Important Information Regarding the Opening of School
Information regarding the opening of school
School is going to begin in a few days and I know that everyone has a lot of questions about what is going to happen. We want to provide as much information that is available at this time while acknowledging that there are still many questions to be answered.
Just to provide some context--our teaching staff left school for their summer break on June 10th. While many of them have read books about educational topics, attended webinars, and done a lot of thinking about the coming school year over the summer, they are not due back to work until Monday, August 17th. The planning for the next school year that we are usually able to do in the spring could not be done due to the situation and the uncertainty of what this school year would look like.
When we left school on Friday, March 13th, we thought that we would be returning in a few short weeks once our school was sanitized and the virus had slowed down. We never imagined the severity of the global pandemic or the effect that it would have on all of our lives.
Next week, our staff will receive intensive training related to the reopening of school and our plans moving forward. They will also be creating class lists for the upcoming school year and planning with their grade level teams for our instructional program. As grade level teams, they will determine the schedules for their students and then those will be shared with you.
We realize that you need to plan for your students to begin distance learning starting on August 24th. We will be distributing Chromebooks to any students who need them in drive-by pick-ups in our lower parking lot on Tuesday, August 18th from 10:00 to 12:00 and on Thursday, August 20th from 8:00 to 10:00. If your child needs a device, please plan to have someone come by during one of these times to obtain a Chromebook.
Our basic schedule will have students attending school on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8:30 to 2:15 with both synchronous and asynchronous instruction. What that means is that sometimes students will be attending school via Zoom calls to collaborate and develop community with the other students in the class. At other times, their teachers will be teaching lessons online. That is called “synchronous instruction”. Students will also be expected to do work outside of the Zoom meeting times where they will be independently doing activities or school work on their own. They may also be asked to watch a video or log on to a website to explore a topic or perform a physical activity. This is the “asynchronous instruction.” A blend of both types of instruction helps to ensure that students are not spending all day looking at a computer screen.
Wednesdays may include a whole class Zoom meeting, small group instruction, and enrichment kinds of activities that students can access online. Teachers will also hold office hours during the week to answer students’ and parents’ questions.
Instructional materials such as workbooks, worksheets, and textbooks will be distributed at some time during the first week or so of school. These items may not be needed on day one of school since our staff will be focusing on creating community and connections with students, getting to know each other, training students on the tools that will be used for learning, and setting expectations for online learning. Once class lists are set and shared with you, the teachers will be reaching out to you with information that is specific to their class.
While this may not answer all of the questions that you might have at this time, we hope that it provides some direction for you. Know that our staff is working very hard to plan for the school year and that we will do our best to provide students with a meaningful education this year. We need to be partners now, more than ever, to help our children to learn and grow. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we plan to begin this unusual school year!