[Source:  NPR]

Despite cranky computers, conflicting schedules, shaky Internet connections and stubborn software glitches, Danielle Kovach got her whole class together a few Fridays ago for a video chat.

Kovach teaches special education in Hopatcong, N.J., and this Friday class session was a celebration: They’d made it through the first few weeks of distance learning.

Throughout those weeks, she’d maintained her 8:30 a.m. morning meeting over the computer, she was adhering to each student’s IEP, or Individualized Education Plan, and juggling new lessons with old routines, as she adapted to the coronavirus crisis. She was exhausted.

And so the celebration was a big moment (and a big hit with her students). She instructed everyone to bring your pet to class. “They were all holding up their dogs, their cats,” says Kovach. “We had fish, stuffed animals. They were so excited, it was just a fun time together.”

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