Elementary School Teacher Expectations

Elementary Specific Homeroom Duties

Parent Relationships

The best way to support your elementary students is by building strong relationships with your students' parents. Think of parents as your co-teachers on the front lines of delivering instruction. These parents are depending on you to be their coach and cheer leader, there to answer questions, provide instructional support,and make sure everyone is accountable for student success.

Homeroom Meetings & Outreach

Teachers meet daily with students for group instruction and activities. While students might not attend every one of these sessions, you must have at least one point of synchronous contact with every homeroom parent and student (this is a requirement of the family) each week. This meeting can be a part of Connection Club, Morning Roll Call, or can be an individual meeting. Meetings should take place in your Zoom room with both the teacher and student on webcam. If a student is not attending your Zoom sessions a phone call can count as a homeroom meeting, but should not be the norm. It is important that we routinely "see" students via Zoom so we can ensure their health and well being. A student may turn on the camera, wave at you, and then turn it off to meet the minimum video requirements.

During these meetings you will review with the student their progress, grades, attendance and activity logs. This is also a good time to ask students how they are doing on a personal level and invite them to share events going on in their lives. This will help you build relationships and get students to open up.

It is also good practice to send a weekly homeroom email update/newsletter to students and parents. You will find a template in the FLVS and Odysseyware trainings. Information should include upcoming school activities and reminders, grades and progress for all classes, fitness log reminders, and any other information the parent and student needs for the week. It is helpful to include reflection questions for students to respond to as a way to build responsibility for reviewing their learning and progress.

Find a communication system (phone, text, email, live session room) that works best for you and the parent, but make sure you are picking up the phone and calling struggling students right away. There should be multiple forms of contact made to students who are difficult to reach to show that every attempt is being made to connect with the student and their family. Please also be mindful about setting professional boundaries. You are not expected to be available to families on weekends or after school hours. We'll cover more about communication in the SIS training coming up.

Elementary Specific Instructional Duties

Familiarize Yourself with the Curriuclum & Learning Management System

Students in grades TK-2 use FLVS (Florida Virtual School) curriculum in the content areas of English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Science and Physical Education. Each content area covers 36 weeks of material, divided into Modules or Units and is aligned to the California Common Core Standards. Checklists, assignment calendars and pacing guides are provided as a resource. Even though most of the curriculum is online, some activities require outside resources. CalPac sends each TK-2 student an activity packet per subject area as well as additional materials for completing hands on activities.

Students in grades 3-6 use Odysseyware curriculum in the content areas of English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Science and Physical Education. Each content area covers 36 weeks of material, divided into Modules or Units and is aligned to the California Common Core Standards. Checklists, assignment calendars and pacing guides are provided as a resource. All assignments are completed and turned in online, with no physical assignments to complete. No additional materials are needed due to all curriculum being housed online.

Elementary Live Session Schedule & Expectations

Teachers hold daily live session classes weekly through Zoom to support students in their learning. The schedule for live sessions is as follows:

TK/K, 2nd, & 4th - Monday-Friday from 10am-10:30am

2nd, 3rd & 5th - Monday-Friday from 11am-11:30am

6th - Monday-Friday from 1pm-2pm

All sessions need to be recorded and recordings shared with families. Students are expected to attend sessions, however there is no formal grade. Students are encouraged to watch the recordings from missed sessions.

Elementary Grading Reminders

You are responsible for grading all written assignments in FLVS and Odysseyware within 48 hours. 50-75% of student work in FLVS and Odysseyware will require teacher grading. Most assignments include a rubric to help you with your grading. Also pay attention to point values of assignments. Written responses on quizzes, tests, and lessons count for the same amount as a multiple choice question. These responses should be graded on effort and accuracy even if the word count is less than the requirement.

Packets & Paper Based Work

K-2 students have a packet of work that supplements the work they are doing in FLVS. This packet has been put together for you and is sent home to students at the start of the semester. However, as you review the material with students you may want to excuse certain assignments at your discretion.

Students will either scan or take a photo of their packet work and submit it into the assignment box in FLVS. Be prepared to support students with their packet work and questions on submitting the assignments. Instructions on how to submit work will be covered in the FLVS training.

Elementary School Department Duties

"We're not just a department, we're a family!"

As part of the elementary school team you are expected to bring a positive attitude, be open to trying new things, and be willing to collaborate on ideas. Since we work so closely with our students as both their content and homeroom teachers it is easy to reach out to one another about individual student needs. Don't be afraid to communicate with your fellow teachers.

And please don't hesitate to share if something is not working for you. There is a lot of flexibility with our department and different approaches to instruction are encouraged. Just make sure students are coming first with any changes and that you let your DC know.

Department Meetings

We will have monthly department meetings and a monthly extended planning meeting. It is important that you attend these meetings for updates and to participate in discussions on how to better support student success. Calendar invites will be sent for scheduled meetings. We will set our meeting times together during our first meeting before school starts.

Department Tasks

Make sure to notify your department chair when school wide and department specific tasks have been completed. This includes updating live session attendance, updating fitness log grades, entering final grades, etc.

K-8 School Assemblies

The middle school and elementary school teams hosts varies middle school only activities and assemblies for students and parents. You are encouraged to volunteer to support these activities. More information will be provided in department meetings.