HPES Update
3/25/2020
Staff,
I hope you are doing well. Below you will find a questionnaire to complete and a few FYI’s to keep you informed. Enjoy completing them in PJs, Shorts, T-shirts, or whatever you want, ‘cause you're at home! Thanks for being flexible and ready for information to come at you in a moment’s notice.
Warm Regards,
Lizbeth
Questionnaire:
FYI - Instructional Guidance Update-ish:
The district is working around the clock to develop the environment for learning to exist. Please expect information to make its way to you very soon. The struggle is in meeting the varied needs of students with vastly different circumstances. For that reason, expect there to be a district focus on assignments and resources (See possible examples below) versus a slew of individual assignments by each teacher. This will help avoid bombarding students and families. Initially, the emphasis will be on core content for each grade level. Additionally, the district will prioritize getting resources out there over collecting grades.
For now, please simply continue to reach out to students to check in and ask how they are doing.
Please do NOT share any academic expectations/grades at this time. We do not want to inundate parents and the community with individual class assignments and expectations at this time. Even the best intentions can cause unintended outcomes. Ultimately, we have a limited window of communication and access to our families. We want our messages to be succinct and our expectations to be as clear as possible.
To that end, it is incredibly important that we develop a unified plan as a district and a campus before proceeding. District is finalizing plans for online instruction and will provide this information via email at any moment. They will also provide information on paper instruction for those students who do not have access to technology. The plan will be emailed to teachers at any moment, so please check your email frequently. Online instruction/Remote Learning is expected to begin on Monday March 30th.
Examples of what our Instructional approach MIGHT look like?
-Round Rock ISD: https://sites.google.com/roundrockisd.org/athomelearning/home
-Abilene ISD: https://sites.google.com/abileneisd.org/aisdonlinelearning/home
-Austin ISD: https://sites.google.com/austinisd.org/aisd-learning-at-home
Family & Community Communication:
Communication is going to be critical in these times as we navigate the changing educational landscape. As you probably know, information is being shared for better and for worse (fact and opinion) instantly and often on social media platforms by our community around the virus, schooling, shopping, TP, etc. I will continue communication with our parents and plan on sending frequent updates to them to keep them informed and engaged through our school smore newsletter. Although timely information is always appreciated by our community, accurate information is the most important. Thus, I am being very intentional and hope you will do the same.
What can you do to help? At this time, I ask that all communication be positive and involve simply checking in on kids and families. We want them to know we are here in this together, and miss them very much. If you hear or know of any individual family struggles or needs please forward them along to me. We want to support our community but I personally ask that we make sure we are cognitive of our personal community assistance versus anything provided as a representative of PfISD. Please simply reach out if you have any questions as this can become difficult to differentiate.
Communication with Students Reminder:
Being that access to kiddos is no longer face to face, now would be a good time to review the PFISD Employee Handbook, Electronic Communications between Employees, Students and Parents,
Zoom & Students
Please do NOT use ZOOM at this moment to communicate with students, district is checking on the privacy guidelines and ensuring that it is a safe platform to use. This is for your protection, so please hold off until further notice.
Brush up on your technology:
The following links are optional and only for what YOU need. Please don’t waste time watching ones you are already a pro at. However, for the ones you are not comfortable with, I recommend you use this time to get acquainted with each of the platforms:
Google Classroom: https://teachercenter.withgoogle.com/first-day-trainings/welcome-to-classroom
G-Suite aka. Google Apps:
Docs: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxrgctLtCPwnNmczclJCeVRjQ1U/view
Sheets: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxrgctLtCPwnUFBfYTlKanJ6WDA/view
Slides: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxrgctLtCPwnZl9BdS0tR09fUms/view
Forms: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxrgctLtCPwnejdET0xOYW91R2c/view
Zoom Meetings: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362193-Joining-a-Meeting Maybe even practice hosting and receiving one with a fellow staff member so you are ready in the event we ask you to join one!
Have more questions? The PfISD Technology team is standing by to help you integrate technology into your distance instructional efforts. Angela Mathews is our campus contact, but here is a list of the others in case you need it: PfISD Technology Department
Quick Links:
o All DISTRICT Newsletters (recent emails from Dr. Killian): http://www.pfisd.net/domain/1882
o PfISD Generated FAQ COVID-19 Page: http://www.pfisd.net/site/Default.aspx?PageID=7669
o Staffing Guidelines from HR: HR Work From Home Guidelines
o Staff Device Check-out Process: https://forms.gle/gF6wrg55iSJ2cbQG8 (use your District Google account, email address and password).
ABC Mouse
- We have been given access to ABC mouse.com: I’m attaching a Family Invitation Letter along with our district’s unique School Code for free access to all three of their programs. Families a
- https://www.ageoflearning.com/school_closure_pdf/ParentLetter_AofL_SCHOOL7581.pdf