Online Learning

Individual teachers will be contacting the parents and online students by Friday, August 14th to let them know of their “Welcome back to school” plan.  They will also communicate in that email the students’ Google classroom log-in and password.   Parents and students will be oriented about the procedures they can expect in their online learning experience from each individual teacher, either on the first day of school, or before through the “Welcome back to school” plan that is communicated on August 14th.

• Disclosure documents or other class communications will be digital and shared with families through email or Google Classroom.

Teachers will be able to hold live welcome-to-school sessions with their students between the days of August 18-20.

Time Amounts of Online Instruction

District officials have determined optimal amounts of time for online learning according to children’s ages. These daily expectations were informed by ASD parent surveys and recommendations from national experts. Each day, students will also be offered a menu of optional activities in case they want or need additional practice.

Kindergarten – Approximately 1 Hour Per Day

• 40 minutes per day of reading and writing
• 20 minutes per day of math
• 15 minutes twice a week of science

*Beyond these times, students may have live online experiences with their teachers for academic support.

1st-3rd Grades – Approximately 2 Hours Per Day

• 75 minutes per day of reading and writing
• 35 minutes per day of math
• 30 minutes twice a week of science

*Beyond these times, students may have live online experiences with their teachers for academic support.

4th-6th Grades – Approximately 3 Hours Per Day

• 90 minutes per day of reading and writing
• 65 minutes per day of math
• 45 minutes three times a week of science

*Beyond these times, students may have live online experiences with their teachers for academic support.

Online Curriculum Content

• Using the district-provided curriculum, online learners will receive instruction on a core set of essential learning standards in three subject areas:
  • English Language Arts (ELA)
  • Math
  • Science
• Details of the exact structure of lessons will be forthcoming.

Who is creating the district-provided curriculum?

• Grade level teams–consisting of district teacher specialists (TSAs), instructional coaches, and innovative learning coaches–are creating the district’s online curriculum content.

How will students access the content?

• All online content will be pushed out to online students by their Meadow teachers (see the “Meadow Teacher Responsibilities” section below) using Google Classroom.
• Content will be posted at least one week ahead of time.

What types of learning resources will students have?

• All content for online students will be digital, including work for intervention, review, and assessment.  Paper packets and materials will not be provided.  Certain learning materials, especially for science, will be generally available through an inventory of items found in most families’ kitchen cupboards.

Will Meadow teachers have access to the online curriculum?

• Yes.  Online content will maintain a scope and sequence consistent with standards-based grading expectations for each trimester. It will be shared with teachers district-wide for their reference throughout the year.
• Any teacher across the district–whether they are teaching exclusively in-person learners, exclusively online learners, or a combination of the two–may utilize the district-developed online curriculum.  Teachers using this resource can decide if the online content will complement the pacing guides they already use or whether they will more fully align their pacing guides to the online material; either option is fine.

Meadow Teacher Responsibilities

Meadow teachers will take primary responsibility for the following items:

Post New Curriculum Content

• Teachers will post new curriculum content each week to the online learner Google Classroom.  Teachers may push all content to their own students individually or work as a team to divide how they will post content.

Tier 2 and Tier 3 Student Interventions

• Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions are one-on-one and small group instructional opportunities to help students master grade level essential learning standards.  Teachers will provide individual follow-up at least one time each a week with online learners.  Teachers provide students with access to resources to rehearse, review, and develop certain academic skills.  Live follow-up sessions Tuesday-Friday will connect teachers with students and provide time to directly answer questions, give clarifying information, and share further direction.
• Small groups of students that will receive intervention on a common topic are allowed when parent permission is given for online access.

Assessment

• Assessment is an important part of instruction, as it allows teachers to know how students are progressing in their learning.  Teachers will administer assessments common to the entire grade level to evaluate students’ learning progress.
• Evaluation of student work and feedback will take place through digital means.

Grading

• All assignments and grades will be entered in Skyward, the district’s student information management system.  For details on how to log on to Skyward, click here.
• Official progress will be reported at the end of each trimester using the Alpine School District Standards-based Report Card.

Schedule for Class Connection Live Streams

• We will stagger our time schedule for live class connection events so that we do not double up grade levels at the same time (making it easier for families to share devices at home).  The schedule is provided below.

