eLearning
Kirby School District 140 eLearning Plan
Following the guidelines established by the Illinois State Board of Education, District 140 administrators and teachers have worked collaboratively to create an eLearning program to be utilized in lieu of emergency days.
Plan Overview
According to Section 10‐ 20.56 of the School Code [105 ILCS 5/10‐20.56], school districts may, by adopted resolution, utilize “e‐learning days” in lieu of emergency days. The number of eLearning days may not exceed the number of emergency days in the approved school calendar (5 days). During eLearning Days, Kirby School District’s goal will be to provide at least five (5) clock-hours of instruction or schoolwork, as required under Section 10‐19.05, that will meet all students’ needs. Kirby School District’s eLearning Plan will be verified by the regional office of education or intermediate service center for the school district prior to implementation.
In lieu of emergency days, KSD140 will provide eLearning Days that will call for flexibility for our administrators, staff members, students, and families in terms of eLearning.
As such:
- New content that will be at least five (5) clock-hours of instruction or schoolwork will be delivered daily during our eLearning days.
- Using Seesaw and Google Classroom platforms, teachers will post a morning message and daily assignments by 8:30 a.m. and be available to assist students/parents during their office hours of 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
- During that time frame, teachers may be checking in with students and/or be providing feedback on activities that have been assigned.
- We will remain flexible in terms of assessing learning.
- The use of applications and emails will be our primary connection with students. Prerecorded video lessons and/or live video conferencing may be used by some teachers.
Students with Individualized Education Plans (IEP), Section 504 Plans, and English Learners will have reasonable accommodations and/or modifications applied to their eLearning experience.
Teachers and staff who will be involved in eLearning Days will be surveyed to ensure they have access to any and all hardware and software required for the program.
The eLearning program plan and expectations and responsibilities of students, families, and staff will be communicated at least 30 days prior to utilizing eLearning Days.
While eLearning days were employed during the Spring of 2020, we recognize that this plan and instructional delivery will continually need to be analyzed and adjusted along the way to make improvements.
Please see our Frequently Asked Questions/Topics for more information.
Frequently Asked Questions / Topics
An eLearning Day is utilized to allow students and teachers to stay home due to school closures (state of emergency). However, learning will continue moving forward as students remotely leverage digital tools and engage in teacher-prepared learning content. Teachers will be providing new content based on critical standards and will focus on specific feedback.
If students do not have a device at home, they will be issued a district-owned device and charger to be used for the duration of the eLearning period. Teachers will also be available to assist students remotely with their assignments periodically during school hours.
Our eLearning program will be available during emergency days to provide daily instructional time where teachers will strive to continue students' education through lessons and applications.
The typical student day will include daily lessons in:
- Reading and Language Arts
- Math
- Science
- Social Studies
- Electives
Kirby School District 140 will follow guidance from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) as to appropriate minutes of engaged learning time. Five (5) clock-hours of instruction or schoolwork, as required under Section 10‐19.05, that will include new content will be delivered daily during our eLearning days. There is an expectation that students will complete the assigned learning activities, complete an attendance-check in and access their device to interact and/or receive feedback from their teacher during school hours 8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. daily. During this time frame, teachers may be checking in with students and/or be providing feedback on activities that have been assigned. We will remain flexible in terms of assessing learning.
All students in grades EC through 8th grade will participate in remote eLearning.
Teachers will post a morning message and daily assignments by 8:30 a.m. and be available to assist students/parents during their office hours of 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Students will be able to complete their assignments at their own pace and family’s discretion. They are required to complete assignments to be considered present during an eLearning Day.
Each day elementary teachers will post activities to Seesaw. Middle school teachers will post their assignments in Google Classroom. Five (5) clock-hours of instructional activities or new content will be introduced.
Log in instructions for Seesaw:
- If you are using an iPad …
- Open the Seesaw Class App on iPad:
(If you do not see the Seesaw Class app, please contact us by completing the form found at ksd140.org/contact-us.) - Tap on I’m a Student button
- Scan the Home Learning Student QR Code and TEXT codes to families no later than the first day of eLearning.
- Welcome to Seesaw, you should see the Class Journal page.
- Open the Seesaw Class App on iPad:
- If you are not using an iPad, go to seesaw.com
- Click the blue Log in button on top right
- Tap on I’m a Student button
- Enter the TEXT CODE and hit GO or Click the blue Scan Code button and place the Home Learning Student QR Code in front of the camera. Classroom teachers will email QR codes and TEXT codes to families no later than the first day of eLearning.
- Seesaw Student Sign In
- Seesaw Student Checklist
Log in instructions for Google Classroom:
- Middle School parents can view Google Classroom assignments through their student’s account. These are the same accounts that our students have been using all year.
