Grades K-6

Grades K-12 Distance Learning Information


Distance Learning Update

April 7, 2020

Dear Parents and Guardians of Students K-6:

We hope you are well and staying safe during these challenging times in our local community and world! Our best thoughts are with you always. Please know we are here to support you!

Now that we have our distance learning plan running, we are ready to incorporate lessons from our special area teachers. We know how valuable and important these subjects are to students. After spring break, students will continue to engage in daily lessons in math, ELA, and social studies on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Special area lessons in art, library, music, and physical education will be the focus of learning on Wednesdays. Our special area teachers will be working with the homeroom teacher to provide the links for these lessons which we begin on Wednesday, April 15. Please know that special area teachers will continue to provide optional activities for students on the other days of the week.

As a reminder, distance learning is a requirement for all students K-6. Although our platform for learning is flexible as to when students engage in lessons, participate, and complete assignments, attendance is required. If students are unable to participate on any particular day due to illness or otherwise, please inform the teacher or call/email the main office of your school to report the absence to the secretary.

In addition, several parents/guardians have been asking about grading at the elementary level. At this point in time, we remain focused on student learning and engagement in the lessons/activities/projects. Teachers are keeping note of how students are progressing and monitoring lessons to meet their needs. With that said, please know that we currently have a team of North Penn educators working on a plan of how to assess students in this platform of distance learning. More will follow in the next few weeks on assessing students’ growth and progress.

Thank you for all you are doing on your end to ensure the success and continuation of learning. Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your building principal.

Sincerely,

Betty Santoro, Ed.D., Director of Elementary Education
D’Ana Waters, Ed.D., Director of Curriculum and Equity



Distance Learning Introduction

3/25/2020

Dear Elementary School Students and Parents,

We hope that you and your family continue to be healthy. We truly miss our students and hope we can see you soon in our classrooms.

As you know, distance learning will begin on March 30, 2020. Here are additional details you will need:

  • When distance learning begins on Monday, March 30, the online platform already in place in your student’s classroom will resume. Over the next day or so teachers will be reaching out to each of their students using the online platform that had been used in that class (Google Classroom, Seesaw, Bloomz, Class Dojo. etc.). Principals will let you know when to expect this teacher contact so that you can work with your child to ensure they are logging on.

  • Teachers will provide instructional materials for all of their students in ELA and Math. Teachers in grades 4-6 will provide instructional materials for Social Studies as well. K-3 teachers will integrate Social Studies into ELA. Assignments may be daily, multi-day lessons, or a combination. We are not expecting teachers to plan for Science lessons at this time, but will keep you up to date when/if that changes.

  • Learning and engagement will be offered asynchronously. This means that the time and place of the instruction will not limit the opportunity to access content. Videos that can be watched at varying times, discussion boards that offer flexibility, and submissions that are open for 24 hours or more are all examples of things that our students can complete when time allows.

  • If synchronous opportunities are available to students (meaning they login and engage with a teacher at a particular time), students will also have the opportunity to access the educational material provided at another time. Synchronous learning will not occur between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. when free meal pickups are available to families.

  • The district has turned OFF the video portion in Google Hangouts by default for all students. However, you may need to remind your child to not turn on their cameras. So, although a class may be “live” the students should not see each other as the cameras are turned off, unless directed by their teacher otherwise.

  • The time spent on virtual learning will vary for students depending on their grade levels and pacing. However, teachers will be working within guidelines. K-3 students should expect to spend approximately 1.5 hours a day and 4-6 students should expect to spend about 2.5 hours a day. These time frames include the teacher directed and independent portions of the lessons.

  • Student attendance will be accounted for by student engagement and participation. Parents and guardians are encouraged to monitor daily assignments/lessons from the teacher. If students are not participating, the classroom teacher will be reaching out.

  • At this time, Art, Library, Music and PE teachers are developing supplemental activities and resources for students and families to complete at home. These will be shared with families through the classroom teacher’s online platform. Librarians and teachers of Art, Music and PE will continue to be a resource for classroom teachers to support other academic instruction.

  • Teachers will continue to assess students’ understanding of the materials as they normally do. All state standardized testing (PSSA and PASA,) have been waived for this school year.

  • Teachers will offer “office hours” when they will be available to support student learning. Each teacher will provide further information on this directly to their students.

  • If your child is having difficulty with the academic tasks, please email the teacher to express your concerns. He/she will work with you to provide additional support or guidance for the assignments.

  • If your child refuses to complete work, please email your child’s teacher or call the main number of the school and the message will be relayed to the teacher.

  • If your child experiences technology problems or you need assistance navigating this format, please contact [email protected].

  • NPSD counselors are available to you and your student during this troubling time. Counselors can be reached via email.

  • At this time, we are planning to stick with our school calendar as originally adopted including Spring Break. That said, we are taking this one day at a time. We appreciate your flexibility and support through all of this as information comes and plans change as a result.

We understand that parents of students with disabilities may have additional questions about how distance learning will work for their children, and how this interfaces with student Individualized Education Plans (IEPs).  View additional information for families of our students who receive special education and/or related services.

We know you still have many questions. Thank you for your patience as we work through the challenges of developing, implementing and communicating our plans. Please know that while it is impossible to answer every question during these trying times, we are doing our best to keep you informed. We will update you regularly as the distance learning plan is implemented. We ask that students and parents check their email daily for updates and information!

Thank you and take care.

Sincerely,
NPSD Administrative Team