Education Committee Update: Week of June 15th

The Education Committee held a meeting on Thursday, June 11^th to continue our work toward an improved learning experience for the WSSD students that takes the parent, teacher and student feedback into account. This week, administrators at the central and building level began analyzing the data provided so that the decisions made reflect the needs of the school community. This committee’s role is to prepare an advanced online learning program for all grade levels. Please see the updates below on our progress in the form of FAQs.

What will the Learning Management System be for each level?

For the 2020-2021 school year, the Learning Management Systems for WSSD will be: 

• Grades K-2: 
  • Seesaw platform 
  • Zoom for synchronous learning and help sessions
  • Screencastify for video recordings for instructions and asynchronous learning
• Grades 3-12: 
  • Google Classroom
  • Zoom for synchronous learning and help sessions
  • Screencastify for video recordings for instructions and asynchronous learning

How prepared will our teachers be to implement the advanced expectations for teaching and learning in an online format?

WSSD teachers at all levels began the Professional Development days on Monday, June 15th to engage in advancedlearning and skill development on Zoom, Seesaw, Google Classroom and Screencastify. These training modules will prepare our teachers to engage immediately with students in any version of distance learning as needed. We have a committed faculty who showed impressive resilience for an abundant amount of new technology learning this year. Many have volunteered to continue into the summer to make videos, lead training sessions, work as Help Desk aides for their colleagues, and serve on the Education Committee so that we get it right.

 

What will the distance learning look like each week if we are all online?

Schedules for each level are nearing completion. All weekly schedules will include synchronous and asynchronous learning, help sessions, clubs/activity meetings, music rehearsals, teacher preparation days, morning meetings, reading specialist interventions, learning support, related services, Gifted and English-Language Learner support, lunch periods and non-technology based activities. 

 

Will students see their WSSD teachers live and on video recordings?

Students are better served when they can regularly interact with their teachers. For that reason, we are ensuring weekly synchronous learning of new material, synchronous help sessions, video recordings of the sessions for students who cannot attend, and morning meetings for elementary school students. In addition, club meetings, learning support and related services, and reading support will occur in synchronous sessions.

 

What other needs will be developed through the Education Committee?

The committee will also develop how-to videos on technology for student and parent use as well as procedures for attendance monitoring, acceptable use policies, behavior interventions, and mental health supports. The committee will soon begin the research and development on assessment options for evaluating and reporting on student progress as well as the acquisition/creation of additional curricular materials - textbooks, packets, and online resources – to support online learning.

 

When will a final plan be made available to the community?

A district website is in the works for parents to easily access Education and Planning Committee updates, sample schedules, how-to videos, along with a set of FAQ’s that will continue to be populated over the summer as decisions are made and can be released with confidence. Information from the Pennsylvania Department of Education and Board of Health influence the options available for school districts, so it is important for us to stay alert to changes to be ready to adjust accordingly. Data from the most recent surveys will also be available on the webpage.

 

Is there information about how Social Distancing will work for Fall 2020?

The district has formed a Planning Committee to make decisions about social distancing during brick-and-mortar learning windows. As updates become available, that information will be shared on the upcoming district webpage.

 

Will technology continue to be provided to families for distance learning?

The WSSD School Board has made the commitment to provide 1:1 technology to all students for the start of the school year. 

 

Thank you to our entire school community for the ongoing communication and feedback. I will continue to communicate via email throughout the summer. As soon as we go live with the webpage for our the Education and Planning Committees, I will send the link to our families.

Stay well,

Dr. Denise Citarelli Jones

Director of Education

Wallingford-Swarthmore School District

Education Committee Update - June 9, 2020

Since the May 26^th presentation to the WSSD School Board on Distance Learning 2.0, the Education Committee has been hard at work preparing for the 2020-2021 school year. The committee formed three sub-committees – Technology, Gap Recovery and Flexible Instruction 2.0. Surveys for feedback on spring experiences were sent to teachers and parents at each level, along with student surveys to the high school and middle school students. Based on feedback from parents, we added a survey for elementary students to round out our view of the learning experiences of our students. Using the data, the various sub-committees are making adjustments and additions to the goals for creating a learning experience for our students that far exceeds the model we implemented in the emergency-like atmosphere of the previous closure. The Education Committee will continue into summer, expanding our viewpoints to include additional stakeholders for feedback and input, and to provide perspectives on the collected data and family experiences.

Below are reports about the work of each sub-committee. We are committed to ongoing feedback to our school community as we continue to make progress through the summer.

Technology Sub-committee Report

This committee was tasked with analyzing the various applications for online learning. Using data from teacher, parent and student surveys, the committee developed goals that included improved systems for asynchronous and synchronous teaching and learning. They designed a multi-day in-service plan for June 2020 that provides advanced learning and skill development on Zoom, Seesaw, Google Classroom and Screencastify. The committee will continue into the summer with the following tasks: 

Develop teacher training modules with certificates of learning 

• Create “how-to” videos for end-users such as parents and students 
• Create a warehouse of resources for online learning 
• Develop an exemplar model for synchronous online learning based on research
• Design an August in-service plans for teacher collaboration on the digital resources
• Problem-solve the various device issues for online and hybrid learning modalities

Gap Recovery Sub-committee Report

This committee was tasked with evaluating the potential gaps in learning standards due to changes in the learning modality. With an analysis of each grade level across k-12, the committee was able to create sessions during the June in-service days for teachers to have cross-grade conversations about standards that will need to be reviewed and stabilized at the start of the 2020-2021 school year. Using the guiding best practices embedded within curricular programs and the state learning outcomes, every grade and subject area will work with colleagues to create adaptable lessons for student needs based on early diagnostic principles. Teachers will also share cross-grade resources for the review and stabilization work anticipated in September. 

During the August in-service, teachers will be given a several days to prepare lessons in teams for asynchronous, synchronous, and brick-and-mortar applications of the learning. It will be critical that teachers are ready to pivot back and forth between these applications of learning throughout the coming school year as the health crisis demands.

 

Flexible Instruction 2.0 Sub-Committee Report

This committee was tasked with solving various issues identified through experience and feedback from stakeholders. This committee will continue well into the summer until we have solved the many possible issues related to changing our educational system of learning if called upon to do so. Listed below are the ongoing tasks of this committee:

Create fully online schedules at each level for synchronous & asynchronous learning should WSSD move to a full closure of brick-and-mortar at any point in the   school year

Research and develop assessment options for evaluating and reporting on student progress

Research additional curricular materials - textbooks, packets, online resources – to support online learning

Develop attendance procedures and tiered interventions for non-compliance

Develop behavior expectations and tiered interventions for non-compliance

Create guidelines and expectations for teachers to operationalize Flexible Instruction

I would like to thank the teachers and administrators who have risen to the challenge of planning for the best of teaching and learning through research, collaboration, and innovation after a long and arduous road in education this past spring. I am also grateful for the proactive feedback from parents that gave our committees salient talking points with heartfelt anecdotes and important questions. From the viewpoint of the Education Committee, adversity has made our collective commitment to the WSSD students stronger than ever. 

Sincerely,

Dr. Denise Citarelli Jones

Director of Education

Wallingford-Swarthmore School District