Virtual Learning Update
April 1, 2020
Superintendent's Message
School Calendar Changes and Upcoming Days Off
On Monday, Governor Raimondo and Commissioner of Education Infante-Green announced that all Rhode Island public schools will continue with Virtual Instruction through the end of April. The Governor reminded students that the virtual learning days are school days and that students are expected to take this situation seriously.
The Commissioner shared that her team has developed a new school calendar, which includes two professional development days for teachers, and two vacation days to give teachers a break as they worked through their vacation to develop Virtual Instruction plans. On professional development days students will not have school, to give teachers an opportunity to learn about new opportunities for instruction. Students can use this time to catch up on work. The Commissioner asked that all schools adopt the new school calendar, and Beacon has done exactly that.
CHANGES TO SCHOOL CALENDAR
Professional Development Days:
Friday, April 3rd and Friday April 17th will now be Professional Development Days. While students will not be checking in on these days, we are encouraging them to use the time to catch up on work.
School Vacation Days:
Thursday, April 9th and Friday, April 10th are now vacation days. Please utilize them as such. We encourage all of our students and families to take those days to recharge and reset.
State Testing
Juniors will be taking the SAT in the Fall of 2020 instead. Stay tuned for more information.
Family Survey and Input
We are working on additional supports for students and families. If you are in need of support, or if you have some tips to that might be helpful to other families, please contact our Family Engagement Coordinator, Kelli DiDomenico, kdidomenico@beaconart.org.
Please keep an eye out for another Family Survey that will be rolled out in the next week or so.
How Can You Support Us?
- Make sure your student is checking in for attendance. Students are required to check in daily with all of their teachers before 2:30pm. Students should check-in by accessing a Google Form posted to each of their teachers' individual Google Classrooms. Please know that you do not have to wait until your teacher's office hours to check in using this form. Students can check in anytime between 8:30am and 2:30pm.
If your student does not check in, the office will reach out to let you know, just as if your student was absent from school. If there is no response, the Principal will reach out. If there continues to be no response, Dr. Skeldon will reach out to address any potential truancy issues.
If your student is not completing classwork, their teachers should be communicating daily about that. If this becomes a pattern for students, your student's Principal will reach out. If you have any questions about work completion or how we can better support your student, please reach out to your school's Principal.
Beacon: Mrs. Murphy rmurphy@beaconart.org.
Founders: Mr. Terzigni cterzigni@beaconart.org.
How We Plan to Better Support You
Resources page coming to our website (beaconart.org), so that families and students can access information to help support them through this time.
Additional meeting opportunities are coming soon (Facebook Live, etc), so that families can reach out for support and help support one another.
Additional surveys about Virtual Instruction and increased communication to families about how we can improve our distance learning program.
Anything else? please contact our Family Engagement Coordinator, Kelli DiDomenico, kdidomenico@beaconart.org.
Stay in the Know!
Don't forget to like us on Facebook for the most up-to-date information.
Beacon: https://www.facebook.com/beaconart/
Founders: https://www.facebook.com/beaconfounders/