- Google Classroom Student Checklist
Our primary source of communication will be through email, Seesaw (elementary school students) and Google Classroom (middle school students). Teachers are available to interact with students and answer questions during their teacher’s office hours of 8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Please be patient as teachers may be responding to other students or preparing lessons for the next day. They will try to make sure they answer questions within 24 hours. When warranted, teachers may engage in video conferencing with students.
Yes, but not in the traditional sense. Teachers will keep a running record of student’s attendance so that they can report attendance and to support student learning and social emotional health. We will be tracking and reporting student attendance as we typically do during in-person learning.
Elementary and middle school teachers will post a morning message by 8:30 am with assignments and/or content for the day.
- EC-K students will be marked present when a parent or student “likes” the teacher’s message on Seesaw
- 1st – 5th Grade students will be marked present when the student “likes” the teacher’s message on Seesaw
- 6th – 8th Grade students will be marked present when the student replies to their Team Google Classroom post.
Each day elementary teachers will post activities to their Seesaw page. Middle school teachers will post their assignments in Google Classroom. Students will be able to complete their assignments at their own pace and family’s discretion. They are required to complete assignments to be considered present during an eLearning Day.
Elementary Students
- Sign in to Seesaw Class app
- Check teacher’s morning message
- Like morning message
- Check for Activities
- Complete activities/assignments
Middle School Students
- Sign in to Google Classroom
- Check Team Google Page
- Comment on morning message
- Check ELA, Math, Science teacher’s classroom
- Submit assignments
Students can contact their teacher for questions during teacher office hours of 8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Please be patient as teachers may be responding to other students or preparing lessons for the next day. They will try to make sure they answer questions within 24 hours.
Five (5) clock-hours of instructional activities and/or new content will be introduced during our eLearning days. Teachers will offer specific feedback on work that has been completed during eLearning days. We will remain flexible in terms of assessing learning. However, completion of eLearning assignments is required for a student to be considered present.
The goal of grading during remote eLearning is to provide specific feedback, focus on the continuation of learning, and prioritize the connectedness and care for students. Grades will be used to inform parents of their students’ progression towards proficiency of State Standards as we currently do.
Special Education teachers (case managers) will provide assignments based upon individual student needs.
For students with IEPs, the accommodations built into those plans will apply to eLearning assignments. Alternative assignments may be substituted related to IEP goals. Students who have direct related services will engage in an activity provided by the related service personnel (OT, PT, Speech, etc.) on an eLearning day.
For students with 504 Plans, the accommodations built into those plans will apply to eLearning
assignments. Alternative assignments may be substituted related to specific goals. Students who have direct related services will engage in an activity provided by the related service personnel (OT, PT, Speech, etc.) on an eLearning day.
For students that receive EL services, the EL teacher will be available for support. There will be appropriate activities based on a student’s English Proficiency. EL students will continue to utilize Imagine Learning as directed by their EL teacher.
Teachers for elementary and or for middle school will post assignments for of all electives so that students can participate for their physical and emotional health.
Grades K-8 students will be given district-issued iPads.
If a student does not have a working device for any reason, the family should email their principal or contact us by completeing the form found at ksd140.org/contact-us and we will work with them to remedy the situation.
If your student does not have access to the internet, please contact your building principal or contact us by completing the form at ksd140.org/contact-us to discuss other possible options which may include KSD140 issuing a family a hotspot or the family electing to use a paper copy of instructional activities.
If a student is absent from a day of eLearning, they will be marked absent and the teacher will follow typical procedures utilized during in-person absences.
Families may access technology support related to district-owned computing devices and district-provided software programs by emailing the following:
Cody Cosentino, ccosentino@ksd140.org = Prairie View MS and Keller
Karl Peciulis, kpeciulis@ksd140.org = McAuliffe, Millennium and Bannes
Brad Repking, brepking@ksd140.org = Grissom MS
Benjamin Hutter, bhutter@ksd140.org = Fernway
It is important to note that they will not be able to do Tech support for parent's personal networks or devices. This strictly needs to be district-related issues.
Tech support emails will be monitored by building technicians 8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
While eLearning days were employed during the Spring of 2020, we recognize that this plan and instructional delivery will continually need to be analyzed and adjusted along the way to make improvements. We will continue to collaborate with our Associations to clarify procedural items as we implement this remote eLearning plan. We are grateful for the ongoing flexibility, compassion, and dedication of our staff as we navigate emergency school closures.
If returning to in-person instruction after eLearning Days is employed, teachers will provide specific feedback to students regarding completed instructional activities. Additionally, they will provide opportunities for students to complete any instructional activities they were unable to during the emergency school closures. The learning activities grades will be included in their overall reporting of student progress.