Secondary School eLearning Schedule and Platforms

Next Tuesday we will be concluding the 2nd Cycle of orientation, reviews and social-emotional interventions and be ready to officially begin new content for the 2020-2021 school year.  These first days were also intended to evaluate how the students are responding to the eLearning modality and to implement new online platforms as deemed necessary.

The design of the eLearning plan comes after months of conducting research and studies into best practices for online learning, and considering the feedback from teachers, students and parents as to how the students are engaging with and reacting to distance learning modalities.  We have also been ensuring that teachers have the resources to create quality lesson plans and carry out instruction in this new fashion.

The Schedule:

Last spring, when we found ourselves having to implement emergency distance learning, the Middle and High School eLearning platform consisted fully of synchronous encounters where students connected live with their teachers for the entire school day.  Our goal was to provide students with a certain sense of “normalcy” during a potentially emotionally challenging time.  Students knew that despite the crisis that was quickly unfolding, they could find their teachers in the same place and same time every day.  Our full-day synchronous connections did serve its purpose.  However, we knew full well that research shows that a longer term distance learning plan would have to include a balance of both synchronous and asynchronous teaching and learning.   

During the synchronous encounters, which will still be the primary format, students are able to not only engage directly with their teacher, but with their classmates as well.  However, we must also be careful to not overload students with screen time.  Asynchronous encounters also allow for more self-directed and self-paced learning.  Students also benefit from the experience of exploring on their own and even being able to connect at different times of the day when they are more rested from the synchronous screen time.  Nonetheless, even when our schedule calls for asynchronous learning, teachers will be available to connect if a student needs additional guidance.  Below is the revised general format for the Secondary School schedule.  Your child’s detailed schedule with the specific subjects per day is found in the Classroom Site.  

Important components about the schedule include:

• Synchronous (live connections) will start at 8:00 a.m. and continue until 12:00 p.m.;
• Teachers will insert short five-minute breaks in between subjects as deemed necessary;
• Students will have 15 minutes for recess to use the bathroom and get a snack;
• The majority of the day will consist of live (synchronous) connections, but teachers will encourage students to work away from the screen when possible (i.e. to read in his/her favorite spot of the room, to work on a project, etc.)
• During the 1:25 to 2:55 asynchronous hours, teachers will be available to connect if a student needs guidance with the instructions;
• The work posted for asynchronous Friday will be clear and manageable for students to develop independent learning and research skills.
• On asynchronous Friday, the teachers will be available during a 9:00-10:00 office hour where students may connect live for additional guidance.
• The lunch break allows for students and parents to have lunch together whenever possible in each home.

The Platforms:

Google Sites will continue to be the platform to access all of our eLearning classrooms.   Please do not share the link to our eLearning platform with anyone other than your child.  

While we wanted to start with the same video conference platform that was familiar to students and parents (Google Meet) we also left the door open to the possibility of incorporating another platform such as Zoom.  As of this 2nd Cycle, teachers have been communicating with you about making this very easy transition.  The Advisory teacher will create the “one link” connection and all subject teachers will connect through that link.  This eliminates the need to connect to different links for different subjects.   Teachers will protect entry into the eLearning classrooms by creating waiting rooms and only allowing entry to their students.  If your child will be connecting from a device that is not clearly identified with his/her or your names, please inform your child’s Advisory teacher in advance.  Otherwise, the teacher will not know to give your child entry.  Please understand that in order to ensure the protection of your child’s identity, this is a necessary measure.  

Google Classroom will be the primary resource for the creation of assignments, providing feedback and for students to send their work to their teachers.

Further down the road when your child’s teachers begin to provide feedback from assessments, you will be able to monitor your child’s progress through RenWeb/FACTS, our student information system.  Parent training for Secondary School grades will take place on the dates shown below.  Feel free to sign up for one of these sessions by clicking on the day and time that you prefer.

Netiquette:  

Students have learned the importance of following certain procedures during distance learning.  Please review these agreements with your child and help him/her to follow the classroom netiquette.  As of the 3rd Cycle, we would like to see students using a school uniform top.  It may be his/her regular or sports uniform.  Please make sure that your child is always using full and appropriate attire .

The Parent’s or Adult’s Role:

Making sure that your child has a comfortable and appropriate place to engage in learning is essential.  The 8:00 a.m. start should allow your adolescent to get a little more sleep, but please make sure that he/she is connected promptly at 8:00 a.m.  If you need to be out of the house, inform the adult in the home to not interrupt the student during school hours.  Likewise, if you need to speak to the teacher, please make an appointment.  Remember that walking into an eLearning classroom while instruction is taking place is like walking into the physical classrooms at school without prior notification.  These interruptions are not allowed.

Ongoing Trainings and Support:

During the next several weeks, we will continue to inform our school community about upcoming workshops, webinars and resources that will be made available to parents to support you during these challenging times.  This includes support from the Parents’ Association (ASPAS) as they put together online resources for parents and students.  Events and dates will be announced as they become available.

We hope this has given you clear guidance as we prepare to launch the 2020-2021 school year, full steam ahead.  Please know that we will continue to do our best to help you through these challenging times.  We also count on your customary support to work as a team so that the students, parents, and teachers will be able to stay physically and emotionally resilient as we navigate these uncharted waters.  

May God bless you and Ashton School mightily.

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