Baltimore Polytechnic Institute

Baltimore Polytechnic Institute

Virtual Learning Guide 2020

August 31, 2020

1

Greetings Poly Family!

The Poly legacy is not just one of achievement, but one of continuous improvement. We are one of but a handful of Five Star schools in the city, the highest rated STEM school in Maryland and one of the highest rated in the nation.

We do not have the resources, the luxuries that those other top schools have. What we have, what we thrive on are your talent and determination. We are an anomaly, an urban school that defies all trends, to produce world class scholars and leaders. In a city full of challenges that make

academic success difficult, our students overcome the odds. Last year's seniors set records in terms of college admissions and scholarship monies earned. We are not dream chasers; we are dream catchers.

This fall's strange circumstances will make getting your education even more of a challenge. While our teachers will continue to provide you with a first-rate education, as you start the year working from home, more responsibility will be placed on your shoulders. You will be called on to be independent learners; you will need to motivate and push yourself with the understanding that as a Poly student, you are looking beyond graduation; you are looking to become as college-ready as possible.

For those entering as freshmen, you are starting with clean slates on which you will write your futures. Learning at Baltimore Polytechnic is about learning how to balance a day filled with seven challenging classes. It's about learning how to study and develop the skills that will make you college ready. Sophomores and juniors, you now understand the expectations we have of you and that the effort you make will determine what colleges accept you. And seniors, you now must complete all the steps needed to access the best colleges and earn the scholarships to make it possible.

At Poly, you are blessed with a faculty that are more than great teachers. They are experts in their fields with a wealth of knowledge and experience to share. Most of them come from or could have chosen other careers but they elected to become teachers because they recognize how important it is to develop the next generation of thinkers and leaders.

Take advantage of what they offer. Be on time, be attentive. Ask for help, help yourselves, discover who you are and all of which you are capable. Celebrate your accomplishments but understand that for every accomplishment realized, there is another to tackle. And no matter, how hard the challenges seem, as a Poly alumni who experienced them herself, I know that each is within your reach.

Poly Pride!

Jacqueline Williams, '81 BPI Director

2

Basis For This Document

School Year 2020 - 2021 will be unlike any school year that the world has experienced before. All stakeholders will be asked to take part in an educational experience that is untried and unproven, but essential to ensure that students maintain their track toward gaining the knowledge that every citizen of the U.S. is entitled to from the public education system. With that in mind, this document will seek to provide all stakeholders with the core operating procedures and protocols established by Baltimore City Public Schools and applied to Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. Much of this document has been pulled from the BCPSS Reopening Plan which can be found on the Baltimore City Public Schools website (). Research and best practices that provide the basis for Poly's Virtual Learning Plan was conducted by Baltimore City Public Schools and can be found in the Reopening Plan, but will not be repeated in this document. Poly thanks our colleagues at North Avenue for the extraordinary and difficult work they have done over the Summer to prepare the entire district and Poly for this new educational experience.

Academics and Instruction

Virtual Learning Model

Poly will begin the 2020-2021 school year in a fully virtual learning environment. To start the school year, students will receive virtual instruction from teachers 4 days a week with additional instructional time for certain students and additional professional learning and planning time for teachers on the fifth day. As the school year progresses, working in collaboration with Baltimore City Schools, Poly hopes to shift from 100% virtual instruction to a hybrid learning model. During any phase of implementation, students and families who prefer or need a virtual setting will always be able to access an all virtual option.

Key Terminology

The following are definitions for commonly used terms in our reopening plan and description of the virtual and hybrid models of academic and instruction.

Synchronous: Synchronous instruction means that the teacher is teaching live to a group of students. While we may record the videos for families and students to access later,

3

synchronous learning occurs when teacher and students are working together at the same time. In other words, the instruction by the teacher and the learning by the student are in-sync.

Asynchronous: Asynchronous is a general term used to describe forms of education, instruction, and learning that do not occur in the same place or at the same time. In a virtual learning model, this is when the student is working independently of the teacher. This may be in the form of pre-recorded webinars, discussion boards, assignments provided in Google Classroom, paper and pencil assignment, videos to watch, or personalized learning through a program designed to meet students at their instructional level. In other words, the instruction by the teacher and the learning by the student do not occur at the same time.

Office hours: Common to both virtual and hybrid learning models, and especially in a virtual learning model, time will be set aside for office hours. These are times for families and students to speak with teachers regarding their assignments and progress in the class. This can also be a time for teachers to call families to check-in with them on the progress of their student, discuss any engagement issues or topics related to the student, the class, and virtual learning. A school leader may direct a teacher to call on students that are struggling with virtual learning, or work towards outreach to all students over a given amount of time.

Schedules

There will be two main schedules each week. The Monday-Tuesday-Thursday-Friday (MTTF) schedule and the Wednesday schedule. During the MTTF schedule students will meet with their teachers and engage in online learning. The schedule will have 320 minutes of synchronous online instruction, combined with additional asynchronous instruction and individualized learning to round out a typical student day of approximately 7 hours. The courses for which Poly students are scheduled are unchanged by virtual learning; all students will be scheduled for courses based on their grade level and credit needs. Their schedules will mirror their traditional schedule. Students will continue to have a lunch period as one of their eight periods and during that time they are free to use the time as they would like but it is encouraged that they use the time for asynchronous learning or to complete assignments that were assigned during synchronous time. Each student will also have the 11:45-12:20 time for lunch on these days.

