Virtual or Face to Face School Options 2020-2021
As you prepare to make a decision about how your child will return to school for the 2020-2021 school year, here is some information to help you with your decision. This information is not all inclusive but will help guide you in the best option for your child.
Virtual Learning Classrooms
●Students in Grades K-12 who are zoned for and enrolled in Montgomery Public Schools may choose the virtual learning environment.
● Every student enrolled in an MPS school will be given a device for the 2020-2021 school year. Unless, the student has an equipped personal device.
●Parents must pay a small annual fee to protect the device.
●Devices will be distributed from school level personnel. Device pick-up dates will be announced.
●Parents or guardians who currently do not have internet service will be provided with a means to access the internet that will allow students to use their device.
●Any computer equipment supplied by the school is on loan during enrollment and must be returned upon withdrawal, graduation, or at the request of the school.
●Certified teachers from Montgomery Public Schools will provide daily instruction via our virtual learning platforms.
●Teachers will interact with students during live and pre-recorded sessions.
●Students and parents will be able to contact teachers during posted office hours as needed.
Attendance
●Attendance for virtual students will be taken daily. Virtual students must “attend” class daily in accordance with the Montgomery Public Schools calendar.
●Students fulfill attendance requirements when they log in to their classes daily during the designated window.
●MPS students are required to abide by district and state attendance policies and procedures.
●Teachers will not be required to provide live instruction after the regular school day ends.
●Paper packets will not be provided as they were during COVID-19 virtual learning.
Student Responsibilities
●Students will access their daily lessons through a virtual platform as defined by MPS.
●Students will complete assignments and send them electronically through the virtual platforms.
● Students are required to complete virtual learning assignments daily. This could include online classes with teachers and classmates, as well as, offline projects and required readings.
● Students will be expected to use (as available) the provided on-line textbooks and other learning materials. There will not be any weekly delivery of paper packets.
●Virtual students can take quizzes and tests at home. Assignments will be submitted through the virtual learning platform and each teacher will provide instructions on how to submit assignments for grading.
●Virtual students will be graded on submission of assignments and on course mastery content.
●Virtual students may participate in extracurricular activities and clubs at their base schools. Students must meet membership criteria as set by the base school in order to quality for participation in the club or activity.
● Virtual students may participate in athletic programs at their base schools. Some onsite training and/or practices may be required in order to participate.
●Students may also participate in band. Some onsite rehearsals may be required.
Parent Responsibilities
●If a student falls behind in the virtual setting, school leadership teams will evaluate the student’s capacity to be successful in the virtual learning environment and make recommendations to parents as needed.
●Parents may opt to keep their child in the virtual environment if they begin to struggle, but parents will be responsible for this decision.
●Students will be required to go to either their base school or a designated site within MPS to take state mandated assessments or any other necessary assessments. Dates and times of any assessments will be communicated in advance so that parents have time to make necessary arrangements for their child to come to an MPS site.
●Grab and Go breakfast and lunches will be provided for all virtual students and must be picked up from the school each week on Monday, by a parent or guardian, at the designated time.
Other Information
●Students cannot participate in both virtual and traditional classrooms.
●Students must be registered for either the virtual learning environment or the traditional face-to-face learning environment.
●Parents will be allowed to change their child’s learning environment at the end of a nine-week grading period.
●School leadership teams will discuss individual students’ needs and make case-by-case decisions for students with IEP/504/IELP plans.
If you are choosing the Virtual Classroom option, you must complete the 2 steps below:
- Complete and update your information in the online registration portal for each child who will be returning to an MPS school (This step must be done for students returning face-to-face or virtually)
- Complete the attached virtual option form no later than July 14, 2020 so that we can ensure that appropriate resources for students who decide to work remotely are allocated.
- Complete the Parent Consent for Hand Sanitizer Use for each student separately.
Traditional Classroom (Face-to-Face)
Montgomery Public Schools will adhere to all safety guidelines set forth by the Alabama Department of Public Health, the Alabama State Department of Education and other local health officials. The safety of our students is our top priority.
Onsite Safety Precautions
●Face coverings for students will be required. Bandanas will not be allowed.
●Initially, students will be provided with masks but there is a limited supply at each school.
●Parents will be required to provide masks for their child when the supply of masks is depleted.
●School personnel will wear a face shield and/or mask while teaching and transitioning throughout the school building.
●Hand sanitizer and/or soap will be available in restrooms and in classrooms.
● Hand sanitizer stations will be placed at multiple locations throughout the school building. Frequently touched areas such as doorknobs will be routinely cleaned throughout the school day.
●School supplies will not be shared among students.
●Social distancing guidelines will be followed to the extent possible.
●Students will be required to wash their hands and/or use hand sanitizer throughout the school day.
●Student temperatures will be taken daily upon entering the building but home will be the initial point of screening each day.
●Parents must determine if their child presents any signs of infection prior to sending them to school.
●If a child rides a school bus to school and exhibits symptoms, he/she will be seated in an isolation area on the bus until arrival at school.
●The nurse or other designated staff will take the student’s temperature and determine if the parents need to pick the student up from school.
●Sitting on the floor as is traditionally done in the early elementary grades is prohibited.
●At the secondary level, students who participate in PE will not be required to dress-out as they have in the past and social distancing guidelines will be enforced.
●Elementary students who go to PE, will not be allowed on slides or other structures
Student Responsibilities
●Students will adhere to their class schedules daily.
●Students will be using some traditional methods as well as using the computer to complete assignments. This will prepare students in the event that schools have to close again due to the pandemic.
●Each student will be loaned a device and must take it home as prescribed by his/her teacher to do online assignments.
●Students will be provided a “grab and go” lunch daily.
●Students will either eat in the lunchroom, classrooms or outdoor spaces while adhering to social distancing guidelines. The size of each individual school’s lunchroom will determine lunchroom procedures.
Parent Responsibilities
●Parents must pay a small annual fee to protect the device.
●Devices will be distributed from school level personnel.
●Parents or guardians who currently do not have internet service will be provided with a means to access the internet that will allow students to use their device.
●Devices when sent home, must be charged and ready for the next school day.
●Devices will be used in class as well as at home.
●Any computer equipment supplied by the school is on loan during enrollment and must be returned upon withdrawal, graduation, or at the request of the school.
●Students will attend school Monday through Friday. For the month of August, students will attend school Monday through Friday with a half day on Wednesdays. This provides teachers with professional development time to prepare for teaching in a virtual environment if needed.
Other
●Signage will be posted in all entrances to the school buildings.
●Visitors must wear masks to enter the school building and will not be allowed to visit classrooms or have lunch with their child.
●Students cannot participate in both virtual and traditional classrooms.
● Students must be registered for either the virtual learning environment or the traditional face-to-face learning environment. (ACCESS classes will still be available to students in traditional classroom settings.)
● Parents will be allowed to change their child’s learning environment at the end of a nine-week grading period. Transferring from one learning environment to another in the middle of a grading period could adversely affect a student’s grade and overall success.
●School leadership teams will consider all requests to change learning environments and determine the best course of action for each individual student.
If you are choosing the Face-to-Face option, you must complete the 2 steps below:
- Make sure that you have completed and updated your information in the online registration portal for each child who will be returning to school (This must be done for students returning face-to-face or virtually).
- Respond to the transportation survey on the school’s website for each child attending an MPS school.
- Complete the Parent Consent for Hand Sanitizer Use for each student separately.