Instructional

Curriculum is a powerful tool in an educational system that serves as a map to make each student’s unique learning experience rich, effective, and cohesive. It is imperative that all curricular elements are accessible by all and highly adaptable to the needs and cultures of all students, without exception. Our curriculum is aligned to state standards and is designed to ensure a high level of rigor demanding deep thinking, reflection and collaboration.

Whether we are in a hybrid or remote model of instruction, every possible effort will be made to ensure that every single student has access to everything he/she will need to be successful this year. We are addressing access to technology and instruction, social and emotional learning, and culturally responsive teaching. We will continue to strive for a representative, responsive curriculum that attends to the race, ethnicity, culture, and language of Ossining students while supporting teachers to use anti-bias, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive pedagogy. The development of our Ossining Culturally Responsive Framework will help us look critically at our curriculum going forward.

There is no denying that the uncertainty of the future has us all worried for our students, families, staff, community and the world at large. Please rest assured that we are doing everything in our power to prepare for a meaningful, joyful, and deeply responsive school year.

While we know at this time we will enter the school year in a hybrid model, we also know that we must be ready to pivot to 100% remote if necessary. Our goal, no matter what our model, is for high-quality instruction and equity for all our students.

Instructional Priorities Throughout our System

• Family Engagement: Direct support for families needing assistance to help their child with technology or otherwise.

• Regular Live Sessions in-person and remotely that maximize interpersonal connections and community.

• Social and Emotional Learning Support, with a focus on equity, social justice curricula, and culturally-responsive teaching.

• Authentic, personalized, rigorous learning experiences, honoring student voice & choice.

• A focus on helping children stay motivated in each model through skillful and intentional lesson design.

• Identification, prioritization, and emphasis on the most essential questions, concepts, and enduring understandings for each unit of study.

Instructional Highlights - Elementary

• Clear Learning Schedules

• Live Sessions with Teachers and Support Staff

• Social and Emotional Learning Support

• Consistent and Clear Communication of Learning Targets

• All Children Accessing Core Programming and Authentic Learning Experiences

• A Focus on Small, Live Group Instruction

• Students Access Extra Support

• Students with Disabilities and Second Language Learners Access Mandated Services

• A Balance of Asynchronous Work, Pre-Recorded Lessons, and Time for Independence

Instructional Highlights - Secondary

• Clear Learning Schedules with Live Sessions with Teachers and Support Staff

• Synchronous classes are mandatory for all students

• Social and Emotional Learning Support

• Consistent and Clear Communication of Learning Targets

• Students Access Extra Support

• Students with Disabilities and Second Language Learners Access Mandated Services

• A Balance of Synchronous and Asynchronous Work, Pre-Recorded Lessons, and Time for Independent inquiry.

Please also consider viewing the entire Curriculum and Instruction plan in the Family Reopening Guide, on pages 10-20.

If you would like more details about the curriculum, please refer to our family guide. We can also be reached at

csipos@ossiningufsd.org or balm@ossiningufsd.org.

Special Education

In accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), students with disabilities must be provided with special education services per their Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). The provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) will be consistent with the need to protect the health and safety of students with disabilities, and the health and safety of those providing special education services.

Safety, Wellness, and Social-Emotional

Our students’ safety and social-emotional well-being is a primary focus. Instruction will focus on relearning old school routines and learning new ones, learning how to understand and engage in a socially-distanced environment, and readjusting to in-person instruction and learning.

All staff and students will be required to wear masks. We are asking to begin practicing with your children at home before school begins. Here are a few resources that can be used to support your child around wearing a mask and health hygiene Social Stories Parent's Guide (Spanish).

The district has ordered personal protective equipment (PPE) such as disposable masks, transparent masks, face shields, disposable gowns, and gloves. PPE also will be used by all related service providers.

Instructional Delivery

Social-emotional well-being will be the primary focus upon reopening, and a priority focus after school opens. Prior to beginning academic instruction, how will students’ needs relative to curriculum and relative to IEP goals be assessed?

Staff will:

• Assess students’ current functioning relative to 2019-2020 goals and criteria.

• Conduct screenings to determine students’ instructional levels in reading and math as a baseline, and compare data with data collected prior to school closure.

• Revisit 2020-2021 goals, and revise goals and criteria as appropriate

• Plan instruction from data and revised goals, and develop a plan for progress-monitoring

  • Plan with other school-based supports (e.g. ENL, reading intervention), utilizing existing structures as appropriate to support instruction for individual students

• Include opportunities to reteach concepts and allow for remediation.

What will instruction look like for students receiving ICT, RR, life skills, secondary departmental special classes, and special class instruction?

As per the Individualized Educational Plan (IEP), accommodations, modifications, supplementary services, and technology including assistive technology will be provided. In the Integrated Co-Teaching model, the general and special education teachers will collaborate to implement each student’s IEP.

In each model (In-Person, Hybrid, or Remote Learning), providers will maintain daily documentation of student participation and progress towards meeting IEP goals, including relevant data collection and progress monitoring. Parent communication and collaboration are critical. Across instructional settings in a hybrid or virtual model, teachers will be encouraged to utilize “breakout rooms” to take advantage of targeted instruction in small groups; teaching assistants can support reinforcement of skills and independent practice.

In-Person

Students will receive services as outlined in their IEPs. Our most vulnerable student population will be able to attend school a minimum of four days each week to ensure equitable access to their education.

Hybrid

Students will be assigned to A/B groups, and attend school two days per week. One additional day per week, students may be asked to attend for “booster” sessions. This can be accomplished by creating breakout rooms to allow for small group and individual instruction to take place.

Virtual

Students will receive a combination of daily synchronous and asynchronous instructional sessions. Teachers will collaborate with content-area teachers and support students to provide students with accommodations as appropriate to allow them access points to lessons/assignments.

Related Services (Speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy, vision, hearing, counseling)

Students will be able to receive their services and will be offered in-person and virtually. A contact log that documents student names, how much instruction provided, when the instruction was provided, the amount of time provided, as well as all other contacts with parents/guardians will be utilized.

How will students be monitored?

Data will be collected in accordance with each IEP goal to the extent practicable. Alternative methods of data collection such as student and/or parent/guardian report, photos of work, work samples, etc. can supplement other forms of data.