First and foremost, this is not a change in the LOU for teaching during this time. It is just information to clarify what is happening. The state is now requiring we keep attendance, so there is a change to that policy. Also, the district is asking that we do not automatically give a zero if work is not turned in by the due date. The system is having issues. I know for certain that some children, my granddaughters, have turned in assignments and they have not uploaded. Others are having issues just getting on-line.

Below is the email sent from the district yesterday to all schools to forward to staff.

Student Attendance and Grade Procedures

Updated April 13, 2020

Attendance

Student attendance for the weeks of March 30 and April 6 will be completed retroactively by the administration at the school. Teachers do not need to do anything with student attendance for these first two weeks of digital learning.

Moving forward – we need teachers to assist with documenting student attendance. The following procedure will be in place beginning with the week of April 13.

  1. Attendance for the week will be entered retroactively on the Monday following the previous week. (ex: the week of April 13 attendance will be entered on Monday, April 20). Focus settings will be adjusted to allow teachers to retroactively enter student attendance.
  2. Attendance should be taken for all subjects/ courses, including electives in middle and high school. Elementary block/ special area teachers do not need to enter attendance.
  3. A student would be marked present for all days of the week if he/ she turned in at least one assignment in the subject/ course.
  4. A student who is completing their coursework via a paper packet should be marked as absent unless the teacher has been in contact with the student to discuss/ answer questions regarding the work being completed in the packet. The Student Records Clerk will go back at a later date and mark the student present when he/ she turns in the completed paper packet to be graded.

Example #1 – Elementary:

Throughout the current week, elementary student A has completed an assignment in at least one of the four core subjects on his/ her schedule. On the following Monday, the teacher would enter the student as present for the entire week (Monday-Friday). This does not apply to block/ special areas.

Example #2 – Secondary:

Throughout the current week, secondary student B has completed an assignment in five of the six subjects/ courses on his/ her schedule. On the following Monday, the teacher would enter the student as present for the entire week (Monday-Friday) in the subject/ course in which he/ she completed the assignment. The subject/ course where an assignment was not completed, would be marked as absent for each day (Monday-Friday).

Example #3 – All Levels:

Throughout the current week, student C picked up a paper packet and has not had any contact with the teacher. This student should be marked absent until the paper packet is turned in completed for grading. Once the paper packet has been received, the Student Records Clerk will need to go in and mark the student present for the week of the completed packet.

Example #4 – All Levels:

Throughout the current week, student D picked up a paper packet and is not doing any coursework online, but the teacher has engaged with the student via email, text and/ or phone calls regarding the paper packet. This student would be marked as present for all subjects/ courses where the teacher and student have been engaged.

Grades

The LOU states that teachers will provide at least two grades per week. For secondary teachers (6-12) this is to be followed by course. For elementary teachers, the two grades would rotate between the core content areas. When exempting a student from an assignment, an X should be used in the gradebook. If you have assignments which have not been turned in for grading, a Z can be used. Please continue to use flexibility with due dates. Students should be given the utmost consideration and flexibility as we work through these very challenging times.

Teachers who have multiple categories built into their gradebook should enter all grades into one category only. Teachers who have previously input grades into FOCUS may have to move grades into the one selected category. Teachers who do not use multiple categories in their gradebook do not need to change what they are currently doing as FOCUS already has all grades in one category.

The grade of “H” should be used to indicate students who have picked up paper packets. Once the material has been returned to the teacher and graded, the “H” will be replaced in the gradebook by the teacher with the appropriate grade for the assignment. If the paper packets are not returned by the end of the grading period when final grades are posted, an “I” should be entered on the Post Final Grades screen. Once the packets have been graded and the teacher has entered grades into the gradebook, then a grade change form will be submitted to the student records clerk in order to update the “I” final grade.

Teachers are encouraged to use compassion and grace in grading practices. When calculating 4th quarter grades, it is appropriate to consider student performance from the first three quarters to ensure grades accumulated during the time of distance learning is consistent and representative of yearlong performance.