Featured Story
Global Online Academy for Faculty
More than 60 St. Luke's teachers signed up to participate in this online learning opportunity.
When it became clear that St. Luke’s would need to pivot quickly to our Distance Learning Plan, several teachers and administrators signed up for Global Online Academy’s Designing for Online Learning course over Spring Break. Global Online Academy (GOA) is a leader in independent school online education. After taking the course, fifth grade English teacher Elaine Juran commented: “GOA’s course was both inspirational and practical. I learned new strategies to help sustain student curiosity and creativity, while continuing to prioritize student voice in a digital space.”
Head of Upper School Liz Perry was impressed with GOA’s model and saw that taking the course gave her confidence in the redesign of her Upper School English Elective, Reading and Writing Satire. As a result, she reached out to other SLS administrators about the idea of bringing the course to all St. Luke’s teachers. “A benefit of being an independent school with a nimble leadership team is that we can respond quickly to the constantly evolving educational landscape,” she explained. In a matter of days, a customized version of the course went live for St. Luke’s, and more than 60 teachers from all grade levels and subject areas signed up to take it.
The course is completely asynchronous, meaning that there are no live Zoom-style classes. Rather, teachers work through the readings, videos, and reflection activities at their own pace. Educators are grouped by subject area, so they can participate in relevant online discussion boards with colleagues.
Upper School Spanish teacher Carrie Meatto participated in the World Languages group and shared: “There has been a deluge of resources for online learning coming at us from all directions in the past month or so. When I turn on the radio, open my email, read the news, or talk to friends, the topic seems to always turn to tips and tricks for distance learning, this list or that list with links to seemingly infinite free resources. It's hard to know what to focus on. GOA simplifies that and unifies the SLS faculty around one vetted set of approaches. It's hugely helpful and efficient.”
St. Luke’s School is a secular (non-religious), private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5 through 12 serving over 40 towns in Connecticut and New York. Our exceptional academics and diverse co-educational community foster students’ intellectual and ethical development and prepare them for top colleges. St. Luke’s Leading with Humanity curriculum builds the commitment to serve and the confidence to lead.
