Hybrid Learning occurs when a decision is made by the Governor or District Health Department that buildings can operate with half capacity and social distancing maintained. Hybrid Learning also occurs when a decision is made by the superintendent to operate with half capacity and social distancing maintained. During Hybrid Learning, the school calendar will be adjusted, and student and staff schedules will be adjusted.
Schedule
During Hybrid Learning, students attend school on-site Monday and Thursday or Tuesday and Friday. Families with more than one child in school will be on the same schedule so that all children will attend either Monday and Thursday or Tuesday and Friday. Students with last names beginning with A-M attend school Monday and Thursday. Students with last names beginning with N-Z attend school Tuesday and Friday. High school students have an eight-period day, rather than a block schedule of four periods a day. This change in the schedule for high school students provides contact with teachers and students more than once each week.
When students are not attending school on-site, they will be completing coursework at home. There will be an expectation that coursework is completed, and it will be important for parents/guardians to support their child’s learning while at home.
Mondays will not be a shortened day for students (like it is during the traditional school year when all students are on-site.) Professional development for teachers will be moved to Wednesdays. Teachers will also be available to support students on Wednesdays. View the Wednesday schedule when students will be able to come to the school, or contact school staff for additional support.
At-Home Learning Support
On the days students are home, they will have homework to complete to develop their understanding and skills related to in-class lessons. The work students will complete is what teachers will assign on the two days students are in class. Some homework will require students to use a device, which the school will provide. Some homework will be completed using hard copy materials sent home. At this time, there will be no requirement for Hybrid Learners to participate in formal virtual lessons at set times.
Teachers will provide specific details about the homework to be completed on the days students are at home.
Training
At the beginning of the year, students will be taught procedures that will include accessing Outlook e-mail, accessing Outlook calendar, joining Teams meetings, participating appropriately during instruction delivered through Teams, accessing the District “landing page” that holds the District supported and most commonly used programs/applications, accessing and navigating within Canvas or Seesaw, and accessing the help desk for technical questions or problems.
One-to-One Device Program
The Sioux City Community School District has a one-to-one device program. All students in grades 6-12 receive a laptop. Elementary students receive an age-appropriate device. Each device is the property of the District. Devices will not be shared when on-site learning occurs, and students will take devices home to complete work when not on-site.
We will also be prepared to support students virtually during Hybrid Learning. Hotspot devices will be provided to families without internet access. In some cases, hard copies of learning materials may be provided.
Instruction
All teachers in the Sioux City Community School District will receive professional development to prepare for instruction in the Hybrid Learning environment. Revised curriculum maps and pacing guides include resources for teachers to use during Hybrid Learning implementation. The use of revised curriculum maps ensures that grade-level material with appropriate rigor is delivered consistently across all buildings.
Instruction provided to students during Hybrid Learning will be required to be completed with attendance taken by teachers, grades issued, and credit awarded.
All TK-12 teachers use a common learning management system during Hybrid Learning, such as Canvas or Seesaw. The consistency in processes benefits students and families during Hybrid Learning.
The items on this school supply list will be necessary for students to fulfill learning assignments this year.
We recognize each student will have unique needs in preparing for this school year’s grade-level learning. Our educators are ready to scaffold and differentiate instruction to help each student learn the critical concepts necessary to be grade-level proficient. We are committed to the success of each student. During the first month of the 2020-2021 school year, assessments will be administered, and data analysis conducted to determine the educational level and proficiency of students. The data will help educators make informed decisions to serve each student’s individual learning needs.
The following assessments will be used to make programming and placement decisions: IGDIs for literacy and math for preschool students, FAST literacy assessment for students in grades TK-5, FAST math assessment for students in grades TK-5, District-developed BME math assessment for students in grades 6-12, Rapid literacy assessment for students in grades 6-8, Open Response writing assessments in grades 9-12 and the District-developed pre-assessment in literacy for students in grades 2-12. Assessment results will be shared with parents at the fall parent-teacher conferences.