• Tuesday:
  • 2:45pm – First Grade
  • 3:00pm – Kindergarten
  • 3:15pm – Second Grade

• Wednesday:
  • 2:45pm – Third Grade
  • 3:00pm – Fourth Grade
  • 3:15pm – Fifth Grade

• Thursday:
  • 2:45pm – Sixth Grade
  • 3:00pm – Special Education

Individual Education Plans (IEP) and 504 Plans

• Students with disabilities who are served with an Individual Education Plan (IEP) or a 504 Plan will continue to receive services and supports. IEP teams and 504 teams will meet with parents to outline and determine the details of individual plans. Special education is about meeting the needs of the individual student. Our response to each individual student will include various options, in some cases including both online and in-person services as determined by the IEP team. Teams will meet to determine appropriate academic and behavioral support, accommodations and modifications, clarifying where and when specialized instruction warranted through the IEP will take place.

Login Information

• All K-6 students will have a unique username and password to access their student Google account.  This login and password information will be shared with parents so they can help their students to access important online tools.
• Students may visit http://clever.com/in/alpineapps and log in with their Google account to see the district and school-supported online learning tools available to them. Applications are organized in three areas:
• Instant Login Applications (will not require another login if launched from the portal)
• Google Login Applications (will require entering a student’s Google login information again)
• Other Login Applications (requires a username and password specific to that application)

Parent Support

• Parents will have access to a resources page with training at www.alpineschools.org/parent-tech.  Please note that this page will not be live until August 11th.  Parents are encouraged to turn to this webpage for online tutorials and other helpful information.
• Parents needing tech assistance can request help from our Technology Help Desk.  To request help, visit the following website: https://bit.ly/asd-tech-help

Internet Access

• If you do not have Internet access at home, there are many community resources available to help provide you with at home Internet access.
• Many Internet service providers (like AT&T or Comcast) have special offers for free or very inexpensive basic service packages for low-income families.
• AT&T and Xfinity (Comcast) have community based wifi access zones that they have opened to all users.
• Many cell phone companies have offered low cost options to add hotspot functionality to cell phone plans.
• Families might also consider options of leveraging for access from families, friends, or neighbors.
• If families have explored these options and still have no opportunity for Internet services, contact Principal Eagar directly for support.

Learning Devices

• In the period of school dismissal that took place this past March-May, students had open access to our Meadow Chromebooks for use at home.  In that period of full dismissal, we were able to support families with those device resources because they were not needed for in-school use.  However, in our present learning situation, our in person students will need access to our limited Chromebook resources for use in their face-to-face instruction and assessment.
• Families who have chosen the online learning option for their child will need to take primary responsibility to provide their child with the needed device and Internet access required to complete their online coursework.  Families that are experiencing challenging financial circumstances may contact Principal Hart directly to discuss available options if they are having difficulty procuring the needed tools for online learning. 

Meadow teachers will be available to provide individualized follow-up and support for online learners on Tuesdays-Thursdays, 2:30-3:30pm.  As per our usual schedule, the Monday early-out provides time for teacher collaboration so that teachers can work collectively to support the learning progress of their students.  Teachers will be available for online support on Fridays from 2:30-3:00 with the rest of the day serving as time for teachers to plan instruction and prepare for the coming week.

Contacting Meadow Teachers

Teachers will make reasonable efforts to follow-up with parent emails and voicemails in a timely manner.  We respectfully ask that parents and students do not directly contact teachers by phone or text messaging during times when they are teaching students face-to-face (M-F, 8:00-2:30pm)

Some families may desire or have need to access school meals even though their children will be learning online.  We are happy to provide our online families with access to breakfast and lunch meal services at Meadow.  Please take note of the following information and protocols concerning meal services for our online students:

General Protocols

• Breakfast and lunch meal options are no longer free for every student, but have reverted back to the district’s established meal prices.
• Note: Free and reduced lunch applications for online learners can still be submitted.  To access the online free and reduced lunch application, click here.
• All children that will receive a meal must be present in the kitchen in order to receive food items.
• Meals can only be picked up at the school in which the student is enrolled, which means we cannot give out meals for junior high or high school students at Meadow.  Meals can be purchased for adults or other non-student persons at the full adult price of $3.85.
• Money can be added to your child’s meal account through MyPayments Plus
• Due to scheduling constraints, online learners are not able to eat their meals at the school.  All meals are grab-and-go and will need to be consumed at home.
• Breakfast and lunch items cannot be picked up at the same time.  If both meals are desired, families will need to visit the school at each of the serve times noted below.

