March 31, 2020
Dear Parents, Guardians, and Students:
The past two weeks have been an unprecedented time of change for students, educators, and parents alike. The situation in our state remains fluid, which has left us modifying and adapting instructional plans based on the anticipated duration of our absence from school. The following guidance represents our current decision making regarding grading, student expectations, and learning opportunities.
To help create a balanced and realistic home learning scenario, teachers of courses in grades 7-12 have been directed to utilize a “3 x 40” rule of thumb. In other words, student assignments, course readings, and review exercises should not exceed an estimated “seat time” requirement for students of greater than 120 minutes per 5 day cycle for each course. Teachers will also ensure that a pacing calendar indicating targeted due dates for material is conveyed to students.
In terms of current grading practices, we plan to continue grading new work for the remainder of the 3rd marking period, which concludes on April 9. Teachers would then shift their focus to review and skills practice for the remainder of the school year. In the case of a prolonged absence from seated instruction which extends past May 1, final grades from the 4th marking period will be determined on a pass/fail basis and would not be reflected in the cumulative course averages or have any impact toward the calculation of grade point average.
Students with course averages below 65% on April 9 will still be permitted to turn in late assignments and retake assessments for learning recovery for full credit.
Calculation of senior class rank will be calculated based on cumulative GPA’s as of the conclusion of the 2nd marking period.
I realize that this prompts many other questions. As a middle-high school program, we offer a wide variety of courses with varying expectations, grading policies, and workloads. The following is a breakdown of those program types:
Special Area Courses and Electives Grades 7-12: The courses, including Health, Home, and Careers (grade 7), Technology 7, PE 7 & 8, Art 8, as well as 7 & 8 Band and Chorus remain important enrichment opportunities. At the same time, these courses are not tied to standardized state assessments and are locally graded. Teachers will continue to provide tasks and resources for students. It should be noted that PE is a required component of all 7-12 students’ programs, and that rich instructional materials have been provided.
These allow students to engage in home-based fitness activities, and they are required to submit logs of that activity. It is important that students continue to engage in their physical education study.
Grades 7-8 ELA and Math: It is important to note that New York State has suspended the 3-8 testing program in ELA and Math for grades 7 & 8. At the same, the skills and standards addressed in these courses remain critical for future learning, and it is our goal to continue to engage students in these content areas so as to provide a solid foundation for future learning while preventing learning regression. These courses will maintain a focus on building student’s reading and math skills, including reading assignments and review via IXL and enVision math. Social Studies and Science 7 & 8 will take a similar approach.
Secondary Core Areas including Regents Courses: These courses including Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Global History, US History, English, Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II/Trigonometry. We have not yet received guidance from New York State regarding the status of June Regents exams. Fortunately, we have reached a point in the school year when teachers for most Regents courses have already covered a significant portion of the curriculum. Therefore, we are recommending that students engage in review for the Regents exams. We are fortunate to have a powerful online learning resource known as Castle Learning to provide student review. In addition, and in conjunction with the district’s use of Google Classroom, many teachers are using online meeting tools to conduct online teaching. The use of these tools, in concert with the district’s one-to-one Chromebook initiative, internet access via Kajeet devices, and the availability of the district’s wifi in the north parking lot, provide multiple opportunities for students to access the best educational opportunities the district can provide in the current environment. Teachers will provide direction to students on the use of these tools.
GCC ACE Courses: We continue to await further guidance from GCC on the direction of ACE courses. ACE, or Accelerated College Enrollment, involves GCC certified Lyndonville teachers instructing courses which allow students to earn college credit. Many students in these courses have already made tuition payments to GCC, while others take the course only for local credit. The college recently indicated to us that teachers can continue teaching their courses online or by other means until school opens back up or to completion, if needed. Per GCC, “The bottom line is that all the learning outcomes must be delivered and assessed. If a class can’t continue, it will be addressed on a case by case basis. The college’s late withdrawal policy will likely be extended and loose given the circumstances. We will also look into incomplete grades and extensions if needed/requested by the teachers.”
AP Courses- Our AP (Advanced Placement) Instructors have shared information from the College Board regarding AP courses. Students are expected to take the AP exams, which were scheduled for May. Those exams will now be offered in an abbreviated, online format. It is important to note that recent guidance indicates that the exam format will be significantly different from the traditional, seated exam in many courses. All AP students already have access to an online learning portal that provides resources and guidance. If your child’s AP teacher has not communicated with students regarding this guidance, please contact me.
It is my hope that we have provided some greater clarity in terms of the expectations for our students moving forward. Although the full duration of our hiatus remains uncertain, this represents our best thinking at the moment, and may be subject to change as circumstances at the state and national level evolve. As always, feel free to contact me via phone or email with any questions. I can be reached at 585.765.3162 or aslack@lcsdk12.org. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Aaron Slack, Ed. D.
Middle-High School Principal