Harmony Project KC teachers Jason West, Matthew Bennett and Rebecca Baquerizo laugh with Garfield Elementary School students Samantha and Danna in a virtual celebration call.

The ache of two months without seeing their students was already bad enough for the music teachers from Harmony Project KC.

Now it came to this. There they were, the teachers’ live-streamed faces flickering in the grid of a Google Meet conference call Wednesday afternoon, realizing that their kids who’d been invited to join them simply weren’t there. Not a one.

Teacher Ashley Stanfield talks with Wahsay, Manish, and Angie.

This, they believed, was not a problem of lack of interest. Almost immediately, phone calls and texts between the teachers and students and parents revealed the truth: Virtual technology in these pandemic days is still a learning process.

They were experiencing “the difficulties all urban schools are facing to try and bridge the digital divide right now,” said Laura Shultz, executive director of the Northeast Community Center and the Harmony Project KC.

Soon, after several phone calls and texts to kids who were trying to figure out how to get on, the phone icons that announce new participants began to pop onto the screen.

A half-dozen students from Kansas City’s Garfield Elementary School made it into two separate conference calls. One had a 2-year-old baby brother squawking in the background. Pets sounded off in others. A parent’s voice popped in here and there.

But the joy in the kids’ voices came through as clear as the visible smiles of their teachers.

Teacher: “Have you been practicing your violin?”

Student: “Yeah. A little.”

Teacher: “Did you finish your school work?”

Student: (pause, then slowly and drawn out) “Mayyybeeee.”

They talked about being home so much, missing friends at school. They talked of their pets. Dogs and chickens. They talked about things they’ve learned to cook and favorite foods.

Garfield student Danna (imagining the day they can get back together): “We can have a welcome back food party!”

These are the connections many programs have made happen this spring, including the Harmony Project KC, and LINC’s virtual chess program, laying the technological groundwork to carry on into summer.

They are driven, Shultz said, by “the undaunted desire to deliver this program to their students.”

Both Harmony Project KC and LINC Chess are shaping plans to make virtual instruction possible through most of the summer, with LINC planning its first virtual chess tournament in July, said Ken Lingelbach, director of LINC Chess.

“Our instructors have come up with wonderful classes for any chess ability, beginners through advanced,” Lingelbach said. “This program has been wonderful for the students as they continue their development of chess, and we have seen remarkable growth in those regularly attending.”

Chess player Trevin Conway and his mom, Hallie Conway

The continuing online chess instruction has been an appreciated surprise, said Fire Prairie Upper Elementary Sixth Grader Trevin Conway in Fort Osage.

“It’s a great way to relieve stress,” he said, on a Zoom call with his mother, Hallie Conway. “It’s amazing. I’ve improved” in new strategies.

There are also advantages in online games, he said, because you don’t have to try to hide your smile or squelch a frustrated “Oh, man!”

When playing face-to-face, he said, “it’s hard to hide your emotions.”

And, his mom added, “you can’t play in your pajamas.”

More than 30 youths have kept their chess instruction and playing going online, Lingelbach said.

Harmony Project KC had 40 children enrolled when schools closed and switched to digital learning, program coordinator James Westbrook said.

The virtual celebration was important, he said, to bring together teachers and students with their peers they haven’t seen since March, to keep relationships intact as the program prepares for virtual summer courses.

“This program relies heavily on the contact and connection,” Westbrook said. “We wanted a chance for the students to feel connected to their musical community while staying at home.”

Cheyene Heatley, the LINC Caring Communities site coordinator at Garfield, joined in the virtual gathering to continue LINC’s support of Harmony and the students.

“Their willingness to go above and beyond to celebrate and recognize their students and their accomplishments has been inspiring,” Heatley said. The virtual gathering and the effort behind it “showed just how much our students love their Harmony teachers and it’s very easy to see why. They have been innovative, creative and thoughtful in keeping students engaged during these difficult times.”

Learn more about Harmony Project KC at harmonyprojectkc.org.

Learn more about LINC Chess programs and the coming summer virtual tournament at kclinc.org/chess.

By Joe Robertson/LINC writer

Digital creativity fosters child dreams of musical food parties, chess tourneys in PJs