Jordan/Jackson News You Can Use
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Principal Update - DESE Student Learning Time Regulations
Dear Families,
Recently, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) implemented Student Learning Time Regulations, effective January 19th. The requirements state that:
The Districts and schools operating a hybrid learning model must provide students with access to at least 35 hours of “live instruction” over a 10-school day period, averaged across the grades in the hybrid model (excluding pre-kindergarten and kindergarten). Live instruction means the combination of in-person and remote synchronous instruction.
The 35-hour requirement is an average minimum across the District.
As the school year has progressed at Jordan/Jackson, many of our staff were meeting, if not exceeding that minimum amount of time. However, we collaborated to refine the Hybrid Remote Day Learning Schedule to calibrate our practices and ensure we are consistent in meeting or exceeding the regulations.
What to expect from students in the hybrid model:
On the remote learning days (other than Wednesdays), students can expect to have, on average, just over four hours of synchronous remote instruction. This amount of time in combination with the in-person days would equate to an average of over forty hours of “live instruction” for our students over a 10-school day period. It is important to note how DESE defines synchronous remote instruction, which includes small group instructional time. This is a critical pedagogical and developmental instructional practice for Elementary teachers and students. The regulations state:
In this model, a teacher is present online with their class, working with small groups of students in turn while the remaining students engage in independent or small group work. Students should be able to signal to the teacher that they need support.
It’s also important to note that “live lessons” during this time may include breakout rooms for students to complete tasks and activities with access to the teacher. Teachers may establish other forms of access for students and will communicate those options to their students. Clearly, any “live streaming” of whole group lessons are included in the “live instruction” time.
The synchronous remote instruction time will be implemented based on the individual schedules of each classroom and the needs of the students, following the teacher’s direction. The time is allocated across all academic blocks, Specials, student support service delivery and other whole class meeting times. To help provide more clarity, here is an example hybrid remote learning schedule*, which includes the Wednesday half synchronous/half asynchronous day. We collaborated to achieve consistency for all students on Wednesdays, as well. You will see that reflected in the schedule.
*Please note that this is an example schedule only. Timeframes and academic instruction will be specific to each individual classroom and teacher direction. However, the average amount of remote synchronous instruction will remain the same. Please note that the administration of assessments will also impact the synchronous time on those scheduled days.
Lastly, given the format of our Virtual Remote Cohort Classes and the student learning requirements for remote learning, there were no modifications needed to their schedule.
If you have any classroom-specific questions, please contact your child’s classroom teacher. Please feel free to contact me with any other questions or concerns.
Thank you,
John Nieratko
Breakfast With Bentley
Cohort A: Thursday, January 28, 2021
Cohort B: Friday, January 29, 2021
Virtual Cohort: Monday, February 1, 2021
The breakfast will take place in the Jordan/Jackson cafeteria from 7:45 am to 8:15 am for in-person students and via Google Meet for our Virtual Cohort students. Click HERE for Bentley's flyer
Safe Routes to School Winter Walk - Wednesday, February 3
Family Friendly Resources for Help with Mental Health
COVID-19 is putting incredible pressure on families. Many families are worried about their child’s mental health, but they aren’t sure where to turn or how to get started. HandholdMA.org, a new family friendly website, can help.
The website, created by a team of mental health and child development experts in partnership with parents who have “been there,” was designed for parents of school-aged children in Massachusetts.
Handhold has three main sections:
Should I worry? Helps parents explore if their kid just being a kid, or if their behavior is something to worry about. Parents can learn about signs to look for and get suggestions on what to do next.
What can I do? Tips, tools, and strategies that have worked for other families, sorted by topic, and picked by Handhold. These are things parents can learn about or do from home.
Who can help? Carefully selected community organizations and government resources to help families find the right mental health services.
Whatever steps you decide to take, HandholdMA.org offers a variety of tips, tools and resources to help you. Visit HandholdMA.org today!
LOST AND FOUND
UPCOMING IMPORTANT DATES
January 28, 2021 - Breakfast with Bentley Cohort A and Daily
January 29, 2021 - Breakfast with Bentley Cohort B and Daily
February 1, 2021 - Breakfast with Bentley Virtual Cohort
February 3, 2021 - Safe Routes to School
February 15 - February 20, 2021 - February Vacation
Update Re: Seasonal Flu Vaccine
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is removing the requirement for flu vaccination for attendance in childcare/preschool, primary, secondary and postsecondary education. Preliminary data show that this has been a mild flu season to date, presumably as people have received their seasonal flu vaccine and have been adhering to mask-wearing and social distancing due to COVID-19. Given the intensive Commonwealth-wide efforts regarding COVID-19 vaccination, DPH wants to alleviate the burden to obtain flu vaccination and focus on continuing our COVID -19 vaccination efforts.
DPH continues to strongly recommend that everyone age six months and older receive their seasonal flu vaccine each year.
Digital Resources from our Technology Department
If you haven't checked out our Student and Family Digital Resources website, please take a minute and visit! We've been hard at work creating resources to help families and students learn and use some of the many digital tools we have available throughout MPS.
There are instructional documents and videos about the digital tool, as well as resources to help you use digital tools in an efficient and productive way.
Some of our latest topics include:
- How to create and use labels and filters to manage all the emails you receive from Google Classroom, etc.
- How to turn off/on notifications in Google Classroom
- What is the difference between Mark as Done and Turn In in Google Classroom and when do I use each option?
- How do I split my viewing screen to see and use 2 applications at the same time?
- Taking screenshots with my Chromebook
- Creating and Using Google Forms
- Managing your extensions in your Chrome browser
- Using Equatio (grades 5-12) for digital inking in math
We are continuing to create and post new materials regularly, so bookmark the site and check back often!
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH AT NO COST EXTENDED THROUGH JUNE
Breakfast and lunch at no cost to families has been extended through June 2021. In addition, Grab and Go Meals are available for pick-up every Wednesday from 3-4pm at Mansfield High School. Please see the links below for additional information.
NEEDED!! SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS/PARAPROFESSIONALS AND LUNCH/RECESS MONITORS!!
Substitute Teachers and Substitute Paraprofessionals
Applications should be mailed or dropped off at Central Office, 2 Park Row, Mansfield Attention: Human Resources
Applications should be mailed or dropped off at Jordan/Jackson, 255 East Street, Mansfield
Attention: Denise daGraca