Guidelines for Parents

The transition to distance learning might be challenging for families. Parents need to think differently about how to support their children; how to create structures and routines that allow their children to be successful; and how to monitor and support their children’s learning. Some students will thrive with distance learning, while others may struggle. The guidelines provided below are intended to help parents think about what they can do to help their children find success in a distance learning environment.

Establish routines and expectations while on DLP

From the first day Heritage implements its DLP, parents need to establish routines and expectations. We encourage parents to set regular hours for their children’s school work. We start online lessons at 8:30am. The students are asked to be ready and enter the Google Meet 5 minutes before. The timetable follows exactly as the one in physical school. Keep normal bedtime routines for younger children and expect the same from your MS- and HS-aged children, too. Your children should move regularly and take periodic breaks as they study. It is important that parents set these expectations for how their children will spend their days starting as soon as distance learning is implemented, not several days later after it becomes apparent a child is struggling with the absence of routine.

Take an active role in helping your children process and 'own' their learning - but NO intervention of parents in online lessons is allowed!

In the course of a regular school day at Heritage, your son or daughter engages with other students or adults dozens if not hundreds of times. These social interactions and opportunities for mediation include turning to a peer to exchange a thought or idea, participating in small or large group discussions, asking questions for clarification, collaborating on group projects, and countless other moments. While some of these social interactions will be re-created on virtual platforms, others will not. Human beings learn best when they have opportunities to process their learning with others. Beyond the check-ins recommended at the start and end of each day, parents should regularly circle back and engage with their children about what they’re learning. However, it’s important that your children own their work; don’t complete assignments for them, even when they are struggling (either oral or written, including projects).

Even more so - NEVER intervene in the online class, either to comment on something, to give suggestions or to speak directly to the teacher. Our teaching staff is professional, each of them has a lesson plan and thus each minute is taken into account. Teachers can't spend their lesson time on other than doing their lesson activities, with your children.

If you feel the need to make any suggestions or comments, please feel free to write an email to the respective teacher (or to our administration), but do NOT interrupt the educator while teaching your child. Respectively, no other person's presence (sibling, parent or grandparent) should be felt or seen in your child's video background.

Define the physical space for your child’s study

Your child may have a regular place for doing homework under normal circumstances, but this space may or may not be suitable for an extended period of time, as will be the case if this DLP is implemented. We encourage families to establish a space/location where their children will learn most of the time. This should be a public/family space, preferably not in a child’s bedroom. It should be a place that can be quiet and have a strong wireless internet signal, if possible.

Monitor communications from your children’s teachers - Main tools: E-mail, ClassDojo (Primary) & Studii.Md (Secondary)

Teachers will communicate with parents through email, when and as necessary. ClassDojo for Primary and Studii.md for Secondary are our means of communication for short messages and comments at Heritage International School. Each parent needs to check these daily. The frequency and detail of these communications will be determined by your children’s ages, maturity, and their degree of independence. We are open to parents contacting their children’s teachers. However, we ask parents to remember that teachers will be communicating with dozens of other families, and that communications should be essential, succinct, and self-aware. We also encourage parents to have their children explain the technology systems (e.g. Razkids, Google Workspace for Education: Classroom, Meet etc) teachers are using.

Begin and end each day with a check-in

Parents are encouraged to start and finish each day with a simple check-in. In the morning, ask what is your child learning today? What are their learning targets or goals? How will they spend their time? What resources do they require? What support do they need? This brief grounding conversation matters. It allows children to process the instructions they’ve received from their teachers. It helps them organize themselves and set priorities. Older students may not want to have these check-ins with parents, but they should nevertheless. Parents should establish these check-ins as regular parts of each day. Not all students thrive in a distance learning environment; some struggle with too much independence or lack of structure. These check-in routines need to be established early, before students fall behind or begin to struggle. Check their attendance, grades or teacher comments on Studii.md every day!

Every parent must be aware of the fact that if the student only enters the Google Meet and later is not engaged, doesn't respond to teacher's questions, or has camera off, then the teacher can mark him/her as absent.

Establish times for quiet and reflection

A challenge for families with multiple children will be how to manage all of their children’s needs, especially when those children are different ages and have different needs. There may be times when siblings need to work in different rooms to avoid distraction. Parents may even experiment with noise-cancelling headphones to block out distractions.

Encourage physical activity and/or exercise

Make sure your children remember to move and exercise. This is vitally important to their health, well-being, and to their learning. Our physical education teachers will recommend activities or exercises, but it is important for parents to model and encourage exercise. Think also about how your children can pitch in more around the house with chores or other responsibilities. Don’t let your children off the hook – expect them to pitch in.

Remain mindful of your child’s stress or worry

Heritage will only implement this DLP if a serious emergency has occurred. Should this happen, it is imperative for parents to help their children manage the worry, anxiety, and range of emotions they may experience. Difficult though it may be, do your best not to transfer your stress or worry to your children. They will be out of sorts, whether they admit it or not, and need as much normal routine as parents can provide.

Monitor how much time your child is spending online

We do not want our students staring at computer screens for 7-8 hours a day. We ask that parents remember most teachers are not experts in distance learning and that it will require some trial-and-error before we find the right balance between online and offline learning experiences. Teachers and administrators will periodically check in with you to assess what you’re seeing at home and what we need to adjust. We thank you in advance for your patience and partnership!

Keep your children social, but set rules around their social media interactions

There’s always excitement when school closes. If Heritage International School implements this DLP, the initial excitement of school being closed will fade quickly when students start missing their friends, classmates, and teachers. Help your children maintain contact with friends when circumstances permit. Please also monitor your children’s social media use, especially during an extended school closure. Older students will rely more on social media to communicate with friends. Social media apps such as SnapChat, Instagram, WhatsApp, or Facebook are not official, school-sanctioned channels of communication. We ask parents to monitor their children’s use of social media. Remind your children to be polite, respectful, and appropriate in their communications and to represent your family’s values in their interactions with others. A student’s written words and tone can sometimes offend or cause harm to others.

For questions about a piece of work, resource, learning activity or class

Make contact with the course teacher

For questions about a personal, academic, or social concern

Make contact with our school counselor or academic director

Counselor: olesea.pletniov@heritage.md Academic Director: inga.chiosa@heritage.md
and if appropriate, the student's class teacher and the teacher of the course

For questions about another issue related to distance learning

Make contact with:

Secondary -- inga.chiosa@heritage.md

Primary -- elize.morin@heritage.md

For questions about a technology-related question or issue

Make contact with the Distance Learning Coordinator

tatiana.popa@heritage.md

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