Parallel Hybrid Instruction

About the Program

Category: Personnel Management, Employment and Training (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

During the 2020-21 academic year, Henrico County Public Schools (HCPS) embarked on a new teaching method to instruct all students remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the school year progressed, it was clear that to meet the needs of all families, HCPS would need to provide an in-person option for students. To do this successfully after the school year had already begun, the division researched and selected an approach known as Parallel Hybrid Learning (PHL). PHL occurs when a teacher simultaneously instructs some students in person and some of them remotely. Before the fall of 2020, no Henrico classroom had used this approach. The HCPS Department of Professional Learning and Leadership, in collaboration with a diverse group of educators in the division, created the Parallel Hybrid Professional Learning Program by establishing a working committee to address three goals. Each of these goals was met by January 2021, by (1) creating a dynamic parallel hybrid field guide and website, (2) a full pilot program testing parallel hybrid strategies encompassing seven schools and 200+ students, and (3) a robust professional learning suite of synchronous and asynchronous training sessions, that have been accessed by more than 1,100 educators, with use increasing daily.