Gator Greetings
Friday/September 25/2020
Dear Families,
We are quickly coming to the end of another month of school and toward the end of our first grading period of the 2020-2021 school year. As promised, this year continues to bring changes and revisions. The Governor recently moved our state into Phase 3, which allows some slight changes to school procedures. All school systems are making adjustments to their reopening plans to adapt to the changing environment and to the demands of virtual learning. V. B. Glencoe is no different. We have been reflecting and re-evaluating our progress in virtual and hybrid learning and our effectiveness.
As stakeholders and parents, you should know that the decision to ask our teachers to teach both in-person students and virtual students was difficult for us and a monumental task for our teachers. It was our goal to provide the same Glencoe educational experience virtually as we provide in person. Our teacher rose to the challenge, but not without costs.
Like many of you in our virtual environment, we have faced many obstacles in providing a virtual learning environment. There have been technology issues, internet issues, and disengagement and non-participation of students in the program.
Last week we asked that virtual families declare an option for remaining virtual or returning to school. By asking early, we are able to analyze where staffing and other changes must be made to accommodate more students on campus. What we have realized is that this is much more of a challenging task than we had anticipated. As such, we feel that we must make some major adjustments to our plan moving forward.
Below, I have outlined details of a proposal that will be presented to our Board of Directors at Monday night's board meeting. I hope that this level of transparency will be helpful in making further decisions.
Thank you for your continued support. Have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Loren M. Decuir
Director
Virtual Learning and Hybrid Proposed Changes
The following changes will be proposed to our Board for approval at Monday night's meeting:
Move to a 5-day In-Person Model:
- All students will have the opportunity to return to school 5 days a week.
- We planned from the beginning to have space for every student enrolled while maintaining 6 feet social distancing. That is still the case.
- In Phase 3, many parents are returning to work and are no longer able to support virtual learning on Wednesdays.
Virtual Learning Option Changes:
- Families choosing virtual learning will remain virtual for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year.
- Students will complete lessons independently with the help of a home learning coach or parent. V. B. Glencoe Virtual facilitators will monitor attendance and grades and provide feedback. With a few exceptions, classes will not be taught directly by our Glencoe teachers.
- Attendance WILL be monitored by completion of work and minutes engaged in the program.
- Grades WILL be given and students WILL be accountable for all assignments.
Proposed changes will begin on Thursday, October 15. Until then, ALL VIRTUAL CLASSES WILL CONTINUE AS IS.
Once approved, Town Hall meetings will be held on Wednesday and Thursday to introduce virtual parents to the new platform. This will be an orientation and training for parents to be able to support virtual learning at home. These meeting will be mandatory for families choosing virtual learning.
- Wednesday, September 30 at 5:30 PM - Grades 1 - 5
- Thursday, October 1 at 5:30 PM - Grades 6- 10
Friday, October 2 will be the FINAL day to make or change your choice for virtual or traditional in-person learning. If you would like to make a change now, please resubmit the survey linked below.
https://forms.gle/1nJnYPJW7LRdhdvF6
Current Attendance Requirements
As a reminder, students who are absent from live, synchronous classes with teachers will be marked absent for that subject. Once students have completed all assignments for that subject, the virtual absence will be changed to a virtual present. This procedure will be followed for full virtual and Wednesday virtual students. All required minutes are in effect for all students for this year. Excessive absences, virtual or in-person, will be reported to the Families in Need of Support (FINS) office.
Please use the technology email hotline, technolgyhelpdesk@vbglencoecharter.org, to report issues or to receive help with technology devices.
September Board Meeting
Monday, Sep 28, 2020, 06:00 PM
Elementary cafeteria
Second Chance for Louisiana Families: Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) Application Re-Opens
Louisiana is giving families another opportunity to apply to receive Pandemic EBT benefits. Pandemic EBT, or P-EBT, is a one-time benefit that provides families with children eligible for free or reduced-price school meals or who attend CEP schools with funds to help purchase food. Through P-EBT, eligible Louisiana families can receive up to $285 per child to buy food through an Electronic Benefits Transfer card that can be used at food retailers who accept EBT, such as grocery stores and farmer’s markets.
Louisiana has re-opened the P-EBT application to give families another opportunity to receive benefits. This second application period (September 8 – September 29, 2020) is for families who have not yet received P-EBT. Families are not eligible to apply if they previously received P-EBT benefits after the initial application window this summer. Receiving P-EBT benefits or school meals does not impact a parent or child’s immigration status. The public charge rule does not apply to P-EBT benefits. Additionally, P-EBT does not impact families’ eligibility for other benefits like WIC, SNAP or Disaster SNAP. Visit www.dcfs.la.gov/pebt to learn more and apply for P-EBT by 5 pm on September 29.
COVID 19 Update
As you know, since our last newsletter, we have had one positive student COVID 19 diagnosis and one pending diagnosis. We feel strongly that exposure to the virus did not happen at school. However, we continue to diligently follow procedures and cleaning routines. All quarantine orders were taken out of the abudance of caution. We would rather be over protective than not when it comes to the safety of your children. Yes, we know that we will have COVID cases on campus, but rest assured that we are committed to following protocols.
TOTAL CURRENT POSITIVE CASES
Teachers: 0
Other Staff: 0
Students: 1
TOTAL CURRENT QUARANTINE CASES
Teachers: 2
Other Staff: 0
Students: 15
V. B. Glencoe Charter School
Email: vbglencoecharter@vbglencoecharter.com
Website: vbglencoecharter.org
Location: 4491 LA-83, Franklin, LA, USA
Phone: 337-923-6900
Facebook: facebook.com/V-B-Glencoe-Charter-School-449505761782516