Dr. Anderson’s first virtual principal coffee was a huge success, with over 80+ attendees. While the chat feature was going strong, Dr. Anderson and Student Supervisor Melissa Ackerman did their best to keep up and answer questions. Here’s the highs (and lows) of what we know (and more honestly, don’t know) about school this fall.
What Will School Look Like Next Year?
Short answer? We don’t know. Dr. Anderson is participating in a District think tank of administrators and District leaders to generate ideas and hear back from parents, but the truth is, nothing has been decided.
First reason? All districts are waiting to hear from the Oregon Department of Education for their official guidance for next year. Side note: those recommendations were released on Wed, 6/10, and it’s a 46 page read of flowcharts. Joy.
Second reason? The State of Oregon hasn’t released their proposed budget, meaning school districts across the state are unable to finalize their own numbers. However, all are bracing for cuts as the recent economic downturn has greatly diminished the predicted state revenue. The recent Friday furloughs have been a means to preempt some of those budget woes. According to Matt Schoolfield in BSD’s Business Dept, these furlough Fridays have saved 30+ teaching positions for 2020-21.
Third reason? Ummm….. It’s called a global pandemic. Where.To.Start. Once BSD learns what social distancing measures are being required of schools, they can begin the work of implementing these measures into our schools.
Will students be required to wear masks? We don’t know, but probably in some capacity. That’s a Department of Health decision.
What will PE look like? Not sure, though Dr. Anderson has requested additional money from the PTC to double the number of equipment, as half will need to be sanitized while the other half is in use.
Can students take an antibody test to see if they’ve already had it? As Dr. A put it, that’s “above her pay grade.” That is something beyond the scope of BSD at this point.
Can school start early to avoid the inevitability of a winter closing? Again, nothing is decided, but that seems unlikely as an early start would require a shortened planning period for new guidelines, a new agreement with the teacher’s union, and the conflict of summer bond construction at multiple sites.
Will school start on time (September 8)? Possibly, but again (say it with me)... nothing has been decided. The governor’s latest guidance restricts gatherings over 25 through September. If that holds true, it will be difficult to be compliant.
Will school start in person this fall? (All together now!).. nothing has been decided. The District does not know Oregon Department of Education’s requirements to open in person in the fall.
Could BSD offer a hybrid model, where students alternate between the classroom and online? Yes, it’s a possibility. In fact, literally EVERYTHING IMAGINABLE is on the table, including:
A/B days
Students alternating each week
Students alternating every three weeks
AM/PM sessions, which would avoid lunch
Creating some sort of cohort where students remain in the classroom and the teachers come in & out (better for contact tracing)
Lunch in their classrooms
One way hallways
Offering parents some sort of choice (online vs. physical classroom)
Staggered start times
No volunteers or visitors
No field trips or school socials
How is Cedar Park going to ensure academic rigor? (Well isn’t THIS the million dollar question!) Sadly, this year’s online learning is exposing the gaps in our community more than ever before. While many students at Cedar Park are engaged and regularly turning in work, the reality is that there are many students who have not logged on in nine weeks.
So how to ensure learning continues? Well, BSD has the luxury of watching other school systems around the world go back first, so they can pull from those successes. Second, they’ve been able to use this spring to build valuable experience. Students need to learn how to be online students and teachers need to learn how to be online teachers. That’s not something that happens overnight and now Cedar Park staff now have some experience in what works and what doesn’t.
Dr. A identified three ways that she feels Cedar Park and BSD can ensure academic growth during these crazy times:
Clear expectations for teachers
Listening to families & engaging with parents
Developing deeper relationships, even online
Can families expect more higher requirements for online learning next year? Yes, but first add synchronous to your “Words I Learned this Pandemic.” Dr. Anderson expects that next school year, teachers will be required to include some sort of ‘live’ or synchronous interaction with students online. These will need to be recorded for our students who struggle to be online at specific times.
The threshold for online work will be greater next year and will most likely include more traditional grading. This spring was an emergency response to a sudden global event. Moving forward, the expectations and accountability will increase for all.
What electives will be offered next fall? Awesome question from the back, but.. you guessed it, nothing has been decided. Dr. Anderson and Megan Clifford, our vice principal, can’t create a master schedule until they know how many staff members they will have. And they won’t know that until BSD creates its budget, which we can't do until the State releases its budget. See how that works (or.. actually, doesn’t work?). All schools are on hold with their schedule until budget numbers are released, staffing is confirmed, and required social distancing guidelines are communicated. Dr. A expects to lose between 4-12 staff members next school year.
Cedar Park has been lucky enough in the past to offer the full complement of fine art electives: drama, choir, band, and art, and had planned on bringing back Spanish. Whether we can continue to do so remains to be seen, especially with the expected social distancing measures.
