FCBOE meets about Universal Remote Learning

At 6:30 p.m. on July 23, the Fulton County Board of Education met to discuss universal remote learning.

• The FCS Board of Education, having already approved the agenda, opened up to public comment, which is not aired. They resumed shortly.

• Members begin by discussing board matters, including brief comments on current events and the effects on the community.

• Superintendent Mike Looney begins by introducing the opening matrix, a plan for reopening that will be discussed later in the meeting. He reveals that choices will be data driven and will work towards reopening face-to-face instruction.

• FCS Student Health Services Coordinator, Lynne Meadows, shares a brief update on COVID-19 cases in both the state of Georgia and Fulton County.

• Looney reveals one of the factors in reopening is considering the ratio of the number of positive cases to the number of tests taken. Meadows clarifies that positives indicate whether someone has the virus, symptoms or not.

• Fulton County has moved to a new automated system and is working to improve test sites, including scheduling, so that they become more automated.

• Clifford Jones introduces the universal remote learning plan. There will be live, daily instruction to increase interaction and engagement.

• Accountability: Teachers will take attendance with this online learning. Students are expected to be online during instruction and teachers are expected to be online to answer student questions.

• Students will have a similar schedule to a face-face learning environment.

• There will be a 4-week series so people feel connected during these difficult times. “Restart” is designed to help mitigate these stressors.

• Academic staff are working to build a bank of pre-recorded lessons. This will act as a resource for both teachers and students.

• There will be resources to help parents with Microsoft Teams and resources to help develop high-level teaching through online platforms. There will also be forums to assist parents. Parent forums will show how Infinite Campus will be checked.

• There will be an expansion of online clubs and tutoring.

• Grades will be a reflection of knowledge, not effort. There will be at least one graded assignment per week. Students will be allowed to redo and submit assignments as recovery.

• Assignments not turned in will be marked as incomplete as opposed to zero. Grading scales are very close to face-to-face scales.

• During live instruction, teachers may use interactive experiences, direct instruction, independent work, pre-recorded videos, create student time for collaboration, etc.

• Elementary School: There will be daily instruction and learning packets for grades pre-K to 5. Schools that use district-created learning packets should provide textbooks as well. All students in grades 3 to 5 will have devices and will be able to engage in online learning developed by the teacher. Packets will be produced 4 weeks at a time and there is a pick up option at food stops/schools as well as digital copies that may be provided.

• Middle School and High School: Traditional schedule will run. Each period will contain 10-30 minutes of live instruction, and during live instruction, a teacher can use different forms of learning. Such forms include direct instruction, guided practice, interactive lessons, non-live time, independent time, pre-recorded videos, student interaction to increase collaboration, etc.

• Athletics: They will occur only when it is safe. Athletics and band are suspended for the remainder of the week. Football practice begins on 7/27. Other sports such as cheerleading, cross country, softball, and volleyball begin on 8/1. Marching band practice resumes on 7/27. Conditioning for all other sports will continue. There will be a continuous evaluation of the situations.

• Universal Remote Learning: Looney reveals it is necessary, but not the most academically effective, so they will continue to push through with every strategy in the book.

• FVS and GAVS are still offered, however a lot of universal remote learning will be from a student’s school of origin. When schools return to face-to-face, the virtual option will still be provided.

• If someone wishes to stay remote if we go back to face-to-face learning, it will not look like individual remote learning. Instead, it will be given from a student’s school of origin.

• Fulton County will have a YouTube channel.

• The scheduled time to log in is 8:30 am. Following this, a student would go through their schedule.

• Academic integrity: Tests will be taken on camera. There will be time constraints in place, however more details will be decided later.

• Counselors are allowed 10 extra days back at school, so they are allotted more days than staff.

• Surveys will be administered. School leaders will be asked to receive surveys and change practices based on such results.

• SAT and ACT: Fulton County is monitoring SAT and ACT plans. The SAT will follow its traditional testing philosophy while the ACT is working on new plans. September is a possible reentry date for testing in Fulton County.

• In universal remote learning, there will be a universal remote leave for teachers only. This will give teachers the opportunity to be out and continue to teach remotely. This increases continuity and decreases the need to get a substitute teacher. If educators have to go into quarantine for 14 days as they were exposed and not ill, this would apply as well: teaching would continue, remotely.

• The safety measures put in place will continue. Employee wellness checks will be done, and screening will be done for those who wish to enter the building. The primary objective to repurpose employees so they can continue working for their salaries.

• Microsoft teams will be the primary form of communication.

• A comprehensive employee handbook will be released soon to answer as many questions as possible.

• Teachers will be expected to publish office hours for students. One-on-one meetings with parents or students will be available.

• Improved cleaning protocols will occur as well as additional training for school custodians. There will be an additional rigor around routing cleaning.

• There will be a restriction on indoor rentals.

• Food: nutrition workers will be trained before school year. FoodStop locations will be brought back 8/14 and every week after that.

• Additional devices will be purchased for school, and within current budget.

• Graduated seniors who have failed to return devices will be contacted within the next few weeks.

• School-based device distributions will follow health and safety guidelines.

• There will be hotspot eligibility for students who qualify for free/reduced lunch.

• A hotline will be available to help parents with technical issues.

• The goal is to get back to face to face instruction as soon as possible in a way that mitigates safety concerns. A reopening matrix that mirror spring’s closing matrix has been released (last slide).

• Phase 1 is aimed to start the day after Labor Day. All phases are optional. Further phases are dependent on COVID-19 data.

• Board members move to take action on board items.