Serve Times

We ask our online families to please hold to the serve times noted below.  These times have been specifically set so that your presence in the lunchroom will not coincide with meal times for in person students, thus helping us maintain physical distancing within the school building.

Breakfast

• Online learners may pick up breakfast items between 7:30-8:00am.

Lunch

• Online learners may pick up their lunches between 10:30-11:00am.

• Parent/Teacher Conferences (also referred to as Student Education Plan (SEP) Conferences in the Alpine School District) are held twice a year (October 7-8 and February 3-4).
• More information will be sent on this information as we approach our first conference window in October.

Visitors and Guests

As we seek to mitigate risk factors that are associated with the spread of COVID-19, it is essential that we adhere to specific guidelines concerning guests and visitors in the school.  Every person that comes into the school is a point-of-contact.  The recommendation we have received from the state is to limit the points-of-contact within a building to those persons that are critical for normal school operations.  This would include our students, teachers, other school employees, and volunteers that are performing a key service or function within the school.  At this point in time we are limiting school admittance to those individuals that fall under these critical personnel categories. 

If parents have an item to bring to a child, they should bring the item to the office and a school employee will deliver the item to the student.  At this point in time we are not facilitating parent/guardian guest attendance in our lunchroom.  We thank you for your understanding and look forward to a time when we can return to our usual operations. 

Frequenting the Office Area

The majority of our visitors will simply be stopping by the office to drop off a student or needed items or to pick up a child.  Even though these visits are brief, we still ask that all visitors frequenting the office area adhere to the following health and safety protocols:

• Do not enter the school if you are displaying any symptom(s) associated with COVID-19, if you have had contact with someone who has COVID-19, or if you are under a 14-day quarantine for possible COVID-19 exposure.
• All visitors should sanitize their hands upon entering the school. 
• All persons entering the school building must wear a mask.  Only those individuals wearing a mask will be admitted into the office area.  
• Observe 6 feet of physical distancing with other patrons or school personnel.
• We will limit the number of persons in our office area at a given time (including school personnel) so as to maintain 6 feet of physical distancing.  If we are already at capacity, some individuals may be asked to wait in the vestibule area until we are safely able to admit others into the office area.
• Visitors must remain in the office area only.  When needed, school personnel will direct visitors where to go for scheduled meetings.

Attendance for Required Meetings

We recognize that parents will have occasion to visit the school for required meetings, such as the review of a child’s IEP or 504 plan, therapy services for preschool students, discussions with a teacher about a child’s learning progress, or the completion of student assessments.  We are happy to welcome visitors for these purposes.  In addition to the above measures for frequenting the office area, additional health measures will be in place for guests that will be visiting the school for required meetings; we thank you for your adherence to these protocols:

• All meetings with school personnel must be scheduled ahead of time.  If a patron desires to meet with a teacher but the meeting is not scheduled, the patron will be asked to contact the teacher to first make an appointment. 
• All visitors admitted into the school for a meeting will be required to have a temperature check.  These individuals will also be asked if they have displayed any symptoms associated with COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, if they have been around someone who has COVID-19, or if they have recently traveled out of state or out of the country.  If the answer is yes to any of these questions, individuals will be asked to reschedule their meeting at a future time or to complete the meeting virtually. 
• We request that families do everything possible to limit the presence of small children.  We acknowledge, however, that such arrangements may not be possible.  In such cases, ensure your child’s hands are sanitized and please watch your child to ensure that he/she remains next to you at all times.  Please note that our usual school provided toys will not be available as a diversion during IEP meetings, so you will want to plan accordingly.
• Visitors should leave the school promptly when their visit is complete.

• The PTA and SCC are valued organizations that give much to the school and help our students have successful and enriching learning experiences.  In the face of the current COVID-19 pandemic, schools are encouraged to minimize the number of persons in the building who are not employees or students.  In keeping with this request, PTA and SCC meetings will take place virtually over Google Meet or Zoom sessions as much as possible.  If held in person, social distancing procedures will be in place, as well as wearing masks, as required by the state.  Details of these meeting sessions will be forthcoming.