As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe, it became abundantly clear that a return to HPA’s campus for students would not be in the cards following spring break. Classrooms would instead have to shift online to adhere to the social distancing and self-quarantine guidelines put in place to prevent the spread of the virus. Amy Cole, HPA’s Director of Studies, quickly sprung into action, working with the faculty and HPA’s division principals Chip Miller (Upper School), Glenn Chickering (Middle School), and Cathy Grant (Lower School) to formulate the Continuous Learning Plan, pressing on with HPA’s mission of providing exceptional learning opportunities during this uncertain time.
“The HPA Continuous Learning Plan is what we put in place when we are unable to provide face-to-face instruction,” says Cole. “Teachers and principals have been working hard to transition what they had originally planned as face-to-face learning over to this new model of learning.”
With HPA’s global community, there was a lot to consider with remote learning due to students being situated in multiple time zones around the globe. However, through strong planning and technology—like the myHPA hub, Zoom, and Seesaw—Cole and her cohorts came away with a comprehensive plan and are very confident with what they can deliver to the students during this uncertain time.
To help with the early learning curve, Cole provided some tips for families as they dive into the Continuous Learning Plan:
- Parents do not have to assume that they have to experts in the content or the technological tools that the faculty will be using. The teachers will support the students in transitioning to this new way of learning.
- Reassure students it’s going to be OK and to take advantage of the resources available to them.
- Help students find a workspace that they can use consistently every day for their learning.
- Also, assist students in setting up a schedule and make sure that the schedule includes time for physical activity and time to get outside.
We have a student body that supports each other every step of the way—entrepreneurially and in everyday life.”
—Aaron Schorn, HPA’s K-12 Capstone Coordinator
Students in grades five, eight and twelve have been hard at work on capstone projects—major milestones of the HPA learning experience—culminating in a presentation at the end of the year. Some of the senior capstone projects ranged from creating a collection of original songs and compiling them into an EP, to extracting blood from Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles to determine population sex ratios, and even creating a line of Hawai’i sourced sustainable art supplies. Aaron Schorn, HPA’s K-12 Capstone Coordinator, understands that many capstones will have to be rescoped and restructured due to COVID-19 concerns and restraints. However, he’s using what many would view as a setback as a learning experience. After all, most entrepreneurs and researchers are successful because of their relentless drive to overcome setbacks through iteration, which is what Schorn expects from the students.
“What we find ourselves in has not only impacted our capstone products, journey, and collaborations but every facet of our lives,” Schorn says. “The professional and personal skills of ideation, research, project management, and product development are being utilized at a rapid rate right now in this global crisis and will serve our students well in an ever-evolving world.”
As a way to get through the unprecedented circumstances, Schorn plans to bring in various speakers, who will be available to students in a webinar-like format to listen and interact with.
“We have a lot of access to experts in various fields,” Schorn says. “We have fostered relationships with many of our student-mentors around the globe that can help provide some guidance and insight during this time.”
Capstone teachers will continue to check in with students, as will Schorn, keeping up-to-date with the projects. However, Schorn believes the greatest tool the students have even in this uncertain time is each other—the HPA ‘ohana.
“The best support for students is other students, and that ethos has become a focal point of the capstone experience,” Schorn says. “We have a student body that supports each other every step of the way—entrepreneurially and in everyday life.”