Traditional Education Model

In Mustang, this is defined as In-Person learning with integration of a Learning Management System (Canvas/SeeSaw). Health/Safety measures are in place to deal with COVID-19.

Traditional education is defined as teacher-centered delivery of instruction to classes of students who are the receivers of information. Traditional schools are most common nationwide and can offer quality instruction along with the benefits of federal- and state-mandated regulations and laws.

It is imperative that open communication is maintained between families and the school.

Active learning

One of the top reasons that traditional education can benefit a student is having contact with teachers/educators. With online learning, the options in this area are limited. In a traditional model, students interact in-person with educators and can discuss the class, their performance, or a project so that communication is two-way and clear.

During class, students can participate in real time with teachers and classmates. This creates additional learning opportunities beyond the course content. Students can ask questions and get clarification on things they are uncertain of. This increases everyone’s understanding; active learning and participation are beneficial for all involved.

Interaction and communication

Students learn how to communicate and interact with teachers and classmates at school. This improves their ability to maintain interpersonal relationships as well as communication skills. Many small lessons are learned by communicating with peers and adults.

Scheduled learning

Schools are well organized and structured in traditional education. The routine that comes with traditional schooling brings punctuality, discipline, and organization to children and young adults. This gives students a sense of responsibility to arrive to class prepared and on time. These habits will be with them into adulthood.

Extracurricular activities

Throughout our school years, we gain a great deal by participating in fine arts, class field trips, school activities, sports, clubs, and more. These life experiences can’t be gained anywhere else.

The Social Advantage

Because traditional public schools educate all children, a diverse population encourages children to develop tolerant and accepting attitudes. Online schools and homeschooling, while having the potential to deliver quality instruction, can lack the opportunity for children to learn alongside a community of other children. Noted education expert John Dewey stated his belief about the importance of social interaction in 1897, writing, "I believe that the school is primarily a social institution."

School is where children learn how to socialize and make friends.

Going to school is a fundamental building block in a person’s life. School is where children learn how to socialize and make friends. School is where we meet some of our best friends and make memories of a lifetime. Sometimes, unfortunately, it is also where negative social experiences take place, but even these experiences can prove to be valuable learning experiences.

Covering the Standards

Unlike alternatives to the usual public school model, traditional schooling means that state-approved standards in all the curricular areas will be covered which means that parents can be assured that their children are exposed to what other students are learning. Oklahoma state standards can be accessed online.

Broad Support Services

Traditional public schools receive funding from the state and are legally entrusted to provide equal educational opportunities for all students. Because of this, counseling, special education, speech therapy and other support services are available for students who qualify. These services, when identified, must be provided by the district at no cost to the child, making this a tremendous cost advantage for some families.

No application is required for traditional school; this is the default option for all students in Mustang Public Schools. Students will attend their neighborhood school(s) with few exceptions (i.e., Pre-K).

If you are new to Mustang, information on how to enroll can be found HERE.

Please visit the MPS Transportation site.

• • Routes - As we prepare to welcome students back to our school buildings, we continue to alter bus routes to make each route the quickest/most efficient possible.

    • To access route information, simply go to elink.mustangps.org. Be sure to uncheck the box next to “Authenticate using Network Credentials.” Then enter the username of mustang, and the password is guest.

    • There is a chance your bus pick up and drop off times will change during the first few weeks of school as we make adjustments. Updates happen every 24 hours, so it is a good idea to check your route schedule regularly.

    • If your address is NOT populating in the finder, please call our district office for assistance at (405)376-2630.

    • As always, we appreciate your patience with our team each year as our school district continues to grow and new neighborhoods are established.

  • Safety - Please take a moment to review this to view an Infographic on Oklahoma Bus Laws. Drive Safely!

  • Transportation Updates (Beginning of School) - We will be providing live updates on our MPS Operations Facebook Page during the first few days of school. You can always call transportation for updates on buses as well.

Daily attendance is compulsory. It is important that all families partner with us in monitoring the health of our students and families. We ask that temperatures be taken on a daily basis at home. No student with a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher may enter any MPS facility.

It is imperative for the health and safety of all students and staff that students stay home on days that they have a fever or any symptoms of illness.

MPS will make every effort to promote healthy practices and protocols, and will follow local/state/federal mandates.

Requirements and recommendations are subject to change.

Distance Learning will be used ONLY In The Event of an A-B Schedule, School Closure, Student Quarantine or Extended Absence

Distance Learning Plan - in the event of school closure or lengthy student absence for medical or other approved reasons, the MPS Distance Learning Plan may be enacted. The Distance Learning Plan is teacher-led and students may access their coursework through the district’s learning management system (Canvas/SeeSaw).

• Can be utilized by individual families in the event of student exposure/illness resulting in quarantine;

• Counts as a school day (not a traditional absence if student completes online lessons within the allotted time);

• Virtual coursework via Canvas/SeeSaw LMS;

• Students continue to learn new material with teacher support;

• Opportunities for students to collaborate and learn by interacting virtually with peers/teachers;

• May include pre-recorded or live lessons/tutorials;

• Regular support and contact from MPS teachers until on-campus class can resume.

Canvas (5th-12th Grade) - Canvas is our learning management system/portal for 5th-12th grades where students will access their assignments, communication and more. The system streamlines all the digital tools and content that teachers and students use, for a simpler, more connected, learning experience.

• • Be sure to check out our MPS Introduction to Canvas Video and our Parent Pointers!

  • MPS Access to Canvas is available here: https://mustangps.instructure.com/login/canvas. The video above will show you how to login & more!

  • Helpful Canvas guides can be found HERE.

