Laurel Springs School has developed a robust social community for students to connect with each other and share interests, talents, and passions. This resource outlines clubs, virtual field trips, and the monthly social community calendar.
My Tech High hires parent support specialists to assist parents, families, and caregivers in their students’ online educational journeys. The specialists offer daily Q&A sessions, Monday through Friday, as well as ongoing information sessions on a multitude of topics. They also respond to parent emails, including those received at night between the hours of 10 PM and midnight.
Every staff member at Taos Academy, from instructional staff to administrative personnel, receives this script with questions to ask their assigned families. Staff members call 10 to 15 families prior to the start of the school year to set them up with supports and prepare them to engage in the school year successfully.
Teachers at ASU Prep Digital call each of their students’ families at the beginning of the school to learn more about the student’s interests, hobbies, and goals, as well as ways they can support the student to be successful in school. The model above outlines some of the questions that teachers are trained to ask families and students.
Students at Laurel Springs School can see their teacher’s office hours each time they log into their courses. They can click directly on the link to enter the room and interact with their teacher. Office hour information is also available for students in LSS Live (a virtual help room). If a teacher is not available in the live room, students can see options for when to come back and ask for help.
Taos Academy offers a virtual homework hotline every Friday from 8 AM to 12 PM during the school year to support students with their questions and needs.
LSS Live is a synchronous academic support room at Laurel Springs School which is open for 15 hours each day and held in an Adobe Connect room set up specifically for student support. They offer general academic support as well as topic-specific labs for help in math, world languages, and writing. They also offer specific times for Lower School and Middle School students to receive support. The screenshot above is what students see when they enter the room. There is also a resources pod at the bottom of the room that students have access to as well.
Students at VLACS must complete one full credit in advisory per year by demonstrating competency in specific topics. The artifact above is an example of competencies and projects that middle school students may complete to earn their one credit.
This resource from Brooklyn Laboratory Charter Schools and the Donovan Group provides template and guidance to promote honest, transparent, equitable, freely accessible and public health-informed communication. The hope is that this resource helps foster strong communication with families and students, including those with more intensive and specialized needs for whom this pandemic has been especially difficult.
This tool from the Parabola Project provides indicators for school officials to monitor with their local health departments in considering if and when to close a classroom/cohort, school, or district, and when to open again.
