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.

On April 6, our eLearning program will move from voluntary enrichment activities to daily instructional time where teachers will strive to continue students' education through lessons and applications. There will also be weekly challenges to help support students’ physical/emotional health and well-being.  

The typical student day will include daily lessons in:

• Reading and Language Arts 
• Math 
• Science, Social Studies and electives - rotating schedule 
  (Electives will be given as challenges.) 

Kirby School District 140 will follow guidance from the Illinois State Board of Education as to appropriate minutes of engaged learning time. New content will be delivered daily during our eLearning days with the caveat that learning will be student-paced each week with respect to the needs of families. There is no expectation that students will be on their device with their teacher from 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 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. During this state of emergency, our focus is on developing skills and providing formative feedback.

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. - 12:30 p.m. Students will be able to complete their assignments at their own pace and family’s discretion. They are not required to complete assignments or instructional time during 8:30 am -12:30 pm. 

Each day elementary teachers will post activities to Seesaw. Middle school teachers will post their assignments in Google Classroom. On Mondays, all elementary teachers will post voluntary weekly elective activities. Middle School Team Leaders will be posting weekly elective challenges (PE, Art, Music, Pre-engineering, Geography Economics Social/Emotional) on their Team Google Classroom page. New content will be introduced with the caveat that learning and activity completion will be student-paced each week with respect to the needs of families.

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 email eLearning@ksd140.org)
  • Tap on I’m a Student button
  • Scan the Home Learning Student QR Code or enter the TEXT CODE
    Classroom teachers will email QR codes and TEXT codes to families no later than April 6, the first day of eLearning. 
  • Welcome to Seesaw, you should see the Class Journal page.
     
• 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 April 6, 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. - 12:30 p.m.  Please be patient, 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. It is recommended that teachers keep a running record of student’s attendance so that they can support student learning and social emotional health. We are not tracking and reporting student attendance as we typically do.

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. On Mondays, all elementary teachers will post voluntary weekly elective activities. Middle School Team Leaders will be posting weekly elective challenges (PE, Art, Music, Pre-engineering, Geography Economics Social/Emotional) on their Team Google Classroom page. New content will be introduced with the caveat that learning and activity completion will be student-paced each week with respect to the needs of families.

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. - 12:30 p.m.  Please be patient, 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.
 

New content will be introduced during our eLearning days with the caveat that learning will be student-paced each week with respect to the needs of families. Teachers will offer specific feedback on work that has been completed during the week. We will remain flexible in terms of assessing learning. During this state of emergency, our focus is on developing skills and providing formative feedback.

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has given our district guidance that progress will be reported or graded as Pass / Incomplete. 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 should not negatively impact learners.
 

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 or Team Leaders for middle school will post weekly challenges of all electives for students to participate for their physical and emotional health. 
 

Students are using a variety of different devices while learning at home - desktops, laptops, Chromebooks, and tablets. 

Grades 3-8 students were given district-issued iPads. Families in grades K-2 were surveyed and asked if their students had access to a device for eLearning. Those that indicated that they did not have a device for their student received one from the District. 

If a student does not have a device, the family should email their principal or eLearning@ksd140.org and we will get them an iPad.  

If your student does not have access to the internet, please contact your building principal or email eLearning@ksd140.org  to discuss other possible options.  
 

If a student is absent from a day of eLearning, we recommend that they continue with their learning when they are able.  Please contact your child’s classroom teacher or team leader with any questions.

Families may access technology support related to district-owned computing devices and district-provided software programs by emailing the following: 

• James Keating, jkeating@ksd140.org  = Grissom MS
• Cody Cosentino, ccosentino@ksd140.org  = Prairie View MS and Keller
• Brad Repking, brepking@ksd140.org = Bannes and Millennium
• Benjamin Hutter, bhutter@ksd140.org = Fernway and McAuliffe

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. - 12:30 p.m.
 

While eLearning days already exist in many districts within Illinois and surrounding states, we recognize that this is a new concept for Kirby School District 140, and, as a result, we will be analyzing and adjusting 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 these uncertain times.

If returning to in-person instruction prior to the end of the 2019-2020 School Year, teachers will have two planning days in the buildings to prepare for the return of students. The first week of in-person instruction will be devoted to reorienting to the school setting and focus on social emotional learning needs. If in-person instruction does not occur until the start of the 2020-2021 School Year, teachers will plan for a 4-6 review of prerequisite skills that related to the instructional gap that the pandemic created.