Beyond the Classroom

The "Admin" section contains useful tips and strategies for setting expectations, building community, and keeping parents in the loop during your first month. It includes anything you need to be doing outside the classroom.

Please watch the video and, then, make a copy of the 90-day Onboarding Checklist and share it with your Slack Onboarding Group. You can then go through the items below, but it is important to remember that you will not be a master of all the apps and processes on the first day! Don't get overwhelmed, instead, use the checklist to make sure you have the minimum requirements at each stage in your journey.

Transcript

First 90 Day Checklist for Teachers

Complete this workflow Frayer to help you establish a routine for managing your time effectively and with ease. Explore these examples of current routines that support our teachers in managing their time effectively and efficiently.

Recommended timeline: Onboarding teachers should complete this in Month 3 (see 90 Day Checklist). Current teachers-please complete this now!

MTSS and Honor Code

Please review our The Brilliant Microschool Multi-Tiered System of Supports as well as the BMS Honor code which all students and parents will sign. This will help you better understand our behavior framework and your role within it. Please also view our Camera Policy and steps that teachers should take to ease new students into consistent camera use. Review this guide for a comprehensive overview of Tier 1 supports, including detailed examples and strategies to prevent Tier 2.

Kick off your class by creating a "classroom agreement," based on the MTSS and Honor code, laying out a list of essential behaviors. Consistently supporting students in embodying classroom behaviors is important to us even when it is challenging, and you should know that we always have your back.

Some behaviors that are important to the school include: students should have cameras on with their faces visible, are dressed appropriately, and maintain neutral backgrounds. This allows us to foster a strong sense of community in our classrooms.

Here and here are examples of acceptable camera use; feel free to share this slide with students when you are setting your class norms or when you are assisting struggling students.

Our learning spaces aim to be unbiased, so if a student exhibits an offensive object in their background, gently request its removal without passing judgment--when correcting student behavior, its important not to exacerbate the situation.

Regular attendance is crucial (a minimum of 140 days per year). If a student misses more than three consecutive days or over five days in a month without valid reasons or ongoing parent communication, promptly notify the Parent Support Team.

Review this BMS Attendance SOP document to understand the procedures for following up on student absences - including who is responsible, how to follow up, and the appropriate timing.

Students in Need of Extra Support

If you need administrative support regarding a student incident or extra support for a student, follow this guide from above.

This video and guide will help you learn how to utilize Toddle Well-being to document behaviors.

Meet & Greets

Pre-Enrollment Meet & Greets: Participate in a casual, 30-minute Zoom meeting arranged by Admissions. Introduce yourself, share your teaching style, and spend most of the session learning about the student's background, learning preferences, and challenges. Build rapport with the student, if present. Acquaint yourself with our Meet & Greet Guide before your meetings.

Meet & Greet Guide

Onboard New Students

Students may enroll at various times throughout the year, with most joining between August 1st and Labor Day. A structured onboarding process for new students includes:

- Participating in the meet & greet.
- Making sure Parent Support sends you the student's registration form and start date.
- Confirming students are registered for Clever, Toddle, and other relevant learning apps 24 hours before the start date (this should happen automatically - let Parent Support know otherwise).
- Welcoming new students on their first day.
- Planning a welcoming activity for the new student to get to know their peers. Here are the activities we recommend doing.
- Assessing the new student's skill levels with placement tests:
  1. We assess skills using
    - IXL & MAP Growth Assessment
    - More on MAP here
  2. It is good to plan the assessment during their first month but avoid doing so in the first week. A student's first week should have one goal only: getting them comfortable and excited about our school. Also, avoid assessments in August, the first assessment in September works well.
  3. Let's use the words 'assessment' or 'diagnostic' instead of 'testing'. This reduces student anxiety. We don't use these assessments for any sort of grading, but rather they are used to reward growth and most importantly, to evaluate where you need to focus your differentiation to fill learning gaps.
  4. If a student experiences testing anxiety, they have the option to opt out of the MAP assessments. However, it's important for parents to know that MAP is a nationally-normed assessment that some states mandate. We encourage parents to check their state requirements via Toddle and ensure they're in compliance should their student choose to opt-out.

Student Information System

Access the Student Information System here: https://www.loom.com/share/9dd0e3e787bd45deb73acd98338f76ba?sid=0ec4640f-940a-4a77-982b-5cf6eabcacc9
Use your Brilliant Microschool email to log in to the page.
To view a student's information:

Select a class from the class dropdown menu.
Select a student from the student dropdown menu.
All the student's information will be displayed below.

You can request uploaded files such as the IEP and previous learning information from our Teacher Support Team.
Add notes for a particular student in the "Extra Notes → Teacher Notes" section.
The student timetable allows you to view your chosen student's schedules.
The Google Meet recordings section lets you access all recordings of your Zoom calls from the past 3 months.

Please also check our video here for more instructions.

Transcript

Communicate with Parents

All teachers send brief weekly notes to parents, highlighting interesting events or targeted skills from the past week and previewing upcoming classroom activities. To do this, use the Toddle Announcements feature! Use the Toddle Messaging feature to communicate with parents and share updates about their learner's progress.

