Continuous Learning Begins Today: Breaking down the FAQs
As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, all state school buildings were forced to close down for the remainder of the school year. As a result, students are adapting to online-based learning starting today, March 30. With this new normal, many changes are being implemented.
On March 27, principal Scott Roberts sent an email outlining the new schedule and procedures of continuous learning. According to the school newsletter, this schedule will hold odd hour classes on Monday and Wednesday and even hour classes on Tuesday and Thursday. Friday will be a designated “work day” for students to catch up on work from the rest of the week.
The hourly schedule for each day is meant to set aside time for synchronous activities or live lessons. Each assignment will be posted by 9 a.m. each day. However, attendance will not be taken. All students will be expected to use their school laptops to continue learning.
With this new system, there were concerns for students who do not have internet access at their residence or have technological problems. If a student experiences technological difficulties, there is a support system in place for assistance. According to the FAQs, students are encouraged to submit a BV CARE Ticket to a technology team that will attempt to assist. The overall workload and structure of the fourth quarter is expected to be easier and more understanding than previous quarters. According to the FAQs, it is impossible for a student’s fourth quarter grade to be lower than their third quarter grade unless the class doubles as college credit.
As stated in the FAQs document, “This means that, at the end of the semester, students will receive either their 3rd quarter grade or their combined 3rd quarter/4th quarter grade as their semester grade, whichever is higher.”
This theoretically implies that if you have an A, students would not need to participate in fourth quarter assignments. However, that is strongly discouraged. The curriculum for the fourth quarter has been skimmed down to only include the most crucial lessons for the following year. With this decrease in curriculum, comes the concern of being prepared for the following school year.
To address that concern, the FAQ document states that “teachers know that their plans for the fall of 2020 will have to be altered and they will develop their introductory units differently than in previous years.”
This cut of curriculum will result in a lesser workload, it will cut the hours of total daily school work significantly.
“The guidance from KSDE is that students should work about three hours per day total on school work,” stated the FAQs. However, according to the district’s current schedule, students would, at most, only be required to work up to two hours per day.
Another major concern is AP tests. For many juniors and seniors, their school year has been centered around preparing for these exams. College Board understands that the cancellation of school will greatly affect students’ ability to be fully prepared for the previously planned test, so they have made alterations to the format.
“This year’s AP tests will not cover the full AP curriculum, and students will test online,” stated the FAQs. “Exams will be 45 minutes long, free response questions only, and just cover portions of the content that the College Board believes most schools completed before Spring Break.”
Typically, at the end of the school year, final exams are administered in each class. With an inability to monitor students during test taking and an already stressful situation taking place with the pandemic, the decision was made to not facilitate finals. The exception to this is dual credit courses, which will hold a final exam.
The entire school staff is making the necessary changes to continue to be supportive to students. The librarians and the counselors have altered their platforms to include more online resources and they have let students know online databases will still be available. Ebooks have also been added to the library media center to continue to provide reading material for students. Overall, the administration and staff is aware of the concerns that come along with this new style of learning. Students are encouraged to reach out with any questions that they may have.
The FAQ stated that “three items are key here: prioritize health, give yourself grace and family comes first. Trying to balance all the things on your family’s plate for the remainder of the school year is both challenging and daunting. Please remember that your best is truly good enough.”
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