Beaumont ISD is offering two learning options this year to accommodate our parents and students for the 2020-21 school year.

Remote Start

All students, regardless of which learning option they select, will participate in remote learning the first four weeks of school beginning Monday, August 17, 2020. Following these weeks, they will transition into either virtual learning or on-campus learning beginning Monday, September 14, 2020.

Virtual Learning Option

If this option is selected, students must complete the entire nine-week grading period before opting to change programs. Parents will have the option to move to on-campus instruction at the end of the grading period, if desired, however, if parents would like virtual instruction all year, they may choose to stay with it for the duration of the school year. If a child remains in the virtual learning program the entire year, they will have the same teacher(s) throughout the year.

The virtual learning option will provide both synchronous and asynchronous learning.

• Synchronous learning: Teachers will host live Zoom instructional videos and conferencing periodically throughout the week. Each teacher will publish a schedule of when their live Zooms will occur.

• Asynchronous instruction: Virtual teachers will upload videos of lessons along with the practice the students will be required to do. This will be done through Google Classroom. Daily independent reading will also be a part of the instructional expectations. Additional individualized practice will occur in the form of time spent on online learning programs, but the amount of time will be less than was required during the Spring COVID-19 closure.

Parents may elect to have their children view the Google Classroom lesson videos and complete the assigned work at a time that is convenient for their family structure, such as in the evening after work. If the child will be in a daycare setting during the day, it is important that the child have opportunities to engage in learning within that setting. Time could easily be set aside for the child to read independently on MyOn, work on online learning programs or conduct other self-directed learning so that the evening time is set aside for viewing video lessons and completing the work that goes with them.

On-Campus Learning Option

The Texas Education Agency announced that districts would be allowed to hold remote instruction for the first four weeks of school. If parents opt for the on-campus option, students will attend a traditional, face-to-face school day. Students will be assigned teachers and will start out with them learning remotely. During the remote time period, the teachers will be connecting with students via Zoom and Google Classroom to provide instruction and assignments. Some of the instruction will be provided live at published times, but teachers will also film lessons which will be uploaded in Google Classroom for parents and students to access at a time convenient for them.

Once the remote learning time period is over, their remote teachers will become their on-campus teachers to allow teachers to build relationships with their students prior to seeing them in person. During the remote period, students will submit work to their teachers via Google Classroom. Once we switch to on-campus learning, students will complete work on campus in the typical way and as homework.

What if I want to switch from Virtual to Face-to-Face at the end of a grading period?

Parents have the option to switch at the end of the nine weeks and can even switch back again at the end of the next nine weeks. If you do decide to switch, that is similar to switching to a new school. Your child will have to assimilate into the classroom with new face-to-face teachers and the other students in class at the start of the new grading period.