Anonymous wrote:Did y’all really read the DL info sheet for ES closely? It seems like you didn’t.

It’s says FCPS staff (not just the teachers— special, guidance lessons, etc count too) will provide 2.5 to 3.5 hours of direct, synchronous instruction (whole group, small group, individual).

The 2.5 to 3.5 hours is the time a teacher or staff member spends teaching that day. Not the amount of direct contact time your kid has. Especially since ES does not do well with 3.5 hours of a teacher lecturing the whole class.

So, 3.5 hours for 4th grade might well be a 20 minute morning meeting, 1 hour of actual instruction (20 LA, 20 math, 20 science or SS), 1 hour of small groups for reading and math, and if it’s not your kids day they log off (because the teacher can’t monitor, and groups will happen less often with larger class sizes). 30 minutes of specials. And 40 minutes of office hours during which the teacher works 1:1 or with small groups in areas where they are struggling.

If your kid doesn’t happen to have small group scheduled or need 1:1 that day, their direct contact time is more like 2 hours, morning meeting, 1 hour of direct instruction, and specials. The rest of the time they are doing worksheets and reinforcing concepts.

So, OP’s schedule is dead on. When they say an hour of La, they don’t mean an hour of Hs or college level English lit lecture. They mean 20 minutes of ABCs and sight words and group learning and 40 minutes of reading groups.

And BTW, that’s what a kid in class gets too— a 15 minute lesson, then work on stations or a worksheet during reading groups. you kid don’t get 3.5 hours of actual academic instruction during normal times in school until late ES/MS.

If you read the actual language of what you were promised, that’s it.

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s laughable that principals made the schedule. The schedule should have been made with most I put from classroom teachers, although I realize they are not on co tract time right now. Almost every teacher I know would be happy to respond to this issue, even off the clock, though.

As a veteran elementary school teacher, I think the OP’s schedule is completely insufficient. I also would put the morning meeting at the end, and call it something else, because a lot of kids have used up their attention and patience after sitting through twenty minutes of everyone greeting each other and three kids stumbling through their show and tell. Too much time on morning meeting burns the kids out. Start with the most important material while they are fresh.

Fifteen minutes for social studies and science is insane. They should be reading and discussing, or all watching a video and stopping and discussing, or taking a virtual museum tour and stopping to hear the teacher highlight information.

Anonymous wrote:You guys. An elementary aged kid can't listen to a teacher talk for 2.5 - 3 hours out of the day and actually absorb what is being said. Middle elementary kids have attention spans of like 15 minutes. Then they need to practice things a little or take a break. It would be absurd to have a 2.5 - 3.5 hour chunk of time with the teacher talking to the kids over the computer continuously the entire time. And your kid would hate it and not learn much. In school, they do a little mini lesson on the rug, then they get up and do independent work such as rotating stations with worksheets, computer work, math games, group work, etc.

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s laughable that principals made the schedule. The schedule should have been made with most I put from classroom teachers, although I realize they are not on co tract time right now. Almost every teacher I know would be happy to respond to this issue, even off the clock, though.

As a veteran elementary school teacher, I think the OP’s schedule is completely insufficient. I also would put the morning meeting at the end, and call it something else, because a lot of kids have used up their attention and patience after sitting through twenty minutes of everyone greeting each other and three kids stumbling through their show and tell. Too much time on morning meeting burns the kids out. Start with the most important material while they are fresh.

Fifteen minutes for social studies and science is insane. They should be reading and discussing, or all watching a video and stopping and discussing, or taking a virtual museum tour and stopping to hear the teacher highlight information.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was a sample schedule for upper grades released by our principal, with a total listed as 4 hours of synchronous instruction.

10:00-11:15: Morning Meeting/LA
11:15-12:00 Science/Social Studies
LUNCH
12:30-1:30 Math instruction
BREAK
1:45-2:45 or 2:50-3:50 Specials

The assumption was that kids would do assignments after their synchronous time had completed as well.

OP, sounds like your school is choosing to do less than they could.

Why would online learning start at 10?

The schedule is suppoesd to match up with the real school's schedule.

Not for Elementary School. For ES it's only 2.5-3.5 hours a day for the four days.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was a sample schedule for upper grades released by our principal, with a total listed as 4 hours of synchronous instruction.

10:00-11:15: Morning Meeting/LA
11:15-12:00 Science/Social Studies
LUNCH
12:30-1:30 Math instruction
BREAK
1:45-2:45 or 2:50-3:50 Specials

The assumption was that kids would do assignments after their synchronous time had completed as well.

OP, sounds like your school is choosing to do less than they could.

Why would online learning start at 10?

The schedule is suppoesd to match up with the real school's schedule.

Anonymous wrote:I don't think principals should be allowed to do less than the minimum set by FCPS and that is way less.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP-
These are my notes:
20 minutes-morning meeting
20 minutes-language arts
one hour: teacher meets with 1-2 reading groups, other students leave the classroom and work independently
break
15 minutes-math
20 minutes-math small group-1 per day
60 minutes-lunch
30 minutes special-1 per day
15 minutes science or social studies
teacher might have office hours but not daily

Did you write to the principal to ask about the discrepancy?

Anonymous wrote:OP-
These are my notes:
20 minutes-morning meeting
20 minutes-language arts
one hour: teacher meets with 1-2 reading groups, other students leave the classroom and work independently
break
15 minutes-math
20 minutes-math small group-1 per day
60 minutes-lunch
30 minutes special-1 per day
15 minutes science or social studies
teacher might have office hours but not daily

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I only expected 2.5 hours, based on the SB meeting docs. I would be ok with this plan for my second grader so long as there is feedback on the independent work being done during small group time. Though I'd be happier if the science / social studies block went longer.

Do you think it’s appropriate amount of instruction for a sixth grader.

Anonymous wrote:Wait, am I dumb? Why do the online schedules have to match up to the in-person schedules if they are two completely different systems with no crossover.