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Welcome to a new year of learning! We are excited to have the opportunity to offer options for our families to learn in a manner best for their family and to venture into digital learning classrooms.
Our teachers assigned to digital learning come to you with a variety of experiences in our schools, and many years of experience. They have been planning with their grade level colleagues throughout the district, and also as our “digital team,” to be sure they are prepared for this new learning adventure.
While this update is going to our families choosing the digital learning environment, future communication will be included in school Weeklies. Each elementary principal will include the “Digital Learning News” at the end of the update. This will give families the opportunity to maintain connections with their neighborhood school and still receive specific updates related to digital learning.
You are all still members of your Canterbury, College Park and Highland View communities! Please contact secretaries at those schools regarding PowerSchool, absences, report cards or form completion. I am the administrative contact for our digital learners and teachers and will be happy to assist you with questions or suggestions regarding online learning. You may reach me at kerry.owens@greendaleschools.org or 414-423-2851.
I am sharing some answers to frequently asked questions below, as I realized it was important information for all of you. I will continue to share questions asked in updates. Thanks to those of you who reached out. It is helpful as we venture into new opportunities to know the challenges faced so please continue to communicate so we may grow and learn together.
Digital Learning News
Meet Your Teacher
Students attending school online will have opportunities to “Meet Their Teachers!” Emails will be sent inviting you and your child to attend a session on navigating the online environment. Teachers will also hold class meetings for students to meet and introduce themselves on September 1st.
Wednesday, September 2nd will be an off day as our specials classes will not begin until Wednesday, September 9th. Digital Instruction will begin on Thursday, September 3rd.
Technology Devices
All families received communication regarding technology pick up earlier this month. If you did not schedule a time to pick an iPad (Grades K-2), or Chromebook (Grades 3-5), please contact our Technology Director ryan.jonas@greendaleschools.org.
Support For Students With Disabilities in the Digital Classroom
Students attending school online, who have an IEP, will be provided services through their home school staff. You should have been contacted by a special education teacher or speech and language specialist regarding your child’s learning this year. Questions regarding your child’s IEP case manager should be directed to your home school.
Support for Students who are English Learners
Students who are English Learners will receive English language support from their classroom teacher. English Language Support (ELS) teachers will collaborate with classroom teachers each week about the needs of students who are English Learners and best practices to support them. An ELS teacher will meet through Google Meet with students who need additional support.
Frequently Asked Questions
How will my family stay connected to our home school? All students remain members of their home school regardless of their learning choice. Families are welcome and encouraged to join their school PTO’s, read the Weekly updates, and participate in community building events that may be planned. We will continue to look for ways to connect as the year progresses.
Will families receive a daily schedule from teachers? Parents will receive a daily schedule from the teachers next week. In addition, GoogleClassroom will be used to share information with students regarding daily and weekly specific plans. You will receive the information on how to access the documents in an email from the teacher.
Will all grade levels follow a consistent format? All students will be expected to engage in learning, either online or independently between the hours of 8:45 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. each day. All students will have a lunch break from 11:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. daily. AM and PM breaks of 15 minutes will be scheduled by teachers.
I’m concerned about my child being on a device for up to six hours per day! Will they need to be “logged on” the full day? We are doing our best to limit individual screen time for our students during the digital learning times, with a focus being on interactive instructional opportunities. We expect students to be engaged in learning during a full day, but only about ? of our time will be online.
The draft schedule we shared gave minutes for instructional delivery, where the teacher would be interacting with the students. This instructional time, with the ability for students to interact with the teacher, and each other, is necessary for learning at the elementary level. We are looking at approximately 15 minutes to start a subject, and a 10 minute closing in reading, writing, and math each day. During independent work time students may be offline reading, writing or completing other activities. There will be times scheduled throughout the week for teachers to conference with students individually or in small groups for times ranging from 5-20 minutes. Teachers will also offer short instructional times in either science or social studies several times a week. Students may use the additional time in those classes to research, explore and create projects based on topics introduced. The final screen times are for interactive read alouds and “Number Corner” which is an opportunity to reinforce mathematical thinking and review concepts.
This puts interactive instructional time at approximately 120 minutes each day. Conferencing and small groups average about 15 minutes per day. The final online time would come from individual student practice using web based apps such as Dreambox or IXL, if parents choose. These should not be over 20 minutes per day in each subject. This ends up being just over two and half hours of dedicated screen time. While this would be a long stretch of time for gaming or other unstructured use of technology, the learning opportunities and interactions with teachers and peers is important to success in online learning.
For families who are unable to access books through our school or public library, we will allow students to read "e-books." This is not our preferred method for reading, but is an option available to those who need it.
How will my child transition to a new class when/if all students return to in person instruction? All grade level teachers will have common planning time weekly on Wednesdays. This will ensure that all students in our district are receiving instruction toward similar standards, and using common resources. If we return to home schools and in-person learning at some point, this will allow students to rejoin classes and be at similar points in our curriculum.
What process will teachers follow using Google Classroom to help students and parents establish routines when finding assignments and materials? Parent meetings will be held to help adults in the family to navigate Google Classroom. Time will be spent teaching students how to navigate the process, just as in person students spend time establishing routines.
Is Google Classroom the sole platform teachers and students will be using? If not, what are the other platforms and how will parents and students track and use those other platforms? We are using Google Classroom and GoogleMeet. There may be a few other tools such as FlipGrid to share videos of work and share with peers. We are looking for consistency across levels, schools and classes to allow parents, and sometimes siblings, to provide support to children.
Is there a consistent process for how students will submit work? Work will be submitted through Google Classroom. Work may be done digitally or paper and pencil work could be sent as a picture. Teachers will go over this process with parents/guardians and students.
How will students and parents receive feedback from teachers on work? Teachers will keep anecdotal records and checklists based on conferences and small groups while also giving students immediate feedback and coaching, students will receive feedback on individual assessments given through written and verbal communication.
How will work be assessed and reported on? Digital Learning teachers will be giving the same assessments as in-person learning students and report cards will reflect student progress and learning based on our district standards and learning expectations.
How will teachers provide students with academic help or provide enrichment opportunities? Digital Learning Teachers will follow the same classroom expectations as in person learning. Our workshop models of reading and writing lend themselves to differentiation, small groups will be held in math to provide personalized-learning opportunities and our continued work in Project-Based Learning is a great opportunity to reflect student’s voice and choice, creating excitement for learning and opportunities for students to stretch themselves.
How will families get technical help if they need it? We will be asking families to submit a "ticket" to the technology help desk, if issues arise. The department aims for resolution in less than 24 hours. The Help Desk is found on our district website under Technology In Our Schools.
Are teachers in the district going to be teaching both in-person and digitally or are some teachers teaching digitally while others in-person? Digital Learning Staff is only responsible for those students whose families chose digital learning. If students attending school in person need to learn remotely for a period of time their classroom teacher will continue to support their learning.
Sincerely,
Kerry Owens, Principal of College Park/Elementary Digital Learning Administrative Liaison
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