  • Student App - iOS/Android

  • Parent App - iOS/Android

  • Access via Browser - iOS or Android or PC

SeeSaw (PreK-4th Grade) - SeeSaw is our learning management system for students in PreK-4th grade; it is a platform for student engagement. Teachers can empower students to create, reflect, share, and collaborate. Students “show what they know” using photos, videos, drawings, text, PDFs, and links. It’s simple to get student work in one place and share with families, and nothing is shared without teacher approval.

• • Check out the SeeSaw Parent Introduction Video and SeeSaw Parent Pointers.

  • The Seesaw Class and Family apps are available on iOS, Android, and Kindle Fire devices. You can also use Seesaw on the web using a computer or Chromebook via a Chrome, Firefox, or Edge browser. See the step-by-step instructions for downloading Seesaw onto your device.

  • Access to SeeSaw is available here: https://app.seesaw.me/#/login.

Visit https://web.seesaw.me/ for more information.

Distance Learning will be used ONLY In The Event of an A-B Schedule, School Closure, Student Quarantine or Extended Absence

Distance learning may be used if school is closed due to COVID, inclement weather or other unforeseen circumstances. Distance learning days may be added to the regular school calendar in an effort to prepare students and staff for longer school closures.

No. In March of 2020, the state Board of Education closed schools in Oklahoma due to the coronavirus pandemic and recommended a distance learning plan that allowed students to complete the school year at home. At that time, MPS developed a Distance Learning Plan (DLP) which included weekly lessons, GoogleClassroom meetings, and more.

Any future Distance Learning will not be like our previously offered DLP. There will be numerous differences from the Distance Learning that we experienced in the spring based on feedback received from parents, students and teachers. What you can expect:

• An improvement upon quality and depth of the curriculum.

• Utilization of our new Learning Management Systems (Canvas or SeeSaw) rather than Google Classroom.

• A mix of pre-recorded videos and real-time virtual lessons.

• Grades will be recorded.

• Courses will be "for credit" and transcripted.

Based on OSDE guidelines, school grading policies for remote student work must be consistent with those used before COVID-19 for on-campus assignments. Any virtual environment, by choice or by governmental decision, will follow the same grading guidelines as in-person instruction, as set forth in our handbook and academic guides.

In turn, the grading policy in place on the campus will continue in a Distance Learning environment and will not move to other systems such as pass/fail.

Distance Learning will be put into place when face-to-face instruction is interrupted and/or school buildings are closed to students. The expectations for the Distance Learning Plan for this school year will be much different than they were in the spring. Lessons and assignments will consist of teacher/team provided content and will be aligned to MPS curriculum maps. Daily assignments must be turned in and grades will be recorded.

Teachers should be prepared to transition from a traditional school setting to a distance learning setting at any point during the 2020-21 school year. The following guidelines have been developed to ensure that we can transition smoothly from one model to the next as the need arises. This plan will address the following:

• Resources

• Teacher Preparation for Distance Learning

• Teaching/Instructional Expectations

• Curriculum Resources

• Attendance for Students

• Communication with Parents

• Support Staff Expectations

• Professional Development for Teachers

Resources

Online Resources

• Learning Management Systems

  • See-Saw- grades PreK through 4th and Canvas- grades 5-12

• Online Textbook Access

• Instructional Resources through a variety of websites including YouTube, Khan Academy, and others

• Lexia (Reading) for grades K-6 and Exact Path (Math and Reading) for grades K-6

Offline Resources

• District provided curriculum including textbooks, workbooks, and other printed materials

Communication with Parents

District Communication

• The district will announce the shift to Distance Learning via messenger, the district website, social media, etc.

• Principals will send out a parent/guardian letter to let parents know the following:

  • what to expect from their child’s teacher during Distance Learning

  • how to receive their students textbooks and materials

  • For the offline plan- where/when to pick up lesson plans for each week, how to return assignments, etc.

Teacher Communication

Teachers will be expected to:

• Reach out to each student’s parents via email/phone to establish initial communication regarding the distance learning plan. Let them know exactly how/when you will be interacting with students and provide any specific information that you need them to know as they assist/support their child(ren) through the transition.

• Include information regarding your school’s plans for parents to pick up and drop off assignments each week (offline plan)

• Include in your communication your expectations for student participation and turning in assignments/providing evidence of learning.

• Provide Instructions for LMS use including student username and password information

Schedule of Distance Learning:

• Students will be provided 5 days of content in reading and math and 2-3 days of content in social studies and science

• Teachers will provide instruction and be available to parents/students on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday of each week from 8:00 am - 3:00 pm.

• Wednesdays will be designated as team planning days

Assessment/Grading Expectations

Teachers will collect students' work and provide timely grades and feedback to students throughout distance learning. The grading/assessments procedures should mirror grading procedures/structures used in the traditional classroom setting.

Contract Hours

Teachers will report to their school building each day during Distance Learning for the duration of their contract hours. Teachers in grades PreK-6 will have virtual meetings/check-in with their class each day on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. They will also be available via phone, email, and/or the district LMS (Seesaw/Canvas) to answer student/parent questions, discuss assignments and grades, provide instructional support, etc. during contract hours.

Attendance for Students

Students will be counted present based on completion of daily assignments. If a student doesn’t turn in their work for a given day, they will be counted absent.

Attendance for live teaching sessions is encouraged but not required.

Yes! Please visit http://www.mustangps.org/BroncoClub.aspx for more details.

Large groups of elementary and secondary students can pivot to a Distance Learning for a short or extended period of time. The length of Distance Learning will be based on health guidelines provided by federal, state and/or local agencies.

Updates

• Please visit M.O.R.S.E.Y. for posted updates and additional resources.