‘Our idea of classroom continues to evolve,’ $650,000 grant allows Streator schools to expand reach of classes

Six St. Michael eighth graders will have an opportunity to graduate junior high school with two Streator High School course credits, before ever stepping foot in one of the high school’s classrooms. Literally.

Utilizing a distance learning grant, Streator High is offering algebra and Spanish I through a live, interactive video feed to a St. Michael classroom, but that’s just the start of what the schools have in-mind with the technology educators believe has the potential to expand school curriculums beyond their walls and even help alleviate teacher shortages.

With two large-screen televisions set in front of a row of desks at St. Michael, junior high students watch the instructor lead the course at the high school on one of the TVs and follow whatever is written on the whiteboard on another.

The cameras are designed to follow the teacher and also pick up whoever is speaking in the high school classroom.

Microphones and cameras in the junior high classroom allow students to interact in discussion, and the Streator High instructor can see the students from a large television screen within the high school classroom.

Homework is turned in virtually and there are no textbooks. A supervisor is on-hand to oversee the junior high classroom.

Though they are about a mile from each other, both classrooms are functioning as one.

Streator High is one of 11 other schools in the state awarded a Rural Illinois Shared Education Network grant. The school received more than $650,000 to fund equipment, installation and training to connect classrooms to 75-plus other schools across the state, including St. Michael.

“The goal is to expand the program in the future to provide courses to other schools, as well as receive courses not available at Streator,” said Rod Beck, director of technology.

St. Michael Principal Emily Blumenshine said this semester is the trial run. If all goes well, the technology could be used to offer more Streator High School courses to qualifying students.

The six St. Michael students are Trent Studnicki, Alexa Barr, Roman Reynolds, Violet Rodriguez, Stella Orozco and Addie Dippel, and though they admit the classroom setup is unique, they prefer it to the e-learning they were doing from home during the height of the pandemic.

Getting a taste of a high school class will make the transition to their freshmen year smoother, and open up opportunities.

“This is a way for us to get high school credit, so we can take more classes when we get to high school,” Rodriguez said.

“We can take more classes when we get to high school to get us ready for college,” Barr added.

Kristina McCormick, who is teaching the Spanish class, said the pandemic has changed the learning environment, but educators are seeing the opportunities it created.

“I feel that the use of Google meet and other online programs to connect with students during the pandemic has made the transition to a blended class like this one much easier,” McCormick said. “I’ll be using some of the same video collaboration programs I used during the pandemic to help students from SHS and SMS connect and communicate in real time.”

McCormick said there will be challenges teaching the blended classroom, but she’s encouraged with how much the students have worked together so far.

Blumenshine and Streator High School Principal Amy Jo Mascal said the technology can provide courses each of the schools are unable to offer, and in turn, offer something unique to other schools. Blumenshine said especially with it becoming more difficult to hire qualified teachers, a blended classroom could be used to help a school through a teacher shortage.

“We are looking forward to our students being able to potential take Illinois Valley Community College courses here in our building,” Mascal said. “This is something that is in the works at this moment as they are about a year behind us with their grant. We also hope that in the future, our students will have an opportunity to take classes that other high schools (that are in this same program) are offering, that maybe we just don’t have as a Streator High School course offering.”

Beck said foreign languages are a good example of courses offered a variety of different ways throughout school districts. Streator High offers Spanish and German, but the technology could pave the way for students to take French or Latin offered by another school.

“The possibilities are limitless,” he said, noting the program does not have to limit itself to exchanging full courses, it can be interactive lessons between two similar classes at different schools.

Schools that tap into Streator’s classrooms may have to pay a tuition, allowing the school to sustain the program, but those details can be worked out in each case.

The technology was installed by a contractor and has been easy to use, Beck said.

“I’m thrilled to be presented with such a unique opportunity, and while I know there will be challenges for teachers and students alike, I’m excited to see where this goes,” McCormick said. “Programs like these could mean big changes for education, as our idea of a ‘classroom’ continues to evolve.”