03/22/20ACHS- Remote Learning Plan Update, 3/22

Good evening Arlington Catholic,

Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete our survey. 115 students, 48 parents and 33 teachers were gracious enough to provide their feedback. The results were overwhelmingly positive, with many positive suggestions and a great many “thank yous.” Based on the result of the survey, some adjustments will be made to our online learning expectations.

We will continue with our rotating schedule of periods. When we return to school we will adjust the day to realign with the middle school.  The day in the rotation is always in the main calendar page of the Family Portal and will be communicated each day to families.  

The next two Fridays will be WIN Days. Students may complete work, but there is no expectation that they do so; no new work will be assigned. Teachers will spend Friday’s lesson planning, in virtual meetings and taking some down time for themselves as well. Teachers will check email, especially this week with the quarter ending, but they may have a longer response time (all will be answered by 3pm, however). What students and staff expressed needing the most was some down time, this will hopefully provide that.

Throughout the week, students are not expected to be “in class” at a particular time. Some schools are sticking to a schedule and requiring specific times of attendance. We feel that an asynchronous format like ours is best given the various demands placed on students and families in these challenging, unprecedented times.

Here are the revised school-wide expectations for Arlington Catholic, beginning March 23rd:

For students:

• Log in to Google Classroom at 9am (or as close to 9am as possible) each day for the classes that would meet that day.

• Assignments should be submitted by 9pm on the day they are due.  Added time is something that both families and teachers felt would be helpful to completing work.

  • It may be possible that there is a small ‘check in’ assignment in a class as well as other work to complete

  • If an extension is needed, the student is ill, etc., please contact the teacher to make the request between 9am and 2pm.

  • The teacher work day is not expected to extend past 3pm, so it is vital that students check work and seek clarification by 2pm so teachers have time to respond.

  • Students, as always, are to do their own work unless specifically allowed to collaborate

  • Submissions may be through Google Classroom, TurnItIn, or some other forum deemed best by the teacher

  • VHS students should continue in their course as usual

• Time expectations:

  • Complete 45 minutes TOTAL of work per class each day

    • This includes ‘classwork’ and ‘homework’

  • Students are not required to be physically present in any chat, zoom, etc. held by teachers (this was however something many people found helpful so it is highly suggested to participate when you can)

For parents:

• Impress upon your child the importance of social distancing 

• Help create a routine for your child to follow each day

• Check in with your student each day on their progress

• Help your student to be proactive about reaching out to teachers and support staff (Guidance, Achievement Center, etc) when they do not understand material, have questions, or are finding that too much work is being assigned

• Help your children navigate this stressful time as best you can and make time to spend together. Last week families shared many things they were doing together that they do not typically have time for.

For teachers:

• Provide work that is:

  • Reasonable

    • To reflect work that would have been done in the course (reading, viewing video, producing written work, completing assessments)

    • No more than 45 minutes of work TOTAL will be assigned each day, including “classwork” and “homework”

  • Meaningful

    • Provide structured assignments, not busywork, that will move the curriculum forward while we are out of school. 

    • Use our existing Google tools and TurnItIn as much as possible

• Post assignments on Google Classroom no later than 9am each day.

  • Ideally post an overview of the week ahead at the start of each week

  • Assignments and directions should be clear

• Check email regularly in order to respond to student/parent questions; all emails must be answered by 3pm each school day.

  • Teachers will be available between 9-3 but will take breaks, do not expect an immediate response 

  • No expectation to respond to emails after 3pm

• Have a minimum of one graded assessment (other than homework or small daily ‘check in’) once a cycle

• Interact regularly with students

  • Video lessons to explain and introduce concepts

  • Host at least one Zoom or Hangouts meeting each week with students (can be for all sections of the same course); students are not required to attend but are strongly encouraged to do so.

    • Attempt to host 2 different sessions per class to better accommodate student schedules

Certainly we understand that unforeseen circumstances might impact your family's schedule and routine in the weeks ahead.  We ask that you communicate with teachers and teachers will be as flexible as possible.  All support staff and administration will also be checking and responding to email Monday-Friday; all emails will be answered by 3pm each day.  Please don't hesitate to reach out to us if you need anything. At this time we ask that you do not call the school, email is the best way to reach anyone.

Social distancing is still very, very important. Students should not be gathering (in even small groups), working extra, etc. All the guidance says separation is one of the very best things we can all do at this time. 

A reminder that the school building is closed to students until further notice.

We still know of no confirmed cases of this virus among our students, staff or their families. We also, again, ask you to provide us with any information that will help us evaluate this situation and keep everyone as safe as possible. 

Thank you for your patience and cooperation  as we all keep working together to continue to keep our students safe and academically engaged at this unprecedented time.

We will continue to evaluate and may make other adjustments to our digital learning guidelines as we move through this unchartered territory. 

During this stressful time we know that many young-people and adults may wish to reach-out for pastoral care. The priests of St. Agnes Parish are available via phone (781-648-0220), email, or a number of video conference platforms, such as Google Chat and Zoom. Their contact info is available at CPARL.org.  There are other resources and programs that might be helpful to individuals and families on the site as well. Each day you are prayed for at the Facebook Live Mass broadcast from the Collaborative Parishes Office Chapel. 

The Arlington Catholic Administrative Team