Distance Learning Information and Schedule Starting Monday, March 30
March 27, 2020
SWW Family,
This message will have important information about the structure of our Distance Learning moving forward. We encourage you and your student to read thoroughly.
But we first, want to thank you.
We want to thank you for supporting us as we build our capacity, working long hours to learn new systems and change the entire layout of our practice. This has been challenging, for some more than others, on all sides of the spectrum.
We want to thank you for supporting our students as they grapple with this new reality, and are anxious about the uncertainty of their future. (Did my teacher get that assignment I turned in on their desk before we left school? When will I see that friend again? What does the new format of Advance Placement exams mean for my college application? Will we have a Prom?) While we do not have all the answers right now, please know that our first priority is to the health and well-being (mentally, emotionally and physically) of our students and we will navigate this together.
And we want to thank you, both students and families, for your continued flexibility and patience as we embark on a steep learning curve, do our best to streamline the work, and as we manage our own families (with both small and big kids at home ourselves) and home lives while simultaneously supporting you to manage yours. While this is not ever a situation we thought we’d be in (our industry kind of thrives on personal connection!), we are doing our best to make this work. For everyone involved. We welcome your thoughts and feedback as we continue to navigate this together.
With that, here is some important information about our Distance Learning!
Distance Learning
Distance Learning has begun! Students should have received communication from all of their teachers regarding assignments, signing in to an online video-conferencing platform to engage in a synchronous lesson, as well as expectations for their learning through either Aspen or Canvas. Teachers have been experimenting with a variety of platforms, both synchronous and asynchronous, including, but not limited to: Canvas, Aspen, Zoom, Microsoft Teams (all students should download this), Google Classroom, Youtube, etc. We know this can be difficult to manage, and are doing our best to be explicit in our instructions and communicative to students about expectations. Please reach out directly to your teacher if any questions or problems arise.
Schedule
One way we will address some of the suggestions we heard, is to set up a modified weekly schedule to ensure there is no overlap of synchronous (real-time video-conferencing) classes that will begin Monday, March 30. Students will follow their regular-school schedule on a condensed time-frame. This will also help students to structure their day, as they can work on previously assigned work during their scheduled class time, even if there will be no online, real-time meeting. Students will also be able to engage in online chats and discussion boards during their “class period” with their teacher without interfering with other work. Please see the schedule attached.
Friday Schedule
We will follow our regularly scheduled Friday schedules, which can be found in the attachment.
Please know that every teacher will use their class time differently, but should engage with their students during their scheduled class time daily in some way shape or form. To ensure equity for all students (especially those who may be sharing computers with parents who are working from home full-time, or siblings who are also engaging in Distance Learning) we have asked teachers to record any synchronous learning experiences and allow for students to turn in work outside of their scheduled class times. We will do our best to be understanding of any barriers you may have, as we hope you will be too of ours.
Grades and Expectations for Work Completion
To clarify a message that has been sent by DCPS, SWW students will be held accountable for completing work while we are Distance Learning and teachers will be held accountable for inputting at least one grade per week. If your family is experiencing barriers to be successful, please reach out to your teachers, as well as your counselor so that we can problem-solve together.
Resources
Zoom – Students can download Zoom from zoom.us/ to their phones and computers using a personal email to be able to login for any synchronous meetings with teachers
Microsoft Teams – Students should download Microsoft Teams from products.office.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/group-chat-software to their computer and phones using the following information:
• Login: StudentID#@students.k12.dc.us
• Password: Date of Birth (ddmmyy)
• Reach out to Ms. Hanley at megan.hanley@k12.dc.gov with any questions
Canvas – Students can access through dcps.instructure.com/login
• User ID: DCPS Student ID Number
• Password: Date of Birth (ddmmyy)
Aspen – Students can access through aspen.dcps.dc.gov/aspen/logon.dc
• If you need a password reset, please email Ms. Hanley at megan.hanley@k12.dc.gov
We know that you will continue to have questions, so please feel free to ask them as we have always maintained an “open door” policy and while the proverbial door looks different right now, the sentiment is always the same: we are in this together. You can reach out to admin or mental health staff at any time:
• Richard Trogisch, Principal, Richard.trogisch@k12.dc.gov
• Sylvia Isaac, Associate Principal, Sylvia.isaac@k12.dc.gov
• Megan Hanley, Assistant Principal, megan.hanley@k12.dc.gov
• Kathryn Moore, 12th Grade Counselor, Kathryn.moore@k12.dc.gov
• Crystal Pace, 11th Grade Counselor, crystal.pace@k12.dc.gov
• Hafsatu Iro, 10th Grade Counselor, Hafsatu.iro@k12.dc.gov
• Justine Sinprasith, 9th Grade Counselor, Justine.sinprasith@k12.dc.gov
• Sophia Thomas, School Social Worker, Sophia.thomas@k12.dc.gov
• Diane Lesley, School Psychologist, diane.lesley@k12.dc.gov
Thank you,
SWW Administration