HTHMA

High Tech High Guiding Principles for Distance Learning

This framework for Distance Learning is guided by our design principles of equity, personalization, authentic work and collaboration. We ask all of our community to remember why we became educators: to support children and the communities they (and we) live in. We aspire to craft distance learning experiences that continue to encourage community, connectedness, personalization, academic growth, and equity. When Distance Learning is activated due to a community crisis requiring school closures, we must also be mindful of and responsive to the diverse challenges that our educators and families may be experiencing.

Distance Learning Goals

• Provide meaningful & equitable learning experiences for our students

• Cultivate a sense of belonging, connectedness, and well-being (despite our physical distances and challenges in our world)

• Create simple and predictable schedules for our students and families (allow for teacher creativity without asking anyone to re-invent)

• Design an approach that is responsive to our students’ and families’ needs in this unique context

• Provide the flexibility that our current context calls for (for both educators and families)

Equitable Access - Access to Technology

HTH will collect data from all families via Google Form and phone calls in order to identify families in need of Internet access and/or a keyboard-enabled device. Based on this data, individual HTH schools will distribute HTH-owned Chromebooks to families without a keyboard-enabled device in the household. Families will be asked to sign the HTH Device Checkout Agreement upon collecting the device. Families who need IT support with a HTH-owned device will be able to request IT support via a Google Form. Families without Internet access will be connected to local service providers offering low-cost or free service.

Grading Policy

During distance learning, all HTH high schools will maintain the policy of letter grades, and these grades will be a continuation of student progress since March 13th. HTH has established a reputation of rigor through progressive learning approaches and grades from our schools reflect that learning. We want to preserve this stature for our current and future graduates thus maintaining a letter grade policy was the most appropriate course of action.