The Great Bend USD 428 Board of Education adopted a Continuous Learning Plan last Thursday, with eight weeks of distance learning beginning Monday, March 30. Some highlights of the plan are listed here:

Mindset

• Remember: we are not looking at traditional school. Focus on four to six standards and how we can ask students to show their learning of the standards.

• Share the calm; don’t join the chaos. The goal is to have Continuous Learning by not adding stress to students, teachers and parents.

• When planning remember: Less Is More. We want teachers to pick out the most important standards and just do those.

Safety Protocols

• USD 428 is promoting remote learning outside of the school building. Limited face-to-face interactions are planned.

• Staff follow Social Distancing Practices: no more than 10 individuals in a room at a time; individuals will maintain a 6-foot distance from each other; individuals will wash hands often and use hand sanitizer; and remember to not congregate in locations.

• Rooms will be disinfected after each use.

• The buildings are closed to the public. Patrons are encouraged to call the office and make appointments should they need anything from the school.

Building Procedures

• Each school building will have daily office coverage between the hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• Staff members are encouraged to come into the building only when necessary.

• Teachers are asked to be accessible to their administrators during the hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. GBMS teachers are asked to be available to students/parents daily from 9 a.m. to noon. GBHS teachers are asked to be available to students and parents daily from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• Certified staff will communicate at least once a week with parents and/or students to check on progress of student learning, assist students/parents on instructional matters, maintain relationships, and check on the general well-being of students/families. 

• Building principals will conduct regular staff meetings via Zoom, as well as, continue communicating with their staffs via email.

• Each building will send out both a staff and parent survey to determine technology access for each student. Ryan Axman will work with Principals in providing technology devices for teachers and students.

• Building principals will send letters to parents about the building’s Continuous Learning Plan and work to regularly keep parents informed via social media, phone calls, and mass emails.

Elementary Academic Support

• K-6 teachers will develop weekly instructional plans. They will plan for 30 minutes daily math instruction and 30 minutes daily reading instruction.

• Students have two options to complete work: electronically or paper/pencil. Arrangements are made at each elementary building on checking out Chromebooks to families who would like an electronic device for their students to complete their work.

• Work will be provided each week according to the mode of instruction. Paper/pencil work will be distributed on Mondays. Electronic work for each week will be provided by Monday morning. Packets will be handed out when students pick up their lunch.

• Enrichment lessons will be provided to students as optional learning activities.

• Elementary Family Support Workers will work with school staff on providing optional Social-Emotional Learning activities for students. They will also assist and/or facilitate parent communication.

• Special Education teachers will work with the regular education teachers in providing lessons for special education students.

• English Learner teachers will follow up with families to ensure that they have the materials and resources that they need for remote learning.

• Instructional coaches will be available to assist teachers in lesson planning and with using the technology platforms.

Secondary Academic Support

• GBMS -Teachers will focus on 2-3 main standards when planning for instruction and they will use anticipated due dates. GBHS – Teachers will focus on 2-3 standards per two-week period.

• GBMS - Each Monday, all assignments for the week will be posted in the appropriate Google Classrooms.

GBHS – By Monday morning, all assignments for the two-week period will be posted in the appropriate Google Classrooms. Assignments are due on the Sunday at the end of the two-week period.

• Teachers and students will continue using the Google Classroom platform. They are also encouraged to use Zoom and Screencastify.

• GBMS will provide weekly instruction in the core subjects of Science, Social Studies, Math, and English language arts (ELA). Teachers are to plan for 3 hours per day of student work.

• GBMS and GBHS elective teachers will provide lessons and class activities. Continuing Technical Education (CTE) classes will continue addressing their competencies.

• GBMS – students who do not have a computer at home may pick up their school Chromebook during the assigned pickup times.

• Secondary counselors will work with school staff on providing optional Social-Emotional Learning activities for students.

• Special Education teachers will work with the regular education teachers in providing lessons for special education students.

• English Learner teachers will follow-up with families to ensure that they have the materials and resources that they need for remote learning.

Special Services Academic Support

• Special ed providers should contact students’ parents on their caseload regarding options and how services will be provided in order to meet student needs within the limitations that we are bound to.

2. Each student and his/her needs will be considered individually and there will be a plan in place to help the student work toward meeting his/her goals on their Individual Education Plan (IEP).

Helping Hands Pre-K and Parents As Teachers (PAT) Academic Support

• No students will attend.

• Teachers contacting parents weekly and delivering packets of information to parents. Materials such as crayons, etc. will be included in weekly packets.

• A Facebook page will be developed and accessible for families with activities posted weekly including hands-on games, teachers reading stories for families to watch, etc.

Miscellaneous Information

• USD 428 is waiting for guidance from the Kansas State Department of Education regarding the attendance policy for the 4th quarter of the 2019-20 school year. Until further notice, teachers will use assignment submissions and student/parent communication logs to verify attendance.

• Students new to USD 428 are advised to call their school attendance center to make arrangements to enroll.