COVID-19 Tips and Resources

Sustained periods of virtual education are successful when students have a routine to follow and a space in which to work and learn.  Once you have an idea about daily time commitments, plan a schedule for your child to follow. Stick to as predictable a daily routine as possible.  In addition developing a daily learning schedule, it may be important to identify an at-home learning space. Ideally, this space should have:

• A computer, iPad, Chromebook or other device

• Good lighting

• Ready access to learning materials and tools

A dedicated learning space for virtual learning should ideally be located in a shared area of your home such as at the kitchen table, a large kitchen counter, or a desk in a living room or family room.  When your student's learning space is separate from their bedroom and distanced from the television, it sets the expectation and tone that the space is for work and not play. Additionally, an online learning space in a shared area allows parents and guardians to readily support learning while also monitoring online activity.

More adults are able to work remotely and most have daily schedules or routines they use to help them stay focused and on task.  When your student learns in the cloud, they're going to need parent support to think about how to establish a regular routine. Consider their ability to stay focused and how long they can reasonably devote their full attention to a task.  Your student's schedule will look different depending upon your family dynamics and your child's personal learning needs.

Nothing disrupts a person's ability to do planned tasks than having to stop and find the materials and tools that are needed for the task.  Virtual learning experiences don't just require a device. Students who are learning virtually should also have the following materials and tools available to them:

• Paper, pencils, and pens

• Calculator, ruler, compass, counters (e.g., dry beans), or other items to support math

• Textbooks, trade books, composition notebooks, and other necessary curriculum resources provided by your student's teacher

• Phone, iPad, or computer with camera for taking pictures of work and/or recording videos of learning demonstrations

The above list is not exhaustive.  As CVSD educators get smarter together about providing online learning as an option for students, this list will grow and guidance will be provided to parents and caregivers about how to access such materials and tools.

All CVSD students have district-provided Gmail accounts.  Teachers will be communicating with students and families through their normal channels, which may be through email, Seesaw, or Google Classroom. Students should check these accounts often for messages from their teacher(s) about the learning expectations. Elementary-aged students may need help checking for messages. Educators will also communicate with students about how to share their learning. 

There are are many possibilities for how teachers might invite students to share their learning. Parents and caregivers should be sure they know what their children's teacher(s) expect and then support their student as needed. This will be communicated by teachers to families. 

For the most part, we are hoping that students use digital tools that they're already familiar with from their school and classroom experience. We know that there are MANY sites out there to support learning and that most of them are offering free accounts at this time. 

A part of our practice in CVSD is to work with our vendors around student, staff, and family data privacy. Here is a list of the vendors that have signed an agreement with our district thus far. We are not able to do that for every site on the Internet and beg families to be cautious as you explore options for your child. 

We hope that if families are accessing new or additional resources, that you'll stop and think about: 

• What personal/private information is being provided to these companies? 

• What will they do with that information? 

• Are the sites filled with ads that will not only be distracting, but also tempting for students to click on? 

• When possible, please check the privacy policy and terms of service for these sites and/or apps before moving forward. 

• Is there any true educational value or is it entertainment? Consider screentime! 

• Check out reviews, forums, and recommendations on Common Sense Media and their reviews and ratings on Common Sense Education.

While CVSD students are asked to engage in online learning due to circumstances that require school buildings to close, the District recognizes that this can pose a hardship on many families.  Although students may be restricted from going to school, there is no guarantee that parents and guardians are able to work virtually from home and therefore be able to supervise their children. CVSD parents and caregivers are encouraged to think about ways they can support one another.  Everyone is encouraged to ask themselves:

• How might older siblings and students be able to support the learning of younger children?

• In what ways can neighbors and friendship groups share technology tools?

If the device is damaged or not working, please go to this url- https://ithelpdesk.cvsdvt.org and submit in a Helpdesk ticket.

Here are the required fields for completing a HelpDesk ticket. These directions have been modified to reflect information needed during Remote Learning.

• Email Address at login - The address to which you wish to receive a response.

• Summary -  Enter the student’s name.Name -  Enter the name of the person submitting the helpdesk ticket.

• School - Select your school from the dropdown.

• Room/Office Location - Enter off-campus.

• Phone/Extension - Enter the phone number at which you may be contacted.

• Category - Select the category which best matches the issue with the device.

• Describe the Problem -  Enter information about the problem.

• Computer Number - The number is on the bottom of the device.  Leave blank if not found.Click the Submit button when you have completed entering the information. Someone will respond to you as soon as possible.