税者开的许可证。
• We will charter a steamer to convey the goods.我们将租一艘船运送这批货物。

3 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

4 meridian   

adj.子午线的；全盛期的

参考例句：

• All places on the same meridian have the same longitude.在同一子午线上的地方都有相同的经度。
• He is now at the meridian of his intellectual power.他现在正值智力全盛期。

5 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

6 virtual   

adj.实质上的，事实上的，实际上的

参考例句：

• This reply is a virtual acceptance of our offer.这一回答实质上是接受了我们的建议。
• At that time the East India Company was the virtual ruler of Bengal.那时东印度公司是孟加拉的实际统治者。

7 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 sojourner   

n.旅居者，寄居者

参考例句：

• The sojourner has been in Wales for two weeks. 那个寄居者在威尔士已经逗留了两个星期。 来自互联网
• A sojourner or a hired servant shall not eat of it. 出12:45寄居的、和雇工人、都不可吃。 来自互联网

10 alliance   

n.同盟，同盟国，结盟，联姻

参考例句：

• China will not enter into alliance with any big power.中国不同任何大国结盟。
• The new alliance was very much in evidence.新的联盟上星期很引人注目。

11 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

12 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

13 communal   

adj.公有的，公共的，公社的，公社制的

参考例句：

• There was a communal toilet on the landing for the four flats.在楼梯平台上有一处公共卫生间供4套公寓使用。
• The toilets and other communal facilities were in a shocking state.厕所及其他公共设施的状况极其糟糕。