Dear Wines Families,
As always, I hope this message finds you and your family healthy and I continue to extend my sincere thank you to those of you on the front lines in our health systems and others who are essential workers at this time. I have a few important updates today:
Feedback on Forward Learning
Thank you to everyone who has completed the survey regarding the new online/distance forward learning platforms. Whether you filled the survey out or not, we know well that this experience is new for everyone—including our teachers. Overall, it appears that the amount of work assigned is appropriate for a large majority of our students. However, there is also data to suggest that it is too much work for some and data that tells us that it is not enough. We also know that circumstances in your homes change daily. To that end, I want to make sure I touch on a few things. First, please know that EVERYONE in our school and in our state is missing part of the school year. This means we will all be in the same boat when school resumes. So please do not overly concern yourselves with your child’s progress as we will certainly need to examine our curriculum and scope and sequence of learning at all grade levels next year. And as always, we will use our formative assessments of each individual student to support their independent progress. The current work is designed to keep our kids as engaged as possible knowing that this format is not optimal and families have different opportunities to access the content.
If your child is feeling that the work is too much at any given time, please allow them the freedom to take a breath and not stress over the work. Simply do what you can. If your child is seeking more opportunities, please note that in addition to the work assigned by teachers, students have access to Lexia, Dreambox, and in some classes Moby Max. These platforms are individualized to each student. Also, independent reading is critical each day. And don’t forget the various special area activities that are available. I also want to point out that the intention of the forward learning plan is not to replicate an entire seven-hour school day. This is simply not possible at this time.
If your child has an Individualized Education Plan, your child’s case manager will be reaching out to you this week to help create a Good Faith Continuity of Learning Plan that will serve to help individualize the work for your child based on their individual needs. We will also begin holding remote IEP meetings as well.
Finally, I also know that everyone is craving more face to face connection. Please note that our teachers are also at home. Many have young children and other family obligations throughout the day. In addition, they are extremely busy planning each week’s work and in many cases filming online lessons for the following week. They are also taking part in professional development to support their ongoing growth using the online platforms. In my meetings with teachers, it is clear that they are as busy or even busier now as they were when we were in school. We also cannot provide synchronous learning opportunities as this creates severe inequities for those who cannot participate. Our teachers are holding twice weekly office hours to give more personal attention and most teachers are also hosting regular informal live meetings. I encourage you to have your child participate in the live meetings when possible and know that our staff is continually working together to meet the complex student needs within the limitations of the current format.
Report Cards
To follow up on last week’s message about report cards. Just before the closure announcement, we adjusted the report card distribution date due to snow days. Our teachers needed this time to complete the end of term assessments needed to accurately record student progress. When the closure announcement was made, our teachers were in the process of completing those assessments. While many of these assessments were complete on March 13th, some were not and this has resulted in some missing information that would normally be included in the March report card.
Here is what you can expect:
- Elementary term 2 report cards will be issued electronically on May 10th with clear instructions to our families for how to access, view, and print if desired.
- Some areas of the report card will be blank due to missing assessment data caused by the abrupt closure of school.
- Given that information may be missing, progress may not be shown in some areas.
- Remember that during the closure no formal grades or assessments are being given and teachers are providing feedback to students throughout the closure based on assignments received. Therefore, no report card for Term 3 will be issued.
We are preparing now for a very different summer and fall, one that includes many opportunities to address the learning needs of our students. Stay tuned for more information about summer options coming soon.
Community Resource for Essential Workers
A member of the Wines community wanted to alert our essential workers of no cost wellness consults for essential workers. See the link below.
AAPS Parent Support Groups
Our AAPS school psychologists will be offering weekly parent support groups via Google Meet/Hangouts to support the unique needs of our Ann Arbor Public School parents during the school closure. Parents can pre-register to attend a support group. Below is a flyer with more information and a link to register.
That’s all for this week. Stay safe and healthy. We are all in this together!!
David
