"We (teachers) were set in our way and then we had to do it a different way," he said. He recalled his first Zoom virtual meeting when his computer didn't have a webcam.
"COVID has forced this on us," he said. "We had to learn programs like Schoology and Edmentum to get the information out to the kids and parents."
Hill said the technology is helping meet students' needs.
"COVID has caused us to evolve faster," he said. "Our education is evolving faster to prepare the kids and provide for the kids when they get out."
Hill said Signature's math classes are using MathXL, which is used at the college level.
"When our kids get to college, they won't have that learning curve," he said.
He added the students catch on to the new programs oftentimes quicker than the teachers.
"The kids can come and teach me the new programs," he said. "Their expertise in technology is amazing. They help us. If I get stuck on something I can ask a kid. My screen was stuck and the kids know the tricks to help me. They grew up with more technology than we did."
He said Signature School learning is similar to home schooling but the school offers hands-on support.
"It's like home school but you've got us for support," he said. "We've brought some kids back to public school (classes) who had gone to private schools or left the system altogether."
Hill said the students are learning to socialize more via the Internet now, too.
He said they see each other in discussion groups and they set up face-to-face meetings.
"Kids meet friends in virtual school and they meet up with their virtual friends here," said Hill, who also does counseling at the school. "They schedule a time to come in together. Maybe they are in the same grade, maybe one is a ninth grader and one is in the 10th grade. It's great to see them interact."
But he and other teachers are concerned about the anxiety level they are seeing in some of the students. Hill feels COVID has made things worse on those students.
"Anxiety. Those sorts of things that we're dealing with it a lot more," said Hill, who also teaches history and science for grades 6-12. "It was always there, but now we talk about it more. Society is not afraid to talk about it now. If you have anxiety issues, you don't want to be in that big school with 1,000 kids. You need that smaller setting. We're able to provide that type of education. That's another good thing about what we can do here. They can come up here to stay here all day. They take their test up here, we proctor their test. We've got to change with the times. That is what we're doing here."
Jon Bret Smith, Lawrence County superintendent, said the county system is fortunate to have a teacher and guidance counselor of Hill's ability.
"John is really helping the Signature School grow," Smith said. "He really helps them academically. He's doing a great job getting our kids prepared for college and life after high school."
Smith said Lawrence County school's entire staff, from administrators down to custodians and bus drivers, is going above and beyond the past two years since the pandemic arrived.
"Every one of our staff members are heroes for doing what they're asked to do under these conditions," he said.
©2022 The Decatur Daily (Decatur, Ala.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
