Letter to Parent and Students - March 30, 2020
3-30-2020
Dear Southwest Jr/Sr High School Parents and Students:
As indicated to the students and sent out by Blackboard messaging when we were required to dismiss school, a week was given to all students and teachers to prepare for distance learning, which primarily would come through contact with teachers via the students’ e-mail accounts. The week has passed so students will begin the process of accessing these lessons. All students were told to take all books home, take their Chromebooks home, and if students did not have internet access, they were offered the opportunity to get free internet access through Pinpoint. We were able to forward the names of families to Pinpoint so they could connect those students. A huge shout out to Pinpoint!
Last week a letter was sent to all families that had failing grades that those students still had time to turn in missing or incomplete assignments that had already been assigned to them previously in the semester, so they could make an attempt to raise their grades to a passing status. Any student needs to contact their teacher if they had any missing work prior to their dismissal and that work will still be accepted to raise their grade. Our hope is that those parents and students work to get those assignments promptly. Grades for that work, therefore, would still be able to raise the semester grade.
In light of the fact that most of our students are not used to doing all on-line classes, or distance education, it was decided that the new assignments sent out would be for students to come to closure in their classes, prepare for next year (whether that be the next grade or graduation), and their grades would remain at the level they were at when they were dismissed from school. We are encouraging parents to check with their students to make sure that they are taking advantage of this learning opportunity. They will not be downgraded for not doing this new work, but it would be a great loss of opportunity to not do the work. It will not be the same amount of work as a usual full day/week of school. We want our students to be the best prepared as they can be when they return to school. Some assignments may arrive at night or on the weekend, but that doesn’t mean that it is due at that time. Teachers will get information to students at a variety of times and students can work when it works best for them. Some teachers may have group chats or Zoom meetings to have class discussions.
This has hit us all hard. Every school is handling this situation as best they feel they can for their students. This is something that we never expected, nor had experience in. Students should not feel burdened or overwhelmed by the work assigned. There will be a variety of methods used, and most should feel quite comfortable with it. If you are having any difficulties, contact the school or e-mail your teachers or Mr. Springer immediately.
Sincerely,
R. Todd Porter - Superintendent