4

Monday-Tuesday-Thursday-Friday (MTTF) Schedule

Time

Monday Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday Friday

9:00 - 10:20

Period 1 Period 5 Wednesday Schedule Period 1 Period 5

10:25 - 11:45

Period 2 Period 6 Wednesday Schedule Period 2 Period 6

11:45 - 12:20

LUNCH

Wednesday Schedule

LUNCH

12:20 - 1:40

Period 3 Period 7 Wednesday Schedule Period 3 Period 7

1:45 - 3:05

Period 4 Period 8 Wednesday Schedule Period 4 Period 8

3:10 - 4:00

Office Hours

Office Hours

Wednesday Schedule

Office Hours

Office Hours

Sample Student Schedule The sample student schedule below shows what the instructional day could look like for a student in 9th grade who is learning from home.

Monday-Tuesday-Thursday-Friday (MTTF) Schedule

Time

Monday

Tuesday

Thursday

Friday

9:00 - 10:20

Spanish I

Biology

Spanish I

Biology

10:25 - 11:45

Modern World History

English I

Modern World History

English I

11:45 - 12:20

L U N C H

12:20 - 1:40

Lunch:

Foundations of

Lunch:

Foundations of

Asynchronous

Comp. Sci. Asynchronous

Comp. Sci.

1:45 - 3:05

Personal Fitness

Geometry

Biology

Geometry

5

 Sample Teacher Schedule The sample teacher schedule below shows what the instructional day could look like for a teacher.

Monday-Tuesday-Thursday-Friday (MTTF) Schedule

Time

Monday

Tuesday

Thursday

Friday

9:00 - 10:20

Synchronous Lesson

Synchronous Lesson

Synchronous Lesson

Synchronous Lesson

10:25 - 11:45

Collaborative Planning

Individual Planning

Collaborative Planning

Individual Planning

11:45 - 12:20

L U N C H

12:20 - 1:40

Synchronous Lesson

Individual Planning

Synchronous Lesson

Individual Planning

1:45 - 3:05

Synchronous Lesson

Synchronous Lesson

Synchronous Lesson

Synchronous Lesson

3:10 - 4:00

Office Hours

Office Hours Office Hours

Office Hours

The Wednesday school schedule will allow teachers to intentionally work with students in enrichment activities designed to meet individual student needs. These activities may include class meetings, study groups, guidance sessions, college visits, small group instruction, time for standardized testing, club meetings, etc. Students will be advised of the link for their meeting on a weekly basis.

9:00 - 11:00 11:00 - 12:00 12:00 - 12:45 12:50 - 1:50 1:50 - 2:50 3:00 - 4:00

Wednesday Schedule

Content Meetings and Professional Development for Teachers Enhancement I Lunch Enhancement II Enhancement III Office Hours

6

Attendance

Daily attendance in school is critical for academic success as well as longer-term life outcomes, such as college graduation, employment, and physical and mental health. Poly will prioritize student attendance throughout the year, whether operating in a hybrid or virtual learning model. Poly will continue to follow all local laws, policies, and regulations from Baltimore City Schools regarding attendance. The following key parameters guide the district's approach to attendance in the 2020-2021 school year:

All students are expected to attend school five days a week and to attend all classes in which they are enrolled during both hybrid and virtual learning periods.

In the event that a student is unable to participate in synchronous learning on a particular day or for a particular course due to extenuating circumstances (such as work, childcare, or other significant scheduling conflicts on the part of the student or parents/guardians), the student may be marked present for that day or class, if they provide evidence of participation in asynchronous learning for each class by 11:59 p.m. the same day.

Poly will determine what evidence is required to document participation in asynchronous learning. Examples of documentation include an online exit ticket, evidence of engagement in a class discussion thread on an online learning platform, or submission of an assignment or learning task related to the session missed.

Recording Attendance

Teachers will enter attendance into Infinite Campus each day

Attendance will be taken by period, as usual

Parents / guardians must submit a written note or email if a student will be absent for a full or partial school day

Students who are not present and do not submit documentation providing a legally recognized excuse for their absence will be marked absent and every effort will be made to find, support, and re-engage them.

7

Grading

The grading policy will return to the pre-virtual learning policy. The only difference is that home assignments are now considered asynchronous learning and thus fall in the classwork category. This means that the 30% of the grade that is reserved for non-assessments is split between classwork and participation rather than including home assignments for a three-way split. Each academic department can decide how the 30% is divided so please reference the "Grading Policy" section of the website to see how each department has divided that portion of the grade.

Grading Philosophy Baltimore Polytechnic Institute is committed to maintaining rigorous performance and achievement standards for all students and to providing a fair process for evaluating and reporting student progress that is understandable to students and their parents/guardians and relevant for instructional purposes.

Tracking Student Progress Students and families will receive a syllabus from the teacher highlighting grading practices for the course or grade level within the context of this policy. All teachers will use Infinite Campus as their official gradebook and, with the exception of resource classes or when assignments take more than a week to complete, will enter at least one grade per week. Parents and students can track grades using the Infinite Campus Parent Portal, which can be reached by receiving an access code by contacting Mr. Ray (BRay01@bcps.k12.md.us).

Make-up Work Due to Absence Teachers will provide makeup work within three (3) school days of the student's last absence, and students must turn in assignments within seven (7) school days after they are provided by the teacher. The time allowed for makeup work may be extended on a case-by-case basis for extenuating circumstances determined by the teacher.

8

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download