BY MATT LAMB
Insider Staff Writer
Moore County Schools is working to ensure that students, parents and teachers don’t get caught in the rain — or snow — amid inclement weather and school closures next year.
Central Office staff recently walked the Board of Education through a new effort to shore up the district’s remote learning plan.
“I wanted to bring the team together to review how we can close some of the gaps in our remote learning plan,” said Superintendent Jenny Purvis. “Making it a little more secure in terms of the specificity of what folks are doing so that there’s a clear understanding from the Central Office level to the principal level to the parent level.”
Effective as of June, the overall aim of the refined plan is to ensure consistency and continuity among procedures throughout the district, making them replicable at all levels.
The remote learning plan is divided by grade level. K-5 students, and three middle schools whose students do not have Chromebooks — Elise, Crains Creek and Southern — will work on printed learning packets. The rest of grades 6-12 will complete assignments on Canvas, the district’s learning management system.
The remote day will now include “synchronous” instruction at all grade levels via Google Meet, the primary change from last year.
For elementary students, teachers will send a ClassDojo message — the main way most elementary schools communicate with parents — by 7:30 each morning, outlining the learning goals for the students’ learning packets. Students will have the option to meet with their teacher for help from 7:30 a.m. to noon and from 1-2:30 p.m. on Google Meet.
In grades 6-12, students will follow their existing schedules for core and elective classes and be expected to log on to Google Meet for the first 15 minutes of each class. During that time, assignments will be shared and expectations for the period laid out. Teachers will additionally remain on the platform for the duration of the class period for students who need help.
Middle and high school students experiencing connectivity issues will be provided with packets they can download from Canvas in advance or receive paper packets.
Students will not be expected to learn any new material on remote days; rather, those days will be used for review.
“We don’t want students working independently or working at home on something that is new that they’re going to struggle with without having had the content prior or the skills prior,” said Curriculum and Instruction Director Rachel Burris. “So all of the material, all of the content will be review. There will be no new skills or new standards presented.”
As for work submission deadlines, Burris said assignments are due five days upon return to school or completion of the remote day, a threshold that school board member Pauline Bruno said was unacceptable.
“I think that’s letting them off easy,” said Bruno, “I think that’s ridiculous.” Board member David Hensley echoed Bruno, suggesting that two days may be more appropriate.
Burris, though, said, “I think it’s just to provide some flexibility and grace to a situation that was unexpected.” She added, “I absolutely hear you if it’s one day out, five days does seem like a lot, but if you’re out for three days, five days doesn’t seem that long anymore.”
Student attendance will be based on assignment completion and, in grades 6-12, save for the three middle schools using paper packets, on signing in to Google Meet.
For teachers, remote days will be required workdays. Furthermore, principals will host Google Meet sessions at the beginning of each day to outline expectations and at the end of each day to review outcomes and address concerns.
All information regarding remote days will be submitted to parents in a one-page outline at the beginning of the school year. Additionally, school websites will provide a remote learning schedule and training videos for both online applications.
The district also plans on a slight shift in how it implements remote days.
“We’re going to utilize remote days when we know that it’s something that we’re expecting and we have time to tell folks, ‘Hey, be prepared for a remote day,’” Purvis said.
The district “banks” minutes each school day by running a longer schedule in anticipation of potential closures. Purvis said she plans to use those banked days up front and be more sparing with remote days.
Moving forward, the district has a couple of months to firm up the plan before it officially rolls out in anticipation of the next school year.
Contact Matt Lamb at (910) 693-2479 or mlamb@thepilot.com.