Track Attendance

Mark daily attendance for your students in your Toddle Attendance tab. See Toddle on the 'Our Learning Apps' Page, later.

Payroll & Time off

Weekly Hours Submission

- Weekly hour submission is happening through the teacher portal. View the Hour Submission Guide here. Payments are sent out every Tuesday, so you can expect your compensation to arrive midweek.

Please find the details about how to submit your worked hours every Sunday. During your onboarding, the hours should be listed under “Onboarding Training” and broken down in the description box according to the tasks completed that week.

📝💻PORTAL:

You will need to use this link and enter the teacher portal: https://portal.brilliantgrades.com/

Here is a short loom explaining how to navigate the portal and make your submission.

Payments go out every Tuesday. Please let us know if you need any clarification or help with the submission.

Transcript

- Your hourly rate covers live session time, lesson planning, daily Slack channel participation, and reasonable parent and student communication. One-off time-consuming tasks such as preparing end-of-term report cards will be allocated as extra paid time.
- We aim to maintain a fair and transparent compensation structure at Brilliant Microschool. All additional hours must be pre-approved, so if a task is going to take extra time, contact your house leader beforehand to request it.

Day off Requests

For pre-planned time away, we advise keeping requests to a minimum throughout the year. Please schedule appointments outside of work hours whenever possible. For vacation, it is best to align those with the periods during which the school is closed (e.g., Christmas, Spring break, etc.). If an absence is unavoidable, we require a minimum of two weeks' notice. To inform us of pre-planned days off, follow this protocol:

- 1. Get AP approval regarding the day will need to be off.
  2. Fill out this form. When submitting the form, be sure to include all necessary details, such as the reason for your absence, the date(s), and any relevant lesson plans or materials. Lesson plans should be provided via a shareable drive link. Using an editable link ensures easy transfer and access for the substitute teacher. Even if your request is for a future date, include a drive link for the plans, even if it is blank at the time of submission.
  3. Send a message in your house support channel on Slack tagging the HR team (John, Anastasia).
The earlier you inform us about your need for time off, the better. Informing us ahead of time will help us accommodate everyone's requests. This ensures a smooth transition and continuity of learning for your students.

Emergency Absences

- In case of emergency, please use one of the following ways to let us know:
  1. Inform your house leader or substitute teacher coordinator via a direct message on Slack.
  2. Send a message to your corresponding teacher_support channel on Slack.
  3. Call the following numbers: +1 718-303-0497 (HR team) or +1 917-563-2694 (Parent Support team)
- In your message, please include the urgent situation and provide the link to your emergency plans.
- For absences, whether urgent or pre-planned, our administration teams will be handling the parent communication and coverage for the class. Unannounced absences should never occur. Always inform us in emergencies or exceptional circumstances.

School Holidays & Breaks

- Refer to the Microschool Calendar on Toddle for all holidays and breaks.

Teacher Evaluation

To ensure the continued professional growth and development of our teachers, quarterly evaluations will be conducted.These evaluations are designed to be a thoughtful reflection on your teaching practice, to provide feedback and support for improvement, as well as to recognize outstanding performance and share effective pedagogies. Think of your evaluation as a way to celebrate what you have mastered and a road map to continued learning. The evaluation process includes the following components:

- - Classroom Observations: Administrators or designated staff members will observe virtual classroom sessions to assess instructional practices, student engagement, and classroom management. These observations will provide insight into the effectiveness of teaching strategies and offer opportunities for feedback and improvement.
  - Student Performance Data: The evaluation will also consider student performance data, such as assessment results and progress toward mastery of learning objectives. This data will help determine the impact of teaching practices on student learning while identifying areas for growth.
  - Self-Assessment: Teachers will be asked to complete a self-assessment of their teaching practices, reflecting on their strengths and areas for development. This reflection will help inform goal-setting and professional growth plans.
  - Professional Development: Participation in professional development opportunities, including workshops, webinars, and conferences, will be considered in the evaluation process. Teachers are encouraged to seek out relevant professional learning experiences to enhance their skills and knowledge.

Mastery Check 3

For Microschool Teachers

Now that you've spent some time reading and understanding the "Designing Your FIrst Month' section, it's time to demonstrate your mastery of the core concepts through a fun, creative, and realistic written activity. Imagine you're a new teacher at Brilliant Microschool, and you need to send an email to a parent addressing two specific topics covered in this section. The email does not need to exceed 5 sentences.

In the email, please include:

A casual, concise explanation of the MTSS policy and the importance of appropriate behavior for their child's success.
Describe how you foster a sense of community in your virtual classroom. Share an example of an activity or strategy you plan to use to promote gratitude, collaboration, and student engagement.

Once you've written the email, submit it for review via the #bms-onboarding channel. Good luck!

Onboarding Nearpod 3

For Microschool Teachers

If you are viewing this content for the first time, click on the Nearpod.

Launch Nearpod

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