Next Steps Toward Remote Learning

April 3, 2020

Dear CVSD Community,

We would like to provide families with some additional information regarding our remote learning. From the period starting April 13th until school reopens, CVSD will transition to a remote learning environment that provides all students with access to new learning and feedback on this learning. Based on guidance from the Agency of Education, we will continue to follow our school calendar for the rest of the year, including April vacation. The final day of school in June is still being determined.

In the next week, teachers will continue to plan for this transition, as directed by the Agency of Education. We have incorporated many pieces of information into our planning - the feedback of CVSD families on last week’s survey, guidance and directives from the Agency of Education, and collaborative work across all CVSD schools.

In developing our Continuity of Education Plan, we have kept the following 4 Guiding Principles, identified in the VT Agency of Education’s Continuation of Learning Plan Tool at the forefront:

1. Health and Safety. Doing everything that we can to support the health, safety, and wellbeing of our students and their families is our top priority. This includes but is not limited to providing nutritious foods, promoting opportunities for physical wellness, and providing social-emotional and mental health support for all of our students
2. Equity. This crisis affects everyone but will disproportionately impact the most vulnerable students. Equity should be at the forefront of all planning and implementation.
3. Relationships. Making connections and maintaining relationships are at the foundation of all implementation plans. Set a schedule that includes faculty and staff connecting with students as frequently as possible
4. Remote Learning. Remote learning does not exclusively mean online learning. Districts should consider the variable abilities of families to access and utilize the internet and the impacts of increased screen time expectations. Students should not be required to access devices for the traditional length of the school day. Leverage other opportunities for students to learn, such as exploring their outdoor environment (to an extent that is within public health parameters), engaging in self-driven projects and problem-solving, and (virtually) reaching out to their communities.

Faculty and staff members are currently designing learning plans that honor these principles. Designing learning that is “just right” for students and families is challenging, as it can vary from student-to-student and family-to-family dependent upon circumstances. Based on national recommendations and consultation with districts across our region, plans will be designed with the following goals in mind:

• PreK: (30-45 minutes daily), with additional suggested opportunities
• K-4: (1-2 hours daily total, including instruction, practice, Essential Arts), with additional suggested opportunities
• 5-8: (2-3 hours daily total, including instruction, practice, Essential Arts), with additional suggested opportunities
• 9-12: (3-4 hours daily total)
• Weekly opportunities for teacher check-ins, feedback, and support

It’s important to note that designing learning that aligns with these recommendations is an inexact science. To that end,

• Faculty and staff will work to provide additional learning opportunities for those interested
• Faculty, staff, and administration will also work with students and families to adjust expectations, when necessary, to ensure students experience learning that is sensitive to the needs of the learners and their families.

As we all learn to work in an online virtual world, our teachers are learning as well. We appreciate the patience you have shown as we continue to improve our remote learning practices. More specific information about the shifts from our current Maintenance of Learning phase to the Remote Learning phase will be shared by schools and teachers with families and students.

Food

As stated in the message that went out earlier this week, the USDA relaxed its foodservice rules which now allows us to offer free meals to anyone age 18 and younger who resides in Charlotte, Hinesburg, Shelburne, St George, or Williston.

We are currently providing meal pick up service on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings in all five of our towns. This flyer provides information about the pick-up locations and links to order your meals.

https://bit.ly/CVSDRemoteFood

In order to ensure we have enough meals at each location, we ask that you pre-order before 8:00 AM on the day of pick up, but if you can’t, please come anyway and we’ll do all we can to send you home with meals. If you have trouble accessing the form, you can call in an order. In fact, if you are having any trouble at all accessing these meals, please reach out to us, we can help.

#CVSDStrong

Thank you again to those who have shared examples of how we’re staying strong during this challenging time. If you would like to contribute, please use this form:  https://bit.ly/CVSDStrong

Here’s the latest collection of images and short video clips from the CVSD community.

https://youtu.be/SVbGxu1kryQ


Stay well everyone,

The Champlain Valley School District Administration