Though Sam Hart, Educational Coordinator at Pivot North Valley, just started at Pivot last fall, he is no stranger to charter schools. After teaching young adults at another charter school for six years, Sam decided to bring his talents and passion for teaching to Pivot.
Since Sam started teaching for Pivot in the middle of the pandemic, he was unable to meet any of his students and coworkers until Resource Centers reopened in the middle of April. Because Pivot has more than 10 years of distance (or hybrid) learning, Sam was able to successfully teach virtual chemistry labs to his students.
Pivot’s online learning platform provided information and data that allowed Sam to conduct dry labs, which means the students did not actually work with any chemical materials but were able to watch professional videos and talk through the processes with Sam.
“The students interacted wonderfully with the dry labs and followed along really well,” Sam said. “A big chunk of a lab is always going to end up being data analysis and making connections to the concepts you learned in an accompanying lecture so overall, I was really impressed with how well all the students did.”
Now that Resource Centers have reopened at Pivot to welcome back teachers, students and staff, Sam is looking forward to being able to connect with his students in real life.
“In person learning can be very different and beneficial for many students,” Sam said. “Teachers can also get a much better feel for things like body language and what methods are going to work better for our students.”
Regardless if Sam is teaching virtually or in-person, he said he enjoys the amount of personalized attention he is able to give to each of his students and their families at Pivot.
“It has been great to be able to get to know my students and families really well and build a strong relationship with them,” Sam said. “Pivot has created a model that can really work for many types of students and gives another opportunity to students who don’t need to be on site as much for whatever reason. Pivot offers a unique learning experience to anyone who attends.”