This has been a challenging and stressful period for our community. We appreciate the incredible efforts that our families are making to manage many personal, professional and educational responsibilities that it entails. We urge you to consider the health, safety and well-being of your family first and foremost and your child’s transition to remote learning secondarily. We understand that these are extraordinary times.
Over the past few weeks, B-P teachers have focused on connecting remotely with students and families and providing activities meant to review and reinforce previously learned content and skills. Our expectation is that beginning on April 13, our teachers will shift to providing new instruction to students.
Throughout our transition to remote learning, we have been researching, studying, learning, strategizing, and seeking to identify the best ways to provide quality remote instruction for an extended period of time. We have incorporated ideas from our neighboring districts far and wide, from building leaders and teachers, from parents and students on how to best support the transition to remote learning. As a result, we’ve outlined the following expectations, as well as a series of strategies that are outlined below.
Elementary Parent Checklist
- Call the help desk if you have trouble connecting.
- Help your child to stay connected with their teachers.
- Help your child stay organized.
- Provide a quiet place to learn and a checklist of tasks to complete.
- Contact your child’s teacher if your child is confused or struggling with a lesson.
MS/HS Student Checklist
- Contact the help desk with any connection or Chromebook problems.
- Check into each of your classes on Monday for weekly assignments.
- Connect with the teacher via Google Meets as scheduled.
- Contact your teacher if you are confused and unable to complete an assignment.
- Organize your learning assignments and daily time commitments so that you can submit work by the due date.
Student School Work Expectations
Pre-K through Grade 2
- 2.5 hours total per week of new learning for ELA and math, with an additional one hour per week for learning in other disciplines (3.5 hours per week total)
- In addition to new learning, a student’s learning routine should include:
- 20 minutes daily of independent reading;
- 10 minutes daily on math facts; and
- 45 minutes of I-Ready practice over the course of the week.
Grades 3-5
- 4 hours total per week of new learning for ELA and math, with an additional one hour per week for learning in other disciplines (5 hours per week total)
- In addition to new learning, a student’s learning routine should include:
- 20 minutes daily of independent reading;
- 10 minutes daily on math facts; and
- 45 minutes of I-Ready practice over the course of the week.
Grades 6-8
- 2 hours total per day suggested (10 hours/week total)
Grades 9-12
- 3-4 hours total per day suggested
Strategies for Remote Learning
Maintain Personal Connections
Maintaining our connection to students is our first priority. This will take a variety of forms including live classes and meetings, streamed classes, pre-recorded lessons with assessments and emails, interactive blogging, conference calls and even more. All students are expected to be connecting with their teachers on a regular basis.
Narrow the Curriculum
Our teachers have collaboratively studied our previously established curriculum maps and scope and sequence documents to identify the priority standards and essential learning for each grade and/or course. This means, the only topics we will be focusing on are the essential ones necessary to prepare students for the next level. Our priority now is to prepare students for the next grade or the next course in a sequence. Enrichment activities will be clearly defined as such and are optional for students.
Implement Teacher-Guided Learning
Our commitment to regular personal connections will allow us to provide direct instruction. Our goal is to keep the primary responsibility for education with our teachers. We recognize that synchronous opportunities for student-teacher interaction are an important part of the teaching and learning process. We also realize the complexity of this in the virtual environment. We have narrowed the amount of content delivered and are committed to teacher-guided learning, as opposed to independent study or parent-provided instruction. We will continue to refine our strategies by using a variety of virtual learning tools.
Streamline Communication
We are making a concerted effort to streamline communication between teachers, students, and parents. When possible, teachers will communicate as a team to help reduce the number of emails being sent out. Prekindergarten work will continue to be posted to the district website. Students without access to the internet will be provided hard copies of assignments. For students in grades K-12, remote learning lessons will be posted each Monday. Teachers will be available throughout the week via Google Classroom for meetings, guidance, feedback and support. Communication from teachers will be via Google Classroom and will include pertinent information about assessments, links, expectations, etc. Secondary students should check their school email at least daily.
Provide Student Support
School districts are required to implement plans designed to meet the unique needs of all students. Special education teachers will work with general education teachers to provide access to learning opportunities, as well as, to provide accommodations and modifications of general education assignments and assessments for students on their caseloads, where appropriate, to the extent possible. Related service providers, school counselors, and social workers will use a variety of supports, activities, and communication methods to provide support, to the extent it is appropriate, to meet the unique needs of students. Personal outreach to parents will be made via phone or email. Parents who have concerns about their child’s social or emotional well-being should reach out to their child’s social worker, guidance counselor, and principal.
What Student-Teacher Connections Will Look Like
Elementary Level
Grade level teachers will make regular personal connections with their students over the course of each week using a variety of platforms (e.g., Google Meet, live streaming, Google Classroom connections, phone calls, etc.). These connections will allow teachers to present new content or skills as well as allow teachers and classmates to stay connected. Teachers are encouraged to also use this time to help students stay focused on the priority ELA and math lessons, and to encourage them to participate in the activities provided by their special area teachers.
Middle & High School Level
Teachers will make regular personal connections with students over the course of each week using a variety of platforms (e.g. Google Meet, Google Classroom, live streaming, screen casting, phone calls etc.). These connections will allow teachers to present new content or skills as well as allow students to connect with their teachers in order to be guided through lessons, ask questions, and maintain personal relationships. Live class meetings will be scheduled by day of the week.