Miss last month’s virtual Q&A? Look no further, we’ve got ya covered.
Full disclaimer: All information given in this virtual Q&A is tentative and subject to change. Because… covid.
Dr. A began the session with some hard truth: last spring was not ideal & didn’t feel successful to many parents and staff. It was a reaction in a sudden emergency situation, where schools were given strict guidance from the state and BSD. Dr. A acknowledges that it didn’t provide a successful standard for rigor.
Fast forward to this fall. How have things changed? Let’s walk through the major components of distance learning this September.
First, take a look at some new phrases that will dominate this conversation. No need for a quiz. We’re gonna learn this whether we want to or not.
***CDL (Comprehensive Distance Learning): Remote learning through your neighborhood school, off-site and online. ***Available all year to students, regardless if we move to a hybrid model.
Hybrid Model: When deemed safe, the blending of in-person (two days a week) with at-home sessions
Synchronous: Learning that happens when participants interact at the same time and in the same space (live teaching)
Asynchronous: Learning that happens in elapsed time, like email, message boards, video, podcasts etc (such as last spring)
Applied Learning: Independent work by students, though teachers are still available for questions/interaction
Cohort: A group of students either online or in-person
ODE: Oregon Department of Education, who hands down state-wide mandates and guidance re: return to school
Flex Online: A totally separate BSD school that is also fully online, but is geared towards families not returning to neighborhood schools
So, here we find ourselves in a Comprehensive Distance Learning situation for the foreseeable future. Settle in for a nice long read as we go over all the moving parts.
SCHEDULE: Consistent
Students will now have the same schedule every day, (as opposed to a rotating A/B schedule), with classes beginning at 9:15am and ending at 3:50pm (our normal Cedar Park hours). Having said that, Wednesday’s schedule is still being confirmed as this may be used for special education and intervention services. So… hold tight on Wednesday.
LEARNING: Synchronous
While the exact CDL schedule is still being confirmed (due to ongoing negotiations with the teachers union), Cedar Park students can expect the same five classes every day, each 45 minutes long, including three core classes (humanities, math, & science) and two electives. Each period will begin with 15-20 synchronous minutes with a teacher. The rest of the period will be applied learning (fancy name for kids doing their work on their own, with the possibility of small group breakouts). The teacher will remain online & be available for questions/concerns until the end of the period.
In addition to these five classes, their school day tentatively includes:
30-minute lunch break
25-minute advisory session to promote socio-emotional health (which could include WEB for 6th graders, team building etc)
90 minute block for independent reading (humanities book), wellness (a screen break to catch up on assignments), or applied learning (doing their homework). This time may also be used to check in with AVID or ESL students, or any student with an IEP.
ATTENDANCE: Taken
Though the actual mechanism hasn’t been finalized, teachers will be taking attendance every day in every class period. Students will be marked as present if they participate in the zoom call, communicate with a teacher via phone, chat, text or email, or turn in an assignment.
Teachers need to report on attendance every day, but students need to be given the flexibility to complete tasks outside of the "normal school hours," given parents' work schedules. How exactly this is going to happen is TBD.
GRADES: Given
Even though we are waiting on final guidance from the Oregon Department of Education (ODE), BSD and Dr. Anderson fully expect that grades will be given.
CANVAS: Required
It appears to have taken a global pandemic, but finally, all Cedar Park teachers will be using the same learning management tool, Canvas. (Say goodbye to google classroom & all the random websites). Additionally, each teacher will be required to format their Canvas page in the same way.
Sidenote for the newbies: Canvas has not been previously mandated (leaving students to navigate various platforms depending on the teacher), so having all classes on one platform is a game-changer. Canvas is one location where a student can see all their classes, click into individual classes to see assignments, the calendar (due dates), and messages from the teacher. It is possible to have a view-only parent account for Canvas-- there’s even an app. Learn more & even watch a fun Canvas webinar right HERE.
ELECTIVES: Two
Students will now have two electives instead of four. Ms. Clifford, our vice principal, is literally going through every student’s forecasting sheet (900+!) to ensure that they are given one of their top two choices. BLESS THIS WOMAN. The offered electives are still up in the air, as BSD is waiting for more guidance from the Oregon Health Authority surrounding the safety of choir/band this school year, but art and PE will for sure be offered, and the Spanish position is open.
START DATE: Monday, 9/14
The first day of school has been pushed out a week as BSD staff, facing a steep learning curve with all of these changes, will need additional time for professional development. As Ms. Clifford put it, “We need a really strong start and we know that.” AMEN. YES. STRONG START, PLEASE.
What about the rest of the year? BSD has not released a new calendar, as they are still negotiating with the teacher’s union, but we do know the kids will be in CDL (remote learning) until November 13th.
HYBRID: Metric-dependant
Last July, Governor Brown released the metrics that must be met before schools can open in-person, even part-time. Read all the gritty details and various exceptions on OPB, KATU, or on Oregonlive.
Basically, schools can only return to in-person learning if the following criteria are met:
The state must be at or below 5% COVID-19 positivity rate for three weeks
Counties must have cases drop below 10 per 100,000 residents per week, for at least three weeks. ***Most likely the hardest hurdle for BSD. Here’s a listing of Washington County’s weekly case rates (per 100,000) since 7/5, which have ranged from 58 to 43. We will need that to drop to 10 for three weeks straight in order to move into a hybrid model.
Counties must also have at or below 5% positivity rate for at least three weeks
However, Cedar Park is already working hard to ensure a smooth transition to hybrid, whenever that may be. Here’s how:
The draft hybrid schedule is already developed, which will be slightly different from our full-time CDL schedule. Students learning remotely will begin earlier in the morning & will have their synchronous zoom sessions for core classes while the in-person students are in electives. Electives in hybrid will be asynchronous (as elective teachers have in-person students all day). When it’s their day to attend in-person, students will begin later in the morning (this draft said 10am), but end at regular dismissal (3:50pm). Honestly, my brain just exploded. Thank you to whoever figured that mess out.
Eventual cohorts are being built from the fall’s CDL sections. Instead of reinventing the wheel when we move to hybrid, Cedar Park admins are already building the student schedules in a way that allows classrooms to be split into two heterogeneous cohorts that minimizes exposure in a hybrid model, meaning cohorts are generally being driven by electives. Confused? Basically, when your cherub receives their schedule this fall (for CDL), they will probably notice the same 33ish kids in all their core classes. Those same sections will be halved when we go to hybrid (half on M/T, half on Th/F). There won’t be a huge reshuffle of students and schedules when hybrid eventually begins because they are creating the learning cohorts now.
COHORTS: Balanced
A cohort, just another fun phrase we’ve learned this pandemic, is basically a small group of students that are kept together as much as possible to limit the amount of cross-exposure between the student body.
There are a few different types of cohorts that your student will be a part of when we move into the hybrid model.
Attendance cohort: The kids that go to Cedar Park on the same days during hybrid, either M/T or Th/F. BSD is looking at family information to ensure that all students from a household will attend school on the same days (and if that doesn’t work for you, then let Cedar Park know).
Learning cohort: This is the group of roughly 17 students that will be in the same physical room for their core classes and possibly, their electives. These students will remain in the classroom while their core teachers come to them. Most likely they will have lunch in that classroom. However, they will move into their elective classrooms.
Electives are a bit tricky and not as flexible so the entire learning cohort may not be together 100% of the time. Learning cohorts are generally based on elective choice, minimizing student contact with the greater student body, but with 900+ students, that can’t be absolutely guaranteed.
Sidenote: One cohort not mentioned in this session, but mentioned in previous BSD FAQs is the transportation cohort-- the group of kids that will ride the bus together. But… let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
News flash: ODE requires cohorts to be heterogeneous (diverse in character and content), so Cedar Park (or any school) can’t put all the IEPs or ELLs into their own cohorts. They can’t lump all the Cedar Mill or Terra Linda kids together. All cohorts will have the same ratio of gender, IEPs, socio-economics, special ed/intervention/AVID students etc. Elective choice drives a portion of the cohort-building, but ultimately, they must be balanced.
ALL YOUR BURNING QUESTIONS
Can students stay in CDL (remote learning), even if BSD enters a hybrid model? Yes, students can stay in CDL (distance learning) even when the hybrid option opens up. FOR THOSE IN THE BACK: Yes, yes, yes, students can stay in CDL (distance learning) even when the hybrid option begins.
Their experience will be different from the fall’s CDL schedule, and their interaction with teachers will be somewhat limited (electives move to asynchronous), but yes, they will still have that option through the end of this school year.
What is the difference between FLEX and CDL? This graphic pretty much sums it up.
Other cool items about CDL include:
Cedar Park teachers still have access to Apex Learning materials (used in Flex)
MYP methodology
WEB support for 6th grade (read more below)
Access to Cedar Park library & classroom libraries
Natural transition into neighborhood high school
Is WEB happening this year? Yes, WEB (Where Everyone Belongs) is an 8th grade mentorship group that supports incoming 6th graders. Each spring, 7th graders apply to join the WEB team and spend the first couple months each fall meeting 6th graders during advisory, doing ice breakers, answering questions, and providing information on various topics surrounding what it means to be in middle school.
Last spring, that application process happened online and this year’s 8th grade WEB team is gearing up to meet and have fun with incoming 6th graders, albeit virtually.
When will my precious student receive their schedule? Not until the very last minute. Those schedules are gonna be coming in hot.
And that’s a wrap! Check out the full 60 minute video or dive deep into ODE’s “Ready Schools, Safe Learners” document.