REMOTE LEARNING

REMOTE LEARNING PROTOCOLS at STERLING HIGH SCHOOL

Based on the discussions we have had so far and guidelines from district administration, the following are the guidelines and expectations for how we will roll out remote learning experiences for students, beginning on April 6. As this is new to all of us, we will need to be prepared to adjust, sometimes on the fly. Take a deep breath. No one will be perfect at this out of the gate. You are not alone!

1. The work you ask students to do online may be graded. Please use your best judgment to focus on assigning and scoring only work that really matters, to save yourself and your students a lot of headaches.

2. No late work penalties will be assessed for online work or for any incomplete or past due work from earlier in this semester. The district has adopted a “hold harmless” policy during this move to remote learning. Students will be able to improve their grade, but will not fall backward. We understand that resources vary for students to fully engage in a remote learning environment and that current events may be distressing to students. There is a wide range of needs demonstrated by our learners. We believe:

· Remote learning, in and of itself, should not have an adverse impact on student grades.

· During this time, student may experience positive learning gains in a way that may not happen in the traditional school setting.

· Student should have the opportunity to have their grade reflect their achievement if they are demonstrating success with remote learning.

· Effective feedback, grading and evaluation can provide an important contribution to a healthy social-emotional state.

We will have, at best, limited opportunity to determine grades for students for this semester--grades that will go on transcripts forever. In the present circumstances, we must do our best to ensure those grades represent the learning students have accomplished, separate from their ability to comply with deadlines.

· Students who are engaging in remote learning should be given every opportunity to earn a passing grade and credit for the semester. This may mean completing assignments or addressing feedback to improve scores from third quarter. Since some of this assignments and activities cannot be recreated digitally, there may be alternative methods for students to demonstrate their learning.

· Student’s current grade in the current system of the district is maintained or improved and does not decrease. This is provided the student demonstrates continued engagement and ability at a passing level after the transition to instructional remote learning days

o Students must check in with each teacher 2 times per week. This check in will include calling and emailing teachers, submitting assignments, responding to an online discussion prompt, joining a synchronous class meeting or checking in with the teacher during office hours via Google Hangouts.

o During the quarter, students must complete at least 50% of the combined participation and assignment submissions to earn credit. However, students need to be encouraged to participate fully and complete all assignments.

o Assignment grades should be an “A” or “Revise” system --requiring students to meet a minimum level of performance on the assigned work in order to earn a grade. Students may have the opportunity to revise and resubmit an assignment up to 2 times to meet the minimum requirements. You will need to clearly state for students what your policy is for revision (1 or 2 attempts) and what the minimum expectations are on an assignment (rubrics would be very helpful, here).

· In lieu of a final exam, students will be asked to do some kind of reflection on or demonstration of learning. There need to be multiple options for students to complete and submit this final (e.g. essay, slide presentation, recorded video, meeting with teacher, etc.)

· The use of F is significantly limited during remote learning.

o Students who had a 60% or higher at the end of third quarter and who fail to meet minimum requirements to maintain or improve their grade will receive an incomplete with an opportunity to revisit fourth quarter learning via credit recovery during the first semester of the 2020-21 school year.

o Students who had an F (less than 60%) at the end of the third quarter and who fail to engage in remote learning at all, despite multiple efforts by the teacher and support staff, will receive an F on their transcript for the semester.

3. We will provide new learning experiences twice a week for each class. To structure this, will we use the following basic schedule (see also 6 below). Remember: A “new learning experience” can simply be a reminder or some additional information related to the assignment for the week.

4. At least one time per week in each class, we will provide, at minimum, 15-20 minutes of video, online discussion, or some other teacher-directed instruction and/or interactive learning experience (Google Suites is the district platform). We do not need to provide the equivalent of a full period of interactive or direct instruction (DI) experience. The goal is to avoid doing online learning merely by providing “read this, answer these questions, turn it in” online packets for students, as we know they learn best when they are able to interact with us and with each other.

5. Your instruction may be a combination of synchronous (all students encounter at the same time) and asynchronous (students encounter at different times) experiences. It may be difficult for some of our students to coordinate hotspots, work schedules, and family obligations in order to be in classes on a preset schedule. Keeping that in mind, feel free to establish all of your work as asynchronous (remember, though, the expectations of number 4). You should only offer experiences that expect all students to attend at the same time if it is essential to the outcomes you are trying to achieve. Bear in mind that online meetings can generally be recorded, so even if you are offering a synchronous experience, it can be saved for students who are unable to attend (even when we’re in in-person school, some students are absent, after all).

6. The times in the schedule above serve several purposes:

· They let students know when new work/information will be available.

· They allow you to schedule synchronous learning experiences as needed.

· They represent your “office hours” for students in each course, meaning, you are committing to being online and available for students in that course during that time. Although students may (and will) be contacting you at many different times of day and night, for these 50-minute blocks, you should be immediately available. This helps students know when to contact you, and helps avoid tethering you to your computers for the whole day.

7. During the first two weeks, the focus will be on rolling out core classes including Health, Financial Literacy and Ag Science. The goal will to be to roll out some form of the elective courses beginning April 20. Again, this aligns with the “hold harmless” policy, so that students do not lose credits. Students will continue with World Language (CDLS) and Edgenuity classes as designed. Specific completion goals will be communicated with students via those platforms.