Barton Community College adapts to stay-at-home order, supports student needs at a distance

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April 1, 2020
Story by Brandon Steinert

Barton Community College students, faculty and staff woke up to a new way of providing education on Monday morning, which was the first day classes were delivered via alternate methods. Reduced staffing had already been in place for nearly two weeks.

So far, instructors and students are saying that despite the challenges of learning at a distance, they are making the best of the situation and in many cases are finding very creative ways to improvise.

Coordinator of Barton’s EMT Program Karyl White said a couple of her instructors have found ways for students to make manikins out of items they have at home so they can practice.

“They have embraced the challenge and are doing a great job of making this as interactive as possible,” White said. “They have been very innovative in their thinking.”

Some instructors said attendance has actually improved, and Adult Healthcare Instructor Lacy Swain said her students haven’t missed a beat.

“So far, moving classes to (Zoom meetings) has been a good experience,” she said. “All my students show up for the Zoom meetings and treat it as though we are still in the classroom.”

Barton President Dr. Carl Heilman said there are numerous success stories, and they will soon be shared with the community through social media and sent to the local media. He said he’s proud of the college’s efforts to remain agile and pivot to a new direction with only a short window of time to adapt. 

“Barton possesses the collective character and operational strengths that allows the college to deftly transition and maintain support to our students, partners, and service areas,” he said. 

Heilman said operations at Fort Riley, Fort Leavenworth, Ellsworth Correctional Facility, Larned Correctional Mental Health Facility, and Grand View Plaza each maneuvered and responded to their unique partner directives and requests and some of the college’s messaging was transitioned to public service announcements to build awareness of social distancing practices. 

Staffing at the Barton County campus has been minimized and will continue to be minimized. Several offices that require a physical presence will have only one person present with the rest of the team working remotely from home.

Almost all of Barton’s classes have moved to alternate delivery. Before the governor’s stay-at-home order was announced over the weekend, there were about a dozen classes still meeting face to face on campus, maintaining the 6-foot social distancing guidelines and fewer than 10 people gathering. As of this writing, there are only five remaining that pose minimal risk, including Medical Assistant, Criminal Justice, Adult Healthcare (Certified Nurse Aide/Certified Medication Aide), Auto Body and Nursing.

About 40 students asked to remain in their dormitory space with food service. In some cases, students are unable to travel home due to restrictions in their states. Heilman said the right thing to do is extend humanitarian accommodation, which is also being applied to the Child Development Center to support essential working parents who need and rely on professional child care services.

“I continue to applaud each of you for your commitments, energies, and allegiances to our students, partners, and communities,” Heilman wrote in an address to college employees on Monday. “We have not wavered from our mission, but rather have ratcheted up our purposes and actions in meeting our altered environments. COVID-19 driven challenges will persist and there is no doubt in my mind that we will persist as well in providing what is needed.”