CatGrad-UMGradStu said:
Rest assured I'm aware of the Huawei Cell Towers throughout the state rendering wireless virtually useless as the FCC directive told them to get that Chinese company out of the U.S. and having inexperienced folks such as Rogala represent us on the FCC
talking with the various service providers that don't want to serve rural areas (think Nemont) but it's up to us to make this happen, not discuss the limitations (or are those delimitations?).
When I was a kid, if I didn't get a loan from bank x, I went to bank y. When I looked at business ventures, if a lawyer told me I couldn't do such and such because of community ordinances, I would seek out lawyers who could (and would) assist me in getting a waiver.
A quick glance through the major newspaper's educational sections will quickly reveal Montana has done a much better job implementing online instruction than most huge urban schools, to include the one our former OPI Secretary is superintendent of, Seattle. The tiny little school system I'm in, the superintentent did exactly what Juneau did in Seattle. They wouldn't distribute system technology because some of the students didn't have access to wifi and they felt that would be a FAPE violation...which leads me back to my contention that there are way too many chiefs and not enough Indians running the schools in Montana. We're worse than the feds inhouse fighting amonst FEMA, HHS, the military, etc. as they fail to distribute critical medical supplies and even how to conduct a countrywide lockdown during this pandemic.
Who are you talking to at Nemont to get the belief that they don't want to serve rural areas? While Nemont does a lot of things I don't agree with, one thing they do, and do well, is support the small communities they serve, especially those up here on the Hi-Line. Kilgore has made many questionable decisions, but he has bought into and supports rural Montana. They've been creating Free Wifi hotspots in most towns for those who don't have internet access at home. They've donated chromebooks to three schools so far so that every child has a device they can connect with. If we lose Nemont and others like Three Rivers, Mid-Rivers, etc, who is going to take their place? US West isn't coming back. Both Verizon and AT&T have realized this part of the country doesn't fit their profit models.
My wife is a school councilor and she'll tell you, most of the push back to do distance learning using technology is coming from parents. Some because they don't currently have access (however Nemont is doing what they can to eliminate any hurdles for that at the moment) and others because they don't understand it and can't/won't help their child if it involves a tablet instead of paper. They are demanding hard copy assignments. On top of that, there are classes that simply need hands on learning that can't be accomplished on-line. I can't imagine how a shop teacher is supposed to teach his students anything if he can't have them in a shop to learn how to weld, woodwork, etc.
I do get what you are saying, and there are schools out there that do need to consolidate. Froid and Medicine Lake are two that are stuggling to fill teaching positions and have low numbers already.They are only 12 miles apart. They need to consolidate to eliminate a lot of wasted spending. But to put a blanket statement out that all schools should do the same ignores the fact that there are issues with distance learning. Besides the technology issues, not every student would benefit from such a system. As stated above, how are certain hands on classes going to adjust to a lack of class/lab time? The other thing to realize, while they do cost money, the school is the heart and sole of many of these communities. There is a reason the Class C state tournaments consistently have much higher attendence rates than the Class AA tournaments. In small towns the school is a meeting place and sense of pride for the entire community. How are you going to replace that?
