Continuous Learning Plan

District or Charter School Name: Greater Clark County Schools (#1010)

Section One: Delivery of Learning

1. Describe how you will deliver continuous learning opportunities for all students, including special student populations.

GCCS is committed to providing students pathways to success through our initiatives. Students enrolled in our schools receive a foundation of PRIDE and Work Ethic skills on which to build academic achievement and experiential learning. We are a 1:1 district, placing Chromebooks in the hands of all students in grades 3-12 which allows them to acquire the necessary 21st century proficiencies to prepare for college and the workforce. GCCS strives to engage students through the use of technology to create authentic and relevant learning opportunities.

Greater Clark County Schools will provide students with the opportunity to educationally engage outside of the traditional school setting through the implementation of eLearning days. The use of eLearning days will enhance the district’s ongoing 1:1 computer initiative by providing students with instruction during school cancellations. The Indiana Department of Education encourages school districts to hold eLearning days as an opportunity for students to continue their lessons through technology initiatives. The district began work in the spring of 2019 to prepare for a successful eLearning launch beginning in January of 2020. The district has conducted eLearning days successfully and is confident in our plan to continue to provide instruction through this platform for the remainder of the 2019 – 2020 school year.

K-2 Students Packet Planning: Teachers in the primary grades know the needs of their families the best. Our schools will utilize the available building access days each week to create packets, they may develop a pick-up system at school front entrances. Principals will send necessary information about the packets and pick-up logistics out to school families via School Messenger. The packet system is in addition to the various instructional presentations and videos K-2 teachers link in their Google Classrooms. The packet work is the independent practice portion that aligns to the online instruction.

Special Education/ 504/ ELL

Special Education Teachers, ELL teachers and support staff as well as Director and Special Education and Special Education Supervisors will continue to disseminate information shared by the IDOE Office of Special Education to our families.
Teacher of Record (TOR) will continue to document clear communications with parents regarding services. IEPs/ ILPs will be revised to reflect COVID-19 Closure statements.
TOR will continue to hold conferences for necessary revisions as needed by phone or video conferencing. Multiple video conference platforms shared with staff.
TOR will consider social and emotional, behavioral, fine motor, and adaptive skills of students as well as academic concerns.
TOR will ensure that all Special Education/504/ ELL students have equitable access to materials and devices to meet individual needs.
TOR will consider curriculum accessibility for students (Do they need additional digital resources to access their educational materials).

2. Describe how your district communicates expectations for continuous learning implementation to 1.) students, 2.) families, and 3.) staff.

Greater Clark County Schools will provide communication that is clear, consistent, and constant across all levels of organization. The Executive Team meets weekly to develop weekly updates for the district and the extended school community via school messenger, district website and social media platforms. Directors meet weekly via zoom with district administrators. Building administrators do a weekly group check- in with all staff in the school.

School Messenger, district website and various social media platforms (in both English & Spanish Translations) are utilized to communicate weekly with students, family, staff as well as the extended community.

The most up-to-date information is provided with resources, links and supplemental information to support the non-traditional instruction. Special Education TORs, ELL teachers and support staff will routinely be in contact with families to ensure that adequate services are still being provided to meet individual student needs.

3. Describe student access to academic instruction, resources, and supports during continuous learning.

Students in grades 3 – 12 are able to access all academic instruction through Google Classroom on student chromebooks provided by the district. The district Academic Team and District coaches have vetted resources along with electronic textbook resources and shared them on the district Learning Management System. Student packets are created for k – 2 students. The packet system is in addition to the presentations and videos K-2 teachers link in their Google Classrooms. The packet work is the independent practice portion that aligns to the online instruction.

We have reached out to local internet service providers to see what options/discounts are available to community members for free/discounted access during this unprecedented time. We have shared these resources with our school community to allow internet access for all students.

