Web chats slated to help Westmoreland parents adjust to students’ virtual learning
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Parents, as well as children, are adjusting to the reality of virtual learning at home, since the coronavirus pandemic closed Pennsylvania schools for the remainder of the academic year.
The Westmoreland Intermediate Unit has planned a series of weekly online chats in May to help area parents better navigate this new educational terrain.
Intermediate Unit team members will lead each Zoom session, slated for 2 to 2:30 p.m. Tuesdays.
Planned topics are:
• May 5 — Structure: The importance of creating at home the same structure and predictability a student would experience at school;
• May 12 — Behavior: Tips for minimizing student behavioral challenges at home;
• May 19 — Relationships: Tools for supporting students’ social well-being and allowing them to stay connected with friends:
• May 26 — Self-care: Ideas parents can put into practice to make time to care for themselves.
Visit www.wiu7.org/apps/news for more information about the chats and a web link for joining the sessions.
The Training and Consultation (TaC) chats were developed based on input from educators at multiple Westmoreland school districts.
“Through our conversation with the different groups of teachers, we identified the most common areas of concern and developed content to support parents as they assist their children with virtual learning,” said Jason Stragand, student services supervisor with the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit.
The Intermediate Unit TaC team has hosted daily virtual sessions where principals and instructors from Westmoreland’s public and private schools can “share victories, discuss roadblocks, problem-solve and share resources,” Stragand said. About 20 of the sessions have been held so far, and they are expected to continue through the end of the school year, he said.
TaC Chat resources resulting from those sessions can be viewed by searching under Virtual Learning Resources on the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit website.