A: DA recognizes that there may be students and families who may choose to or need to access remote instruction for a portion of or for the entire academic year. While we do know that many students will be learning at home (some for longer periods by the choice of their families, some for shorter periods due to precautious quarantining, and everyone if we move to fully-virtual Durham E-cademy mode), DA cannot promise a matching experience for at-home learners when we are on campus. DA faculty learned a great deal about online instruction in spring 2020. Every teacher has attended workshops this summer to hone their abilities to teach remotely and to keep at-home learners connected and moving forward.
Preschool
Grade-level teachers will plan core lessons (literacy, math, social studies) and post them online for students who are working from home. Each Preschool student will have a school-issued iPad to use. If students are learning remotely, most work will be asynchronous with the exception of daily Morning Meetings. All at-home learners will be invited to join Preschool Morning Meetings via Microsoft Teams. In the Preschool hybrid model, teachers/assistants will check in with remote learners weekly and offer support and feedback related to the posted lessons.
Enrichment classes (art, music, science, P.E., Spanish, cooking) and assemblies will be offered virtually via pre-recorded videos. These videos will be available to at-home learners using Seesaw.
The Preschool hybrid model calls for all teachers to be present on campus. However, depending on the number of families who do not participate in on-campus instruction, the Preschool hybrid model could change to include one teacher assigned to at-home learners. If there are opportunities for students at home to connect remotely for some synchronous lessons with their class, we may explore ways to make that possible. It will depend on the number of children and the ease of participation. DA’s Office of Information Technology is working on audio access so that students at home can hear and understand a teacher at school who is talking through a mask.
Lower School
Grade level teachers will plan core lessons (literacy, math, social studies) the week before for the week ahead. Teachers will post this work online on Microsoft OneNote for parents to access for their children who are working from home. Children will have a school-issued iPad to complete their work. Most of this core academic work will be asynchronous on Seesaw and will include books to read, videos to watch and activities/lessons to complete. Students at home will be invited to join their class online at 8:30 a.m. every morning for their class’ Morning Meeting.
For cohorting reasons, all Lower School enrichment classes (art, drama, music, science, Spanish, and TED) and any all-school events like assemblies will be offered virtually. Students at school will view these lessons or events together at school, and students at home will be able to access these easily on Seesaw.
Keeping up with school work and showing academic growth will be manageable and engaging. The more challenging goal will be to keep our children who are at home as connected as possible to their peers at school. Children at home will need substantial emotional and social support from their teachers and classmates. Lower School Counselor Martha Baker will be available, and teachers will find opportunities for children at home to connect to classmates during lunch or other class meetings.
Depending on how many students are learning remotely, the Lower School will pair those students with a teacher (an assistant, lead or enrichment teacher) to check in with the students each day to answer questions and to monitor progress. The student’s lead teacher will check on student progress each week and make suggestions for growth and improvement. If there is a sizable number of students who choose to or who cannot participate in on-campus instruction, that will free up a lead teacher to schedule more check-ins and synchronous opportunities for instruction.
We will evaluate this model as we go. If there are opportunities for students at home to connect remotely for some synchronous lessons with their class, we will do that. It will depend on the number of children and the ease of participation. DA’s Office of Information Technology is working on audio access so that students at home can hear and understand a teacher at school who is talking through a mask.
Middle School
The Middle School program is designed to be accessible to students whether they are in-person or remote. Daily and weekly schedules are designed to be predictable and consistent so that students know when classes are happening regardless of whether the student is on campus or learning remotely.
During the start-of-year orientation, students and teachers will learn the specific ways we will use online platforms to facilitate learning. Through those platforms (mostly Google Classroom), teachers will design lessons that will deliver content virtually. The exchange of materials (student submission, delivery of feedback) will be facilitated online. Students participating in on-campus instruction will experience the in-person exchange that has always been at the heart of sound instruction. Students who are learning remotely will still participate in that exchange, facilitated by Microsoft Teams and other technology platforms. While it is not possible for that digital exchange to be equivalent to the relationships that will develop if in-person, we will provide a robust learning experience.
Because both our schedule and academic program are designed this way, students who are remote will be able to complete academic tasks, participate in group work, converse with teachers and peers regarding feedback and remain on the same learning schedule as students who are able to be present on campus.
Upper School
All of the Upper School’s academic programming is designed to be accessible from home. Integration will be key in DA’s hybrid model. All Upper School instruction will be founded upon a base of remote learning, so that teaching will take place throughout the week in both synchronous and asynchronous formats. Teachers’ class designs integrate students who are working at school with students working from home. Group conversations might take a fishbowl format where the virtual half of the class observes the in-person discussion and poses questions in a Microsoft Teams chat. Paired work (problem sets, essay workshops) will bring together one remote and one on-campus student to work together. The Upper School’s hybrid mode is designed to bring together the full class no matter the students’ locations.
A typical 85-minute class might involve 50 minutes of synchronous work that integrates remote and on-campus students. Class would then move to some asynchronous work for remote learners while the on-campus students relocate to an outdoor setting to continue working directly with the instructor. Homework (40-60 minutes) would be assigned for both cohorts so that when the class meets again, the student roles flip, but the class model remains the same. This keeps learning moving throughout the week with both cohorts progressing at the same pace while receiving some in-person attention from the teacher once a week. This model also allows a seamless transition to fully remote learning without resetting the syllabus.