ELearning Tools available to staff

Greater Clark County Schools and our food service partners at Aramark are providing free grab & go meals for all children 18 years and under during the district closure. We will continue to serve on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays only from 10:00a.m.-1:00p.m. Children will receive two breakfast and two lunch meals on Mondays and Wednesdays. Children will receive one breakfast and one lunch on Fridays. Six different convenient locations have been established across the district for meal pick-up. To ensure safety and to prevent the spread of COVID-19, meals will be served in a drive-thru fashion. Families will need to remain in their vehicles as they drive up to pick up meals.

4. What equipment and tools are available to staff and students to enable your continuous learning plan? Please list.

Greater Clark County Schools is a 1:1 district, placing Chromebooks in the hands of all students in grades 3-12 which allows them to acquire the necessary 21st century proficiencies to prepare for college and the workforce. GCCS strives to engage students through the use of technology to create authentic and relevant learning opportunities.

All teachers across the district have been assigned a Chromebook with video capability and ongoing professional development to provide non-traditional instruction. District coaches have vetted an array of resources and share on the district Learning Management System through Power School.

Primary teachers know the needs of their families the best. Schools will utilize the available building access days weekly to create packets. Each school will develop a pick-up system at school front entrances. Principals should send that information out via School Messenger and social media platforms to the school community. The packet system is in addition to the presentations and instructional videos K-2 teachers link in their Google Classrooms. The packet work is the independent practice portion that aligns to the online instruction.

Special Education students who require additional accessibility tools outlined in their IEPs will have equipment available as needed. This included, but is not limited to, PT/OT equipment, screen enhancements, large print materials, sensory equipment, etc.

ELearning Tools available to staff

5. Describe how educators and support staff are expected to connect with students and families on an ongoing basis.

Teachers will prepare lessons and post electronically by 9:00 am each day. Teachers are available to answer questions and provide support (both content/skills and assignment clarification) between 9 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. on the eLearning day. Each teacher will have provided the best method of contacting them prior to an eLearning day. Teachers will be available to respond to emails until 2:30 p.m. Teachers are also responsive to parent communication within one day outside of those hours and through Google Classroom.

Based upon the Indiana Department of Education, students will receive course credit for Quarter 4 as long as they have received a total of 160 days of instruction, or have participated in twenty days of eLearning instruction from April 3, 2020 through the end of the school year.

Student Participation

Students should participate in what the school has to offer. For GCCS, it is eLearning. What does it mean to “participate?”
Students should be completing assignments as well as logging into and watching video, webinars or chats or other forms of instruction assigned by teachers.
Students should be displaying evidence of learning through work assigned by the teacher.

The Goal for eLearning

Our goal for eLearning is for student learning to continue.
The goal is NOT for grades or student achievement to be lowered.

Special Education Data Collection and Documentation:

TORs will:

Keep data on current levels and activities aligned.
Keep data on contacts with student and student engagement in provided activities.
Keep data on support services to ensure equal access to general education instruction.
Keep data regarding IEPs that will need to be revised once school resumes in Fall 2020.
Share a Sample of a student’s documentation log with special education staff to ensure accuracy and consistent documentation.
Fully implement Ed Plan Connect to ensure parents/guardians have access to student documents as needed.

6. Describe your method for providing timely and meaningful academic feedback to students.

Schools will provide the opportunity for students to interact with their teachers through the use of personal devices, Google Classroom, email and other electronic and digital media to ensure uninterrupted instruction.

Teachers should continue to assign appropriate work based on the Power Standards and course pacing guide. Work completed during Q4 should only help the student’s semester grade.
All teachers will be available to assist and answer questions OR Support between 9 AM and 12 PM on the eLearning day. Each teacher will have provided the best method of contacting them on this day. Teachers will be available to respond to emails until 2:30 p.m.
Students are responsible to complete work and submit. Work is being graded and grades submitted to PowerSchool.
Teachers are expected to use time to assess, give feedback, provide additional instructional support/examples, reach out to students they haven’t heard from, plan for the next eLearning week, and respond to parent communication.
Teachers are encouraged to provide immediate feedback through Google Docs with comment tools.
Teachers in k – 2 will utilize an Assurance sign-off, phone call, and/ or a scanning option to work with parents to communicate through an array of options to maximize feedback capabilities.
In alignment with the IDOE guidance during extended eLearning due to COVID-19, a student’s grade should not be penalized due to their inability to complete assigned virtual assignments.

Quarter 4 Curriculum Guidance

- Teachers should focus on teaching the identified Power Standards in their content area for Mastery.
- Teachers should use a variety of tools within their comfort level to deliver instruction.
- Dual Credit and AP courses will follow the guidance provided by the College Board and Dual Credit Institutions.
- eLearning Technology Resource Document

Quarter 4 Grading Practices

In alignment with the IDOE guidance during extended eLearning due to COVID-19, a student’s grade should not be penalized due to their inability to complete assigned virtual assignments.

- Teachers should continue to assign appropriate work based on the Power Standards and course pacing guides. Work completed during Q4 should only help the student’s semester grade.

Section Two: Achievement and Attendance

7. Does your continuous learning plan provide an avenue for students to earn high school credits? If so, describe the approach.

All students in K – 8 must meet the Indiana Academic Standards as determined by their teacher in order to advance to the next grade level.

All students in grades 7 & 8 who are enrolled in high school credit bearing classes must complete those classes in order to earn the high school credit.

All students in grades 9 – 12 must complete their current courses in order to earn their credit and transcribe the courses.

GCCS Continuous Learning Plan will provide opportunities for high school students to earn high school credits through non-traditional instruction. Seniors are still required to pass coursework in accordance with their established exit plan.

Students will be enrolled in Plato for credit recovery as needed. All students must complete online courses to earn a grade and be awarded credit.
All dual credit courses will continue to cover required material and be awarded grades based on university policy. Ivy Tech and IU are continuing on with classes, and all dual credit will continue as well, including potentially needing to work during waiver weeks.
GCCS will continue to offer eLearning through May 15. All students are expected to continue eLearning work as assigned and will be awarded semester 2 transcripted grades. If you have questions or concerns, contact your counselor.
Students should contact their school principal or counselor via phone or email if they cannot access eLearning assignments/instruction. School Contacts have been provided to all high school students and parents.
Students in the 12th grade will be contacted directly to establish an exit plan that will permit them to graduate with a diploma.

8. Describe your attendance policy for continuous learning.

Attendance is counted by student engagement, interactions with teachers and attempts to complete work.

9. Describe your long-term goals to address skill gaps for the remainder of the school year.

District coaches and building level Academic Improvement Coordinators are collaborating with general education teachers to support the skill gaps for the remainder of the school year with supplemental resources and non-traditional instructional support.

We plan to host summer remediation programs to support our students with greatest need and to narrow the skill gap for students in grade 3 and high school.

Our plan in the fall of 2020 is to create an array of remediation opportunities to offset the learning gap with the CARES Act funding on a broader scale such as after school tutoring sessions, intervention groups, etc.

Section Three: Staff Development

10. Describe your professional development plan for continuous learning.

Starting in January 2020, Greater Clark implemented eLearning. The first semester of 2019-20 was spent working with our partners at Five Star Technologies to develop an implementation plan and provide professional development based on eLearning best practices to all teachers in the district. Our plans are to continue partnering with Five Star to provide additional professional development to all staff members as needed. The professional development will focus on topics related to enhancing teacher comfort levels with virtual instruction practices.

Weekly FAQs were developed and provided to all staff members via School Messenger. District coaches worked to provide links and resources for teachers through the PowerSchool Learning Management System to build capacity in Non-Traditional instructional support.

We have utilized virtual or asynchronous methods for PD delivery as follows:

Utilized and provided how-to tutorials and other resources already created (e.g. Google for Education, Kuder, Khan Academy, Screencastify, Kahoot, Indiana Online, IDOE Resources, etc.)
Leveraged the knowledge and skills of teacher leaders in the district to support colleagues and provide support.