OCEAN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT VIRTUAL

LEARNING ACADEMY

2020-2021 Learning Plan Overview

OCEAN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT 501 Atlantic Avenue Ocean City, NJ 0 8 2 2 6

Ocean City School District Virtual Academy Overview

Overview:TheOceanCityVirtualLearningAcademyreliesonacollaborativeefforttopromotethesuccessofeachlearner.Duetothenatureofthisprogram,itwillbesignificantlydifferentthantheexperienceofastudentparticipatinginourhybridinstructionalprogram.GoaloftheVirtualAcademy:Whilewestronglybelievethatface-to-facelearningandconnectionismostbeneficialforthevastmajorityofstudents,wehavestreamlinedourprocessanddedicatedtimetoensuringthatthevirtuallearningexperiencewillbesuccessfulforstudentsandfamilieswhochoosetheallvirtuallearningexperience.ThegoaloftheacademyprogramisforstudentstocompletegradelevelexpectationsandachievestandardmasteryatthepacingsetforthbytheNewJerseyDepartmentofEducation.

Contactinformation:BuildingSupport

PrimarySchool:Dr.CathleenSmith6093993191

IntermediateSchool:Mr.MichaelMattina6093995611

HighSchool:Dr.MatthewJamison6093991290DistrictSupport

DirectorofAcademicServices:Mr.CurtNathDirectorofStudentServices:Mr.MatthewCarey

CurriculumDirector:Dr.LaurenGunther

Eligibility:

AllstudentsareeligibletoenrollintheOceanCityVirtualAcademy.Itisnotnecessaryforanyfamilyorguardiantodemonstrateariskofillnessorotherselectivecriteria.Anyonechoosingtoenrollinthisprogrammustcompletetheapplicationlocatedonourwebsite.

ScopeandExpectations: AnystudentsvoluntarilyparticipatingintheOceanCityVirtualAcademywillbeaffordedthesamequalityandscopeofinstructionandothereducationalservicesasanyotherstudentparticipatingintheDistrict’shybridprogram.Thisincludesaccesstostandards-basedinstructionofthesamequalityandrigorasthataffordedallotherstudentsoftheDistrict,theDistrictmakingitsbestefforttoensurethateverystudentparticipatinginremotelearninghasaccesstotherequisiteeducationaltechnology(seebