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Coates Families,
I continue to hope that you’re OK and managing through these days. The Coates staff is excited to reconnect with you and your students next week when we kick off our formal, distance learning program. I know that there are several questions out there about the remainder of the school year, and this long message is my attempt to provide answers. Read on to find specific information on the following topics:
- Coates Distance Learning Program – Schedule, Expectations, etc.
- FCPS Learning Packets
- Coates Parent Learning Opportunities
- Grading & Promotion to the Next Grade Level
- Getting Prepared for April 14
Coates Distance Learning Program
On April 14, teachers will begin live, online lessons three times daily, Monday-Thursday. The schedule we’ll be following is below:
 All this information will be on the Coates website this week. I encourage you to bookmark the site.
You’ll notice that the teacher-led lesson times for K, 1st & 2nd grades are staggered from the lesson times for 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th grades. This is to accommodate households where siblings are sharing computers or phones and to spread out the demand for wifi in homes.
To the best of your ability, please get your children into the teacher-led lessons on time. If that is not possible, teachers will record every lesson and send you a link to the recording for your child to watch later.
The teacher-led lessons will take place on a platform that all FCPS teachers are using called Blackboard (“24-7”) Collaborate Ultra. Each teacher will have a link to his/her Collaborate “classroom.” Each student uses his/her teacher’s link to join the lesson. Collaborate Ultra brings everyone together (like other online meeting apps), allows teachers to show slides if needed, and has student features that help with class interactions (chat, hand-raising, agree/disagree tools, as well as the obvious ability to talk to and see each other).
Teachers will begin lessons on time according to this schedule. When the lesson with the “whole class” ends, they will ask some students to stay on Collaborate for a small group lesson or check-in. Other students will be assigned some work to complete on their own that day. This work may be in the FCPS learning packets or, if your child is in an upper grade, on his/her Google Classroom. Throughout the week, teachers will work to meet with each student through a small group or individual check-in after the main lesson in math and language arts.
Students who need help with their assignments may contact their teachers. We will also have multiple staff members serving on an Assignment Help Desk. Their contact information will be posted for parents or students to use to get immediate help with their work.
We will get you the weekly schedule with links to lessons in two ways each week. Your child’s teacher will send a communication through email or Remind (same as always) on Friday afternoon with a schedule of lessons and general assignments for the following week. This will also be posted on our Coates Blackboard site.
We realize that some families do not have internet access and that children may not be able to join these lessons. In these cases, I direct you to the learning packets that FCPS is mailing directly to your home each week. The packet delivery actually started last week. I am aware that many of you received your packet late in the week. FCPS is aware of the delays and has refined their process so that it arrives earlier each week for the remainder of the school year. If you do not receive packets, please email or Remind text your child’s teacher. All FCPS information on the Distance Learning Plan, including information on packets and guidance for parents can be found here. Please note that this week is spring break, and no packets are being sent. Look for the next one on or around April 13.
If your child is not online, teachers will work to conference with him or her over the phone weekly. Please let your teacher know the best way to connect with you or your child so that s/he can help him/her with the packet assignments. Mrs. Solangie McPherson, our parent liaison, can help with this (svmcpherson@fcps.edu or call 703-925-3603 ).
We know that without the benefit of in-person, traditional school, students may lose important academic skills. We also know that parents are working hard to keep skills strong at home. Our reading specialist, Mrs. Carole Puckett is leading a team of teachers in developing a program for parents designed to help you better support reading at home. We had intended to create a series of parent trainings for the fall as an action item from our new Home-School Compact. But this distance learning situation has accelerated our process. You need guidance and skills now more than ever, and we’ll have an optional (but highly encouraged) virtual training opportunity for you by the end of April.
These parent reading workshops will be specific to grade levels and reading levels, with a separate session for parents of English learners. We welcome parents of children who are strong readers and those who are struggling. Again, the trainings will be tailored to reading levels, so there should be something for everyone.
More specifics on this will be coming to you soon. Watch email and Coates social media for an announcement.
The Virginia Department of Education has made clear to school divisions that students will not be repeating their current grade level next year due to school closures. Bottom line, your child will not be retained (repeating his/her current grade), unless there was a significant concern about maturity prior to school closures. In such cases, your teacher would have been communicating concerns to you.
There will be no grades from the time when school closed (March 13) until the end of the school year. However, teachers will generate third quarter grades to reflect what was assessed up until schools closed. In summary, your child will eventually receive a progress report (“report card”), but it will only have grades for the first, second & third quarter.
While there are no further grades for this school year, teachers will be working hard to review and maintain skills, teach new ideas from the curriculum, and give feedback to students. It is very important that your child participate in the lessons noted above (if s/he has internet access) and/or complete the FCPS learning packets and connect with teachers when they check in regularly. While grades may be set aside, we are still fighting to keep them learning and prepare them for the next grade level.
On a related note, the Virginia SOL tests in grades 3-6 are canceled.
This week is spring break. We start official lessons from teachers on Tuesday, April 14. In the meantime, we know that many families aim to keep their kids focused on learning and would like the opportunity to get familiar with the Collaborate Ultra tool.
We are offering optional Positivity Project Lessons this week! See schedule below:
Wednesday, April 8 a pre-recorded lesson from Blackboard Collaborate, taught by our Ass’t Principals, will be shared on Facebook.
Thursday, Apr. 9 @ 9:00: Ass’t Principal Mrs. Vigil will be teaching a lesson on Collaborate to K-2nd graders.
Thursday, Apr. 9 @ 9:30: Ass’t Principal Mrs. King will be teaching a lesson on Collaborate to 3rd-6th graders.
Monday, Apr. 13 @ 12:00: Mr. Kraft will be teaching a lesson on Collaborate to K-2nd graders
Monday, Apr. 13 @ 12:30: Mr. Kraft will be teaching a lesson on Collaborate to 3rd-6th graders
Links to Collaborate lessons will be emailed to you by your child’s classroom teacher that day. If you click the link to join, and it makes you wait or gives you an error message, refresh your browser. That usually works.
Final Note:
Coates Families, I know that this is the longest message I’ve ever sent you. My apologies! I typically want my communications to you to be short and to-the-point. There’s just so much to explain right now. I hope you read it all. Ask me any questions ( jkraft@fcps.edu ). I look forward to kicking off our program next week, to helping you maintain structure at home, and making lemonade out of the lemons we’ve been given.
Take care,
Jesse Kraft
Proud Principal, Coates ES ( https://coateses.fcps.edu/ )
Coates Social Media:
https://www.facebook.com/coateselementary/, https://twitter.com/CoatesES, & https://www.instagram.com/coateselementary/
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