Dear teachers,
The impact of Legacy moving to online instruction is substantial. You all are the primary lifters on this shift and are critical to the health and safety of our communities. How we manage this transition is vital for the health of our programs and the growth of our students.
We will begin week one of our new online and distance learning platforms by ensuring stable and clear communication with students and families via Google Classroom.
To provide students with quality instruction, videos and resources have been created for students in their absence from school. Only with your support and constant communication with your students will this be successful. Remote learning begins Monday, March 23.
Learning resources will be provided to students via Google Classroom and/or hard copies that will be arranged for pick-up at your campus.
Teacher Requirements
Teachers will monitor Google Classroom throughout school hours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) to help field questions for students during the remote learning school day.
Teachers are required to answer ALL student or parent questions by the end of each school day, and monitor email and Google Classroom questions hourly. Since teachers will be actively monitoring the questions on their Google Classroom pages, remote tutoring will not be necessary.
Teachers are also expected to provide live sessions via Zoom to their students each day. They should set up a Zoom account, and email an invite with the link to your parents each morning.
Teachers should choose the same time each day. K-5 teachers should read their class a live story each day during this time. JH teachers should utilize this time as online “tutoring” and be available for questions. Sign up for your free Zoom account by logging in using Google and your Legacy email address here.
Every Monday, teachers will grade the previous week’s materials (online lesson and packets) and enter a grade into PS/IC by Wednesday at 4 p.m. Grading will be based on two criteria: completion and attendance. Teachers will be required to go to the school each Monday to pick up any student work submitted via hard copy. Front office staff may help with this by emailing teachers when work gets dropped off.
If the student has turned in a completed packet by Friday at 4 p.m. the previous week, the teacher would enter “present” for every school day into PS/IC and 100% for the classwork grade.
If the student has not completed/turned in the packet by Friday at 4 p.m. the previous week, the teacher would enter EA (Excused Absence) and EX (excused) in the gradebook.
Special Area Teacher Requirements (Music, Art, PE, Spanish, Computers, RISE)
Special area teachers will monitor Google Classroom throughout school hours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) to help field any questions for students during the remote learning school day.
Teachers are required to answer ALL student or parent questions by the end of each school day, and monitor email and Google Classroom questions hourly.
Special area teachers are also expected to provide live sessions via Zoom to their students each day. They should set up a Zoom account, and email an invite with the link to their parents each morning. Teachers should choose the same time each day and provide a different activity during this time each day. Sign up for your free Zoom account by logging in using Google and your Legacy email address here.
Each Friday at 4 p.m. teachers will load the following week’s extension activity for the week to their Google Classroom. Extension activities will consist of videos, projects, and movement exercises based on the core content learning objectives and should not exceed 30 minutes for the entire week.
Extension activities can be found in the Distance Learning Resources folder within Curriculum Resources > Specials on Google Drive.
- Physical Education example: The teacher will upload a video on stretching.
- Art example: The teacher will provide an activity involving household materials (not toilet paper) that the students can create based on what they have learned.
Exceptional Student Services Teacher Expectations
In alignment with the guidance provided by the U.S. Department of Education, the Vertex ESS team is working to create a structure and format to offer special education and related services that will be HIPAA/FERPA-compliant, minimizing the amount of compensatory service owed once schools re-open.
All schools will offer students access to the general education curriculum and instruction. We are obligated to provide equal access and opportunity to students with disabilities and ensure that they have a true offer of FAPE.
Additionally, we are developing a sign-up and scheduling system for each campus to ease the burden of scheduling and grouping students for live services. Parents will schedule their children, and Legacy ESS personnel (including contractors) will be available during their full workday to accommodate sign-ups.
Documenting invitations, attendance, and progress during these sessions will be critical to show that the school offered services to all students. These sessions will be done via Google Hangouts.
We are still awaiting direction on evaluations and will provide an update as soon as we have one.
As always, thank you. Your work throughout the past week, and in the coming weeks, is invaluable. You’re setting a high standard of excellence in the classroom, and now in your online classrooms. We are thrilled that you are with us on this new, exciting journey.
Sincerely,
Nicole Kirkley
Superintendent