Plan a Successful Transition to Virtual School

I recently learned my son's school was going virtual for ten days. After the initial disappointment and worry, I remembered I can use project management to prepare for it. Here is an outline of how we "project managed" his switch to online school in nine steps. These steps are a quick overview of the project management framework that you can use for any type of project at home.

STEP 1: ACKNOWLEDGE AND VALIDATE EMOTIONS

The first step is to recognize and support the emotions around the change. This is a big change for your child, and it may bring on big feelings. Talk to them and acknowledge how they are experiencing the transition to virtual learning. 

My son's initial reaction was that he was glad because he doesn't like to wear the new masks that they handed out at school. I continued to check in with him to see how he was feeling about it.

STEP 2: FIND YOUR TEAM

Determine who’s on your family's "support/project team.” Does it include the kids, your partner/spouse, teachers, neighbors, boss, coworkers, relatives, etc.? Reach-out to them and see how you can make the schedule work. 

Here are the people on our "support team" that I reached out to: 

- My husband, to talk about how we would manage the schedule

- My boss, to let her know that I may need to step away from work unexpectantly

- My son's teachers, to see if we can reinstitute scheduled breaks that my son had during remote learning last year

- The neighbors, to see if they wanted to coordinate outdoor playtime/recess 

STEP 3: GET INPUT TO YOUR PLAN

Now that you've identified your team, get input from them to build your plan, including your kids. The more involved people are in the planning process, the more engaged and cooperative they’re likely to be. Now is a good time to start talking through expectations and goals to make sure everyone is on the same page.

For us, that meant compiling the instructions from the school and using the input from my son's teacher to post Zoom guidelines for him to follow. We decided if we were going to set up my son's desk in the living room or not. (I wanted to, but my husband didn’t like the clutter, and my son could go either way.)

STEP 4: BUILD YOUR PLAN

With the input from your team, start putting structure around the day and determining your schedule.  Add daily check-in meetings to keep the communication lines open. 

We decided that my husband would supervise school in the morning, and I would supervise in the afternoon. To add some fun and get in fresh air and exercise, our son would come on our morning walks with the dog and do Pokémon GO.  

STEP 5: POST THE SCHEDULE

Once you have the inputs from your family's "support/project team,” finalize the schedule and commit to it. Put the daily routine on one piece of paper and post it in an area everyone can see it. Review it with the entire family before the first day of virtual school. Don't worry about it being perfect, you can always adjust it later. 

It's also helpful to check in again with your child about how they’re feeling about the transition. Initially my son didn't seem to mind, but after he had more time to process it, he said that he was happy to be home and that he could eat snacks any time, but that he would miss seeing his friends in person.

STEP 6: DISCUSS & RECAP EACH DAY

On school days, have morning check-in meetings with the family to review the schedule for the day. This helps to provide people involved with the information they need, sets expectations, and provides the opportunity to make last minute adjustments. At the end of the day, discuss how it went and get more input. 

Here are useful questions to ask:

1) What worked well today🙂?

2) What didn’t work well today🙁?

3) What will we work on tomorrow☀️?

For little kids, you can use the analogy of a rose flower that may be easier for them to understand.  

1) What was our beautiful flower today🌹?

2) Where did we have thorns🥀?

3) Where do we see flower buds🌱?

We like to do these check-in meetings over breakfast and recap over dinner. At the end of the day, we can discuss what changes may need to be made to have the next day go more smoothly. 

STEP 7: MAKE CHANGES AS NEEDED

Talk with the family about how things are going and if any changes are required. Ask your kids where they may want more support. Talk to your partner/boss about what changes or additional support may be needed. You can always adjust the daily schedule. If required, update the original plan, discuss the changes with the family, and then repost it where everyone can see it.

You may find that your child needs more breaks, additional academic support, or extra exercise. We implemented a morning exercise routine for my son to burn off energy before school. Try different adjustments and keep iterating until you find a routine that works for your family. 

STEP 8: CELEBRATE ACCOMPLISHMENTS EARLY AND OFTEN! 

Recognize positive behaviors, especially in the beginning. This will reinforce expectations and build your child’s confidence and self-esteem so they can succeed at virtual school. Virtual learning is a big change for your kids (and you) and it’s important to honor those small wins!  

I love to cook, so I made some yummy treats to celebrate a cooperative day.  Also think about what your kids enjoy receiving. I asked my son, and he said more time playing Pokémon Go. That could be useful as a reward for positive school behavior!

STEP 9: BE KIND TO YOURSELVES 

It is a difficult and confusing time for everyone -- kids, parents, and teachers.  Remember to recognize the work that all are doing and give each other the grace and understanding to get through this challenging time. Your child may be extra emotional or have angry outbursts. Don’t be surprised by these feelings, as they may still be working through the emotions of change. For more tips, see this blog post on How to Help Your Family Better Manage Change.

I hope you’ve found these nine steps helpful as we continue to navigate the pandemic with unexpected schedule changes. These nine steps are a quick overview of the project management framework that you can use for any type of project at home, whether online school or moving to a new town. The complete framework to managing projects at home is outlined in my book: Project Management for Parents: Engage the Family, Build Teamwork, Succeed Together by Hilary Kinney, PMP.