Parents:

Teachers will be communicating with students electronically.  Due to us being 1:1 with technology, many teachers already use an electronic platform such as Google Classroom or Canvas to enhance or provide instruction to students.  Teachers also use Remind to communicate with students as well. These methods will be continued and enhanced to allow teachers to provide adequate instruction and feedback to their students during this time.  In cases where students do not have access to the internet from home, a packet of instructional work will be sent to the student for completion.  Schools will be contacting you regarding this and will provide you with resources available, during this time, to assist you in obtaining internet service at your home.  Please note that all students will be utilizing resources from the internet for instructional support. 

We expect that our transition will be relatively smooth as our campuses have embraced technology enhanced instruction.  We appreciate your patience as we work through the kinks during our transition. Please see below for the expectations for our teachers and students as well as tips for a successful learning experience.  

The APSB website(www.apsb.org) has updates on COVID-19 and Google Classroom resources.  Schools will be communicating regularly with you so please stay tuned to all school communication venues. Feel free to contact your principal if you are having difficulty with this transition.

Students attending ECO or APPLe Digital Academy for ALP, APP, or BLP will receive communication specific to these campuses from the administrator.

There are no sporting events this week.  The district will address this on a week by week basis.

 

Teacher Expectations:

  • If this is the first time you are working with online instruction in your course, below are best practices for facilitating an online course:
    • Direct students where they will find the agenda for the time you will be online and thoroughly explain the information regarding the required text, topical outline and evaluation/grading procedure
    • Be sure and list all start and end times for live sessions
    • List all start and end times for assignments
    • Direct students where they will find your contact information with updated contact information concerning your availability and times, email addresses, Google Classroom Codes and Remind App access, etc.
    • Direct students where they would find a schedule of all assignments, due dates, and the format in which they should be submitted
    • Notify students which communication features that you will be using in your Google Classroom (etc) (Google docs, chat, group pages, email)
    • Notify students which tools that you will be using in your course (Kahn Academy, IXL, Edulastic, Newsela, Edpuzzle, Socrative, Nearpod, Peardeck, AOP (ACT Online Prep), ACT Academy etc.)
    • Stay in contact with your administrators for guidance and communication
    • Continue to collaborate with your colleagues
    • Be available, during school hours, to assist your students and communicate effectively with them and parents. A more detailed description of your availability and work with students will be provided by your administrator
    • Continue to update grades in PowerSchool
    • Adhere to school-specific guidance and expectations 
    • Contact parents of students that are not engaging in online assignments and make your administrator aware of students that are not engaging in instruction
    • Be prepared to go to school to make phone calls, participate in teacher meetings, etc.

Attendance and Practices for Online Classes 

    • Students are required to log on and review the week’s course material.  Individual internet assignments are due as specified by the teacher.   Attendance will be taken based on student work and submission of assignments by the due date.  If students fail to submit an assignment when due, students will be marked absent for those class periods
    • Establish and communicate office hours (live) times students will be required to login for instruction and/or feedback.  You can work in departments to do this.  You may stagger courses MWF & TTh, for example. A more detailed description on how this is to be handled on your campus will be communicated by administration 
    • If direct instruction is needed, use this time to do so or inform them of when and where it will be uploaded for them to view
    • Teachers will need to be flexible and work together to ensure that there is no overlapping in times that they are asked to work with specific courses
    • Discuss and post timelines and due dates with students and be sure this information is available to parents
    • Provide feedback and clarity of lessons
    • Assignments may be assigned that do not require students to log on every day.  This is acceptable; however, the teacher should monitor student progress each day and be available for assistance throughout the school day
    • Continue to administer grades on work that you determine is grade worthy
    • District-wide Benchmark assessments will not be administered
    • Keep the integrity of the course credit

 

Student Expectations: 

  • Stay tuned to school communication that is messaged out.  Schools will provide information via email or other school platforms.  (School messenger, Parent Apps, etc.)
  • Login to the platform communicated by your teacher to get your assignments. Work on and complete assignments by the due date.  This is how your attendance will be taken.  If the assignment is completed by the due date, it is expected that you worked on this assignment for the required amount of time and you will be marked present.  If the assignment is not turned in on time, it is expected that you didn’t work the required amount of time and will be marked absent for those work days.  Your teacher will also mark you absent if you don’t participate in mandatory scheduled learning sessions
  • Your teacher will communicate with you the times and days that he/she will be available as well as when/if there are any mandated sessions for instructional purposes, to offer support or guidance, to answer questions, etc.  
  • Your teacher will be available, every day,  to check messages and to support you through your assignments unless you are notified otherwise
  • Complete all assignments in the manner assigned by the teacher
  • Good communication with your teacher is important at this time
  • Grades will continue to be issued

 

Guidance to Students:

The first thing you need to realize is that online coursework is not an easier way to learn, but rather a different and sometimes more convenient way of learning. To successfully learn online, you need to dedicate a significant amount of your time, consistently attend the program, be concentrated while studying, and fully commit to your learning process, just as you would do for a regular course.

You should also have in mind that when you take an online course, that you are expected to:

  • Fully commit yourself and participate in the virtual classroom as required
  • Exercise patience as we transition to online learning
  • Complete your learning tasks and assignments on time
  • Be self-disciplined
  • Make sure you have reliable internet access
  • Setup a dedicated study space
  • Stay on schedule
  • Advocate for yourself.  Ask for help when you need it
  • Stay motivated