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July 13, 2020
Dear Families,
We hope you are all well. We know there is a lot of information being thrown at you. We will do our best to be clear, concise, and transparent. As a reminder, we will cautiously share preliminary plans with you, but ask you to keep in mind how quickly the landscape changes.
As you know, families/students will have the choice to engage in either Remote Learning (learning remotely at home only) or Blended Learning (a combination of learning at school and learning remotely at home).
COMPONENTS OF INSTRUCTION (for both Blended Learning and Remote Learning)
Synchronous Teaching*
Asynchronous Teaching**
Live Office Hours
Live Advisory
Detailed Feedback on Google Classroom
*In synchronous learning, your child participates in lessons with their teacher and classmates during a scheduled time. **In asynchronous learning, your child participates in lessons during a time they choose.
All of these components will be included in your child's learning schedule. Exactly how and when is a work in progress. We are going through notes and surveys from our Remote Learning experience in the spring, and are taking many, many other factors into consideration.
SCHEDULES
All of your children will be sent a schedule that he/she will follow for the pandemic months of school. The schedule will apply to Blended Learning and Remote Learning. For example, if you are a student in Class 630, your schedule will be the same whether you have chosen Blended Learning or Remote Learning. This means your students will turn on their computers and be ready to follow the set schedule of instruction for all their core classes (ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies) whether they are at home or in the school building.
School will start at 8:40am and end at 3:00pm EST, Monday - Friday, wherever you are.
MOVEMENT PROTOCOLS FOR BLENDED LEARNING
Movement protocols have not been shared by the NYC DOE but we are making plans for:
Arrival/screening
Proceed to classrooms
Lunch in classrooms
Dismissal
We know you are wondering about PE and going to the yard. We will add them to the proposed plans as we learn more, and only if we are absolutely certain we can maintain health and safety.
NYC DOE MODELS OF BLENDED LEARNING DAYS
For those who have chosen Blended Learning, your children will be in school 1-3 days a week and weeks will alternate.
The proposed models from the DOE arehere.
We have not yet chosen a model. We are working with the Teacher and Parent Summer Cabinets.
I am the mother who still reminds her GROWN daughters to go to the bathroom before road trips, always carries a first aid kit on bike rides, and prepares for all weather surprises with any number of things packed. I am a proud control freak. I think ahead obsessively, and I worry.
All of these qualities drive my family crazy, but all of you need me to be this way in planning for school opening in September. Luckily, I have surrounded myself with administrators, teachers and parents on the planning committees who are JUST LIKE ME. Our goal is to be simple and safe. We are consulting with colleagues in other schools and only using ideas that work for a school of our size. The plans will be built slowly and carefully.
Please be on the lookout for a short survey that will help us build our plans.
And finally, look out for more information on what we are now calling THE CONVERSATIONS @ 75Morton with our friends Dr. Kenneth Saunders and Dr. Renée Blake of United Solutions Consultancy Group. Please add those that apply to you to your calendar!
An Open Conversation About Race & Humanity, July 21, 6pm - 7:15pm (For new parents & those who missed the June 16 session)
An Open Conversation for Those Who Have Experienced Anti-Blackness, July 28, 6pm - 7:15pm.
The Seven Types of Racism, Date and time TBA. (For all 75 Morton parents.)
With Respect,
Jacqui and Katie