Elementary Update COVID-19
March 24, 2020
Dear families,
We have all been attempting to make sense of all of the information that is constantly changing. This is such an unprecedented time for schools and students. We are literally making decisions that will impact our students' futures. We do not take any decision lightly and much discussion takes place at the leadership level to ensure that we are moving our school in the right direction.
Yesterday, all of you received a letter from Mr. Mark Allen, Director of Academics, informing you that school will resume on Monday, March 30th and that all virtual lessons and posted work will be avaiable to the students. I am here to inform you that the elementary division will be fully operational on Monday. All teachers are currently working to update assignments for next week. We will post assignments for next week by 5:00 pm on Friday, March 27.
Per the statement from our Secretary of Education in a release sent directly from the Pennsylvania Department of Education:
When providing continuity of education during closure, schools may offer opportunities in varying degrees of intensity, from enrichment and review to full instructional days (which includes meeting all required coursework and FAPE for students with disabilities and ESL services for English Learners), in accordance with aggressive social distancing guidance. When schools are providing full instructional days for all students, that time can count toward the 180-day requirement. Although enrichment and review do not count toward day/hour requirements, schools are strongly encouraged to provide as many instructional opportunities to students as possible during the closure.
As an online school with the capacity to provide this "continuity of learning", we expect our students to log in daily, attend virtual lessons and complete posted assignments that continue to require submissions. The elementary division will continue with our instructional scope and sequence for all courses, this includes electives. All progress check dates and marking period dates will remain the same until the end of the school year. And, we will continue to observe all school holidays until the end of the school year.
Although we are resuming our operations on Monday, I do ask for your patience and flexibility with our teachers. As our teachers will continue to work from home, some of the teachers may need to adjust virtual lesson times due to taking care of their own family members. We want to make certain that we are continuing to provide all students with a safe, secure and private learning environment with little distractions. If a teacher needs to make a modification to a virtual lesson schedule, students will be afforded the opportunity to view a recorded lesson. Additionally, all elementary staff, as they work from home, do not have the ability to access their school phone extension. Please continue to use Canvas and other email formats to communicate with your teachers. Our special education resource teachers, guidance counselors and academic advisor will be available via email during normal office hours beginning on Monday.
We will continue to provide all families with the technical support that you may require. I encourage you to submit a Help Desk ticket should you require support. Please do not attempt to call for technical assistance, as our buildings remain closed to all employees.
As we gather more information, we will provide all families with updates and as much clarification and guidance as possible. We are continually evaluating this situation and want to make certain that we not only continue to support our students, but that we also keep our entire school family safe and healthy.
If you shall have any outstanding questions, please reach out to me via email. I will respond to all of you in a timely fashion.
Warm regards,
Dr. Hoover