Parents and Guardians,
Earlier this afternoon you should have received the district video communication of Learning Options for 2020. If you missed it, you can find it
here
. I wanted to follow up and give a few quick highlights, but more importantly I wanted to share why we chose this model. I will send out more specific information on Monday but wanted you to have this today. Please read to the end as I have also included some previously shared information and dates that have been adjusted because of the finalized plan. Please note that the
deadline for selecting your student’s learning option has been extended to August 6th
(more info below) to give you time to learn more before selecting the best option for your student.
Highlights of the plan
- LHS will move from an 8 period traditional day to a block schedule. A block schedule breaks instruction up over 2 days and allows a student to receive two days worth of instruction in 4 periods on “A” day, and on the following day they receive instruction in the other 4 periods which is “B” day. Students still have 8 classes.
- Parents have three choices for their student’s learning experience. Those are 1) On-Campus Hybrid, 2) Leopard Virtual Learning, and 3) On-Campus Hybrid+.
- Students in all three options will receive instruction either face-to-face or virtually every school day.
- Students choosing Leopard Virtual Learning will remain off-campus but will follow the same schedule as On-Campus Hybrid students and will receive both synchronous and asynchronous instruction as part of the 4 scheduled classes each day. These students will also have the ability to attend athletic or fine art courses that are facility dependent.
- Students choosing On-Campus Hybrid instruction or On-Campus Hybrid+ will be divided into 2 Groups by alpha determined by their last name (example: A-K Group 1, and L-Z Group 2) and assigned for on-campus face to face instruction on different days. The actual alpha split will be determined after parents have completed selections so groups can be balanced.
- Each On-Campus Hybrid student group will alternate attending school at LHS for 2 consecutive days of instruction in their 8 classes and receiving instruction remotely on two consecutive days in those same 8 classes.
- Families who may need to ensure technical connectivity or need their student to attend campus five days a week may choose the On-Campus Hybrid+ option. These students will be assigned a group to attend class for 2 consecutive days as On-Campus Hybrid students, but will be assigned to “Learning Center” classrooms on their remote learning days. Those “Learning Center” classrooms will be staffed by LISD employees, not necessarily teachers, who will be present to monitor students while they work independently on their remote instruction.
- All Dual Credit classes will be conducted fully virtual by Collin College.
- Students will be required to wear a mask over their nose and mouth at all times in the building except when eating.
Why we chose this plan
The driving force behind every decision was to increase student, teacher, and community safety. Changing from our traditional 8 period per day structure to a block schedule and splitting students into two groups were important parts of doing what TEA allowed so that we could reduce the opportunity for student or staff exposure during a face to face school day.
Current data from parent selections told us that approximately 80% of students would be attending school for face to face instruction. With normal class sizes around 28 students, that meant 22-23 students would be in classrooms at the same time. Those numbers don’t allow LHS classrooms to realistically create good social distancing for students. Also, with almost 80% of students on campus, there would not be enough room in the cafeteria to space students adequately and therefore students would be required to eat lunch in classrooms.
By moving to a block schedule and creating two groups of students who will attend school on opposite days, we were able to reduce the number of transitions for students from approximately 11 each day to a maximum of 7. We will also be reducing the number of students who will be involved in those transitions by half. The result is a school experience that drastically decreases exposure and contraction of COVID-19 by students and staff. This in turn significantly increases the opportunity to keep face to face schooling continuing without interruption this fall.
We also felt it was important to give parents and families choice. Every family has different needs, beliefs, and health situations and every student has unique learning needs. Although there is no way that three choices could meet the needs of all 1600 students, we believe this variety of options provides variety, flexibility and opportunity for families to make the choice that is best for them.
Some impacted dates and events
Learning Option Selection
- As I stated above the deadline has been extended until the end of the day on August 6th for selecting the option best for your child. Selections must be made in PowerSchool. Students who do not designate an option will default to Leopard Virtual Learning.
To indicate your preference:
1 - Visit PowerSchool Parent Portal - this can only be accessed through a computer browser and not from the PowerSchool mobile app
2 - Log in (You must make sure you are logged in as the parent)
3 - Select your student
4 - Scroll to the Left and click on 2020-21 Learning Environment
5 - Make your selection at the top of the screen and hit submit
Parking
- Due to parents having an extended time to choose virtual or face to face options we are delaying parking selections for all students. We will not open parking selection the week of Monday August 3rd but will delay until a later date. We don’t want parents who aren’t sure of their decision to feel pressure to pay for a parking space when their child may be fully virtual.
Technology Request
- Please take a few minutes and complete the following link
LHS Fall 2020 Tech Survey/Request Form
to let us know if your child will need technology. This form will help our technology staff select the correct device for your child (different devices are needed for different course requirements) based on their final schedule. Technology and Textbook Pickup will take place the week of August 10th with different grade levels coming to LHS on different days.
Senior Walk
- Senior Walk will take place this year on the first day students are back on the LHS campus for school (September 8th). To ensure that announcement doesn’t get overlooked, an email with more detailed information will be sent to parents and guardians of Seniors on Sunday.
I'm excited about our upcoming year. Please let me know if you need anything.
Sincerely,
Chris Mayfield
Principal
Lovejoy High School
