Any actual insight about how DL will be better this time around?

[Anonymous]

I know that teachers had to pivot quickly in March to try and provide distance learning and I genuinely commend them for their efforts and I am grateful. Most parents I know (including myself) tried to just roll with it and were forgiving for the most part when it became clear the experience was lackluster at best. For instance, my 3rd grader had ONE morning meeting each Tuesday that lasted maybe 20 minutes. And then on Thursday she had a 15-minute 2-on-1 with the teacher. That was it! And this is a teacher who I would consider to be top notch in the regular classroom setting. Honestly, she's a solid, experienced teacher that I would recommend any day of the year. But the lack of real interaction between her and the class between March 13 and May 31 was simply inadequate and I'm shocked she thought for a minute it was adequate.

But now, I'm done rolling with it. If we end up 100% DL I plan to be very vocal and I hope other parents will be too. I want to see the curriculum, I want to see the weekly lesson plans, I want some guides on how to support my kid at home since a lot of it will be on me, but most importantly, I want my kid to have a visual (zoom, teams, etc.) lesson and/or discussion every school day. Every day.

I would love for there to be in-person school because my kids really need it emotionally and socially. But if it's not going to happen then the distance learning has to be excellent. I know there are companies that their whole book of business is distance learning. Is DCPS consulting with them? Who is building this? When will be get DETAILS? I don't want there to be a big reveal later this week without solid information. Don't just tell me 100% DL or 2-day in-person hybrid with details TBD.

Can anyone in the know offer any encouraging insight about how DL will be good this time?

[Anonymous]

No teacher is going to show you their lesson plans. They do not have to. You can demand them all you want, but you will never get them. I do think distance learning will be better this time. But I am not aware of any companies that DCPS is contracting with. They intend to use Canvas as a starting point. You will still see asynchronous lessons and synchronous small group lessons.

[Anonymous]

If parents aren't made privy to the lesson goals each week how are they expected to be an engaged partner in their child's education in this new environment? DL means that families are forced to be much more engaged because they are doing a good portion of the work that teachers are typically paid to do. There's no way around that when it comes to DL. So acting haughty about lesson plans is a little nuts. You don't want parents to partner with you? OK, then please get back into the classroom and do your entire job instead of asking parents to take on a good part of it...unpaid.

[Anonymous]

I think that you can count on daily meetings with your child's main teacher(s), in addition to some recorded content and some independent work.

[Anonymous]

I think you need to ask your principal what the expectations will be. Our school was totally different that yours in the spring with several hours of live instruction every day from the beginning. Given that all the grades (apart from PK3/4 and K) had the same schedule I assume this was coordinated by the administration. We've been doing a summer program through our school and the teachers have only gotten better and better at using all the various tools that are part of Teams/Microsoft. I expect more of this in the fall. Given that every school approached DL so differently I wouldn't expect to get details from DCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think that you can count on daily meetings with your child's main teacher(s), in addition to some recorded content and some independent work.

That's great to hear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you need to ask your principal what the expectations will be. Our school was totally different that yours in the spring with several hours of live instruction every day from the beginning. Given that all the grades (apart from PK3/4 and K) had the same schedule I assume this was coordinated by the administration. We've been doing a summer program through our school and the teachers have only gotten better and better at using all the various tools that are part of Teams/Microsoft. I expect more of this in the fall. Given that every school approached DL so differently I wouldn't expect to get details from DCPS.

I listened in on a zoom call last night (Ward 3 Education Network) and a WTU person (I think) said she expects DCPS to give individual schools a lot of flexibility which really just means the pressure is put on the principals to make everything happen, so you're probably right PP. So I guess parents need to express their hopes and expectations for DL not to their child's teacher but to the school administration.

[Anonymous]

So is Common Curriculum something that all DCPS teachers are asked to use or is it a free for all and teachers adopt whatever they want? Clearly under DL there needs to be some coordination and streamlining. If there's not a uniform planning process what are tools other than Common Curriculum that teachers use?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So is Common Curriculum something that all DCPS teachers are asked to use or is it a free for all and teachers adopt whatever they want? Clearly under DL there needs to be some coordination and streamlining. If there's not a uniform planning process what are tools other than Common Curriculum that teachers use?

There is no mandated lesson planning platform. I use Common Curriculum because I like it and think it’s easy to use. DCPS does provide unit plans that include daily lesson plans. They need a lot of adapting though.

Do your children actually attend DCPS? You should know that DCPS doesnt coordinate anything. It’s not their forte. There is zero coordination in DCPS when it comes to large issues. Lesson plans are not a large issue.

[Anonymous]

We had the same experience this spring (excellent classroom teacher, then two lackluster virtual sessions per week). we signed up for DCPS summer virtual session and it is much better. She meets with them for 30 mins at 9, 10:30 and there is an optional specials session at 1:30. (she also gives them suggestion on how to spend the rest of the time -- online for example).

she lays out the goals for the week, and each 30 minute session is interactive -- the kids get to share, and are called out to perform tasks like reading or showing their writing. There has already been a lot of new learning. I'm really really impressed, and my son (rising 1st grader) enjoys it and is engaged. They also do fun stuff like GoNoodle and meditation videos.

I can't tell if it is specific to the teacher, or if some of the practices are a result of the DL training they did in June.

[Anonymous]

I live in Petworth and there has been several emails on our listserv of parents looking to skip DL and create learning pods instead with a teacher and a handful of kids in the same grade. Interesting

[Anonymous]

Well, distance learning worked so well last time that DCPS cut the school year short by three weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had the same experience this spring (excellent classroom teacher, then two lackluster virtual sessions per week). we signed up for DCPS summer virtual session and it is much better. She meets with them for 30 mins at 9, 10:30 and there is an optional specials session at 1:30. (she also gives them suggestion on how to spend the rest of the time -- online for example).

she lays out the goals for the week, and each 30 minute session is interactive -- the kids get to share, and are called out to perform tasks like reading or showing their writing. There has already been a lot of new learning. I'm really really impressed, and my son (rising 1st grader) enjoys it and is engaged. They also do fun stuff like GoNoodle and meditation videos.

I can't tell if it is specific to the teacher, or if some of the practices are a result of the DL training they did in June.

Teacher here, I do those things too and 1 on 1 or small group, etc.
Believe me you had a good teacher, the training in June was a JOKE. 'Here you're gonna use canvas and for sure Teams now, here's some other things that you should know about (since they are already on Clever). K, byeeeee. '


If any teacher does an excellent job through DL, please tell them and continue to partner with them. Students and their families are the only reason why I haven't quit because of the hybrid or DL mess.

[Anonymous]

The first couple of months will be hell. DCPS has no ONLINE curriculum. I created all of mine on my own (based on what we had/common core) in March and supplemented with lesson plans I paid for myself.

Even if it's hybrid they need to plan for full DL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The first couple of months will be hell. DCPS has no ONLINE curriculum. I created all of mine on my own (based on what we had/common core) in March and supplemented with lesson plans I paid for myself.

Even if it's hybrid they need to plan for full DL.

DCPS is adapting the entire year's worth of curriculum into digital content that will accessed through Microsoft Office. Get ready to use OneNote for everything.