When will schedules be available? Due to a myriad of reasons (see question above), students most likely won’t know their electives or their schedule until right before school. As in, these schedules will be coming in hot. There’s a real possibility that they won’t be released until the first day.
Can the PTC pay for additional staffing? No, BSD does not allow parent groups to pay for staffing. However, the 2020-21 PTC budget does include multiple items that support this new world, including remote art boxes (for students without art supplies at home), additional outdoor picnic tables (to encourage & create more outdoor seating), more PE equipment (since equipment will need to be rotated/sanitized more often), and additional carts for teachers (since most likely teachers, instead of students, will be moving through the building more).
Can the federal government provide any financial support? Well, doesn’t that sound lovely. However, there appears to be no current plans to earmark education dollars at the federal level.
What happened to the Student Success Act? Yes, what about last year’s knight in shining armour that was going to swoop in to save us all to provide an influx of money to public education? Well, with the sudden & dramatic economic downturn due to COVID-19, the State has delayed collection of these new taxes (as they were directly tied to business revenue). Read more HERE.
Dr. Anderson’s Biggest Fears:
The possibility that BSD and/or the community will go too fast & then have to totally shut down again.
All of the learning we are losing, though some comfort is the knowledge that every school across America is grappling with the same issue. Beaverton and Cedar Park aren’t alone in this struggle.
How this pandemic & new guidelines will economically impact school districts for at least five years.
Parents Bringing the Heat
True to form, our parents had a few thoughts themselves. Here’s a quick roundup of the ideas tossed about:
Make all teachers use Canvas. Our students need all the info & assignments in one place. Ummmm…. done. Next school year, ALL TEACHERS must use Canvas (bye bye google classroom!).
Fix Canvas itself or at least offer better IT help. There seem to be frequent glitches within the system. A better student help desk would be ideal. Sidenote for all the newbies who are confused here: Canvas is the learning management platform used by all middle school & high schools in BSD. It’s where teachers post assignments, messages, etc. There’s a parent app that can be highly useful to check up on your little cherub.
Don’t make assignments optional. While we understand the pass/incomplete decision this spring, our students need graded work with summative assessments (tests) to sustain accountability. The work needs to matter!
Consider creating a student to student support system to help build friendships & fun throughout the year.
Focus on the core classes. Is it possible to skip some of the electives or at least greatly diminish their requirements so students can focus on humanities, science, and math?
Specific Items for Incoming Families: Burning Questions Answered
Math Curriculum: Cedar Park has all incoming 6th graders on an accelerated math course that puts them into AGS2 as freshman (Algebra/Geometry/Statistics). They will take Math 6/7 as 6th graders, Math 7/8 as 7th graders, and AGS1 as 8th graders. This model has proved successful in raising test scores the last three years and been duplicated in other BSD middle schools. Cedar Park has the highest math growth compared to like-size schools in Oregon. There is always a small group that tests into even high mather as 6th graders and a small group that repeats AGS1 as freshman to receive extra support.
Canvas: This learning management software is the biggest learning curve for 6th graders (imagine a secondary version of SeeSaw). Dr. Anderson recommends that if your student has an older sibling, have them show your new middle schooler the system and how it works. Once Canvas is set up for incoming students, parents can sign-up for notifications/parent access, which is super handy in the beginning. This is ENTIRELY SEPARATE from Parentvue (which posts grades).
First Day of School: If/when this happens in person, the first day of school is always 6th grade only. WEB leaders (8th grade leadership group) do ice-breakers with the 6th graders in small groups and 6th graders walk an abbreviated schedule to meet their teachers.
Sports: THPRD handles sports at the middle school level, or parents could look into the local club scene. Hopefully they’ll be back in some capacity in the fall, but that is not a decision made by BSD.
Other Fun Cedar Park News:
8th Grade Send Off is scheduled for Thursday, 6/11 from 10am- noon. 8th grade families can expect more details soon. Items will be mailed if you are unable to attend.
Yearbooks for current 6th & 7th graders can be picked up next fall. All 8th graders will receive a yearbook (thanks to the PTC) at the send-off on 6/11.
Chromebooks will not be returned. 8th graders will turn into high school. CPMS will collect this fall. Cedar Park was slated to receive new chromebooks anyway.
Families that want to enroll in BSD’s Flex Online (not to be confused with our current remote learning) can check it all out here.
And that’s a wrap! Bravo and thank you to Dr. Anderson and Ms. Ackerman for keeping up with a very active chat and THANK YOU to the many parents who attended. Let’s keep working together to keep Cedar Park awesome.