ABOVE: High school freshman Mara Hunt helps first grade students build solar ovens during the first Cardinal Community Day on Friday at Fairmont Elementary School.

FAIRMONT — On Friday, Fairmont Area Schools had the first of its Cardinal Community Days. These days will occur on the last Friday of the month that’s also a school day. On these days students will engage in asynchronous learning, completing the same tasks as they would have in a normal school day while working more independently.

Despite how the name has been interpreted by some, Cardinal Community Days are regular school days with required attendance and academic work to be completed.

“We acknowledge that has caused some questions regarding what this day is about, but it is a regularly-scheduled school day, the learning that is expected from our students … is in alignment with the structure of our school day,” said Superintendent Andy Traetow.

During the first and last hour of each day students will be able to meet with their normal teachers, but during the remainder of the day they will work on assigned work by themselves. The tasks assigned to students can be completed either at home or in the school buildings. During these days, teachers will not conduct normal classes and students who come into the building will have the same tasks as those staying home.

The work given to students may resemble homework, but the agenda is meant to replicate what students would do during a typical school day.

“The work is continuing what they would be learning; the best thing we tell our teachers is if Traetow calls off the day and they all of a sudden had to come into school, that work is still being done,” said elementary school co-principal Michelle Rosen.

At the elementary school, roughly three quarters of students came into the building on Friday where they worked on their tasks in a more structured setting. Staff split the day into different sessions, during which students focused on completing work in a particular area such as reading or math. While some staff members were present to supervise students, students worked with less direct instruction compared to a typical school day. At the high school, roughly one hundred students came into the building with the vast majority choosing to work at home.

During Cardinal Community Days buses run normally, taking students to and from school at the beginning and end of the day. There are currently no plans for additional routes which would run during the day, and as a result students who plan to eat lunch at school are advised to stay there for the whole day.

Some parents expressed concerns about the logistics of Cardinal Community Days and the efficacy on asynchronous learning. Traetow predicted the first Cardinal Community Day would experience some problems, but expected those to be addressed in the coming months.

“As we learn we’ll make adjustments to improve the experience through these first few times, and then we will follow that up shortly after the first of the year with a survey that will go out to our parents, staff and students to gather more concrete feedback on how we can continue to work together to make this the best it can possibly be,” said Traetow.

The primary objectives for implementing the program are twofold. First, the district wants to ensure students are familiar with asynchronous work and can improve their ability to work independently.

“We know that for many of our students as they go into their professions … some level of remote learning … will likely be a part of their lives,” said Traetow.

Additionally, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, remote learning quickly became the dominant modality for Fairmont students, and while the district still plans to have the majority of instruction take place in-person, they also want to ensure students and instructors retained the familiarity with virtual learning they developed in previous years.

Secondly, one day of asynchronous learning a month gives teachers additional time to meet with each other and work on ways they can improve their classes. While the benefits of this extra time will take time to manifest, building principals expect them to be very substantial.

A smaller third benefit of Cardinal Community Days is the more flexible schedule provides an opportunity to fit in more programming which would be difficult to incorporate into a normal school day. On Friday, volunteers from the Boy Scouts of America and the Rotary Club came into the elementary school and led students through the process of making a homemade solar oven. The project allowed students to interact with community organizations and helped them understand the physical processes that allowed the oven to function. Around 65 high school volunteers interested in elementary education also came down to the school during the day where they could act as teacher’s assistants.

Due to the placement of Thanksgiving and holiday breaks, the next Cardinal Community Day will take place on Nov. 18 followed by a third day on Dec. 16. Cardinal Community Days will continue through the end of April. More information on Cardinal Community Days can be found on the district’s website and social media. Any remaining queries can be addressed to building principals.