Grades 7-12 Distance Learning Plan

Dear Parents and Guardians,
    Gardiner School staff met on Monday, March 23 to determine how distance learning would be implemented at the 7th - 12th grade level beginning on Monday, March 30, 2020.  While this is a work in progress and everyone is extending themselves in new areas, we are confident that Gardiner School students will have the opportunity to continue their education for the remainder of the school year.  It is our goal to provide instruction digitally in order for each student to be proficient in the courses they are currently enrolled in. In order to receive funding from the state of Montana each teacher will need to determine the proficiency of our students to provide credit for the course they are currently enrolled in.  Each teacher will provide more detailed information about how proficiency will be determined in each course.  
    In order to begin the digital learning process each teacher will be contacting you separately via email and phone to determine if there are any technology or internet connectivity needs.  In order to facilitate this process, please update your contact information in Infinite Campus. You will also be invited to your student’s Google Classroom for each core course your student is currently enrolled in.  Keeping your contact information up to date will help us help your child to obtain proficiency while we are utilizing distance learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  
     The 7-12 teachers plan to begin distance learning via Google Classroom on Monday, March 30 2020.  What you can expect as parents is to receive an email outlining the upcoming week’s objectives, lesson overview, and assignments.  The purpose of this email is to provide you with information that can be used to talk to your students about their progress weekly.  Infinite Campus will also be utilized on Mondays to send missing assignment notices. Please communicate with teachers individually if extra time is needed to complete work.  During the first couple days of the week teachers will be establishing specific guidelines for online etiquette, course expectations, and frequency of contact with the teacher. 
    At the 7-12 level,  teachers will provide one video conference per week using Google Meet that students will be able to call in or join using a web camera.  Each course will follow a schedule that was organized by the teachers to prevent conflicts and this will be shared with students later this week.  In addition to video conferences, teachers will also be available for a two hour window daily for one-on-one conversations with students to answer questions or provide additional instruction.  Teachers will be available via email during the day to answer questions or provide additional instruction. 
      Teachers will be reporting grades weekly through Infinite Campus in order to provide evidence of proficiency.  Students who do not complete work in a timely manner will receive an email and phone call from the teacher to determine if there are any technology challenges or questions that need to be answered in order to complete the work.  Each Monday, parents and students will receive a notification through Infinite Campus if they have missing work. It is important that students make an effort to complete work in a timely manner to provide evidence of proficiency and receive credit for the course they are enrolled in.  
If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to your student’s teacher via email or contact Mike Baer at [email protected]