Dear Rancho Families,
Thank you all so much for being a critical component of our Emergency Distance Learning during the COVID–19 pandemic. We couldn’t be more proud of our students, our staff, and our parents - Rancho is an amazing community to be a part of!
As part of the continued progression of EDL, we would like to share some common expectations with you that have been guiding our instruction for students.
Rancho teachers are working hard to provide meaningful and engaging learning experiences for students during EDL. Knowing that EDL cannot replicate the traditional classroom experience and that our expectations must adjust within this new learning environment, our teachers are focusing on the following priorities:
- Keeping connected in this digital format from both an instructional lens and from an overall student wellness perspective. Providing and supporting student-to-teacher and student-to-student interactions will continue to be important.
- Providing students with direct instruction (or a link to an appropriate instructional resource) on essential learning targets and providing opportunities for students to engage in their learning of the essential standards so that students are prepared for the next level.
- Monitoring student engagement and student progress regularly, including providing regular feedback on student evidence of learning.
These priorities are achieved in a variety of methods and may look different from teacher to teacher as we develop our own skills in delivering online content. Below are some examples of how teachers are operationalizing these goals:
- Through accessing and monitoring digital platforms (Canvas, Google Classroom, etc.)
- Through live and/or recorded direct instruction
- Links to resources that provide direct instruction on essential learning targets
- Virtual class sessions and/or video conferencing
- Discussion boards and/or collaborative programs
- Regular “Tutorial Hours” for students to ask questions
- Written feedback on student assignments from the teacher, peers, and through self-assessment
- Emails, telephone calls, and/or messages within the digital platform
- Providing flexible timelines on work submissions, as needed.
We know our students are also working hard! As they continue working through the rest of this year, we expect our students to:
- Engage daily in the lessons and complete assigned work
- Work towards mastery of essential learning targets
- Demonstrating digital citizenship
- Complete their own work, except when collaboration is encouraged and/or expected by the teacher
- Speak/write with peers and teacher appropriately in all forms of communication
- Communicate with teachers when flexible timelines are necessary to accommodate their family’s schedule(s) - we want to support you!
As we think about the amount of time our students should be working in the EDL environment, we have generated the following recommendations listed below. When instructional content is converted to an entirely online format, instructional time should be condensed to account for the differences in online instruction. Students engaged in online learning typically spend fewer hours in a digital environment than they would spend in-person because there are not the same opportunities for the healthy physical and brain breaks that occur in a traditional school day.
We are currently in the midst of an international health crisis, and the time that we can expect students to engage in Emergency Distance Learning (EDL) should be reduced to reflect the context in which they are learning.
The times listed below are guidelines for the average length of time that students at each grade level should be spending on all assigned distance learning per day (including all instructional activities, lectures, videoconferencing, tasks, and homework required).
| IUSD EDL Recommendations | |
| Grade Level Span | Average Hours/Day Spent on EDL for Students |
| PreK – TK | .75 – 1.5 hours per day |
| Kindergarten – First Grade | 1 – 2 hours per day |
| 2nd – 3rd Grade | 1.5 - 2.5 hours per day |
| 4th – 6th Grade | 2 – 3 hours per day |
| Middle School | 3 – 4 hours per day* |
| High School | 4 – 5 hours per day* |
* divide by total classes per day for average time/class at secondary
These are unprecedented times and I am so proud of our work together in maintaining and supporting student learning in spite of all the challenges before us. As always, let us know how we can better support you and/or your child.
Sincerely,
Mike Modeer
Principal