Learning Plans

As we return from spring break, we are in completely new and different territory that changes hourly. We will use the curriculum blog as a way to share ideas and update information. 

LEARNING PLANS 

Your building leaders will be working with you to set up opportunities for PLC teams to virtually meet to design learning plans for students. Having some consistency at least at the team level will help families with their students at home. 

You might want to meet through Google Hangouts, Google docs, or phone messaging. Curriculum coordinators are also available to support PLC teams. 

As the closure goes on, we will have some opportunities to have district-wide consistency, but we will get started at the team and building level. 

When creating a learning plan, it is important to remember the guidance that has been sent out through the blog: 

• Resources not courses 
• Supplemental, not core 
• Optional, not required 

As your teams create learning plans, please keep the following considerations in mind: 

Consider equitable design. 
This includes students who do not speak English as their first language, and students with IEP’s.

Intermittent sharing of resources. 
This is for a sustained amount of time, and we don’t want to overwhelm parents and families. We will also be intermittently sharing resources at the district level across this closure. 

Use of packets sparingly. 
While we know packets are quick and easy, they will likely lose their appeal in a short period of time. We can diversify the resources to keep students and families engaged during this time. 

Bottom line for teacher teams when planning is: 

• These learning opportunities are optional for students. 
• They are a review or extension of previously learned skills and concepts. 
• This is an opportunity to implement our feedback practices-no scoring or grades. 

RELATIONSHIPS AND FEELING OVERWHELMED 

On another note...these are overwhelming times. Overwhelming for teachers, for families, and for students. These learning plans are for the long haul, and we don’t have to have them completed and ready to go on Monday. We can take a step back and reassure students and families that we will be with them throughout this closure as partners in learning. 

This is also a great time to strengthen even further the relationships we have with our students, families, and each other. Your first connections with students and families might be just to touch base and see how they are doing. It's easy to get overwhelmed with all of the information out there, so you may want to recommend to parents that they start with one or two resources, and keep it simple. 

We can partner with students and families to help with this, including ideas for a structured routine. Our goal during this time is to give children a chance to read, write, respond, solve, communicate, move, create, and discover in order to sustain and build learning. 

FAQ's 

Each level (elementary, middle, high school) has an FAQ document. If you don't yet have access to this, please let me know, and I will send the link. We will use these documents as a way to respond and as information on what resources and supports will be useful. 

THANK YOU 

I am so proud of the education field right now, and everyone's efforts to step up and help students. It is something that you have always done...now the rest of the world is aware of this too. Take care of yourselves and your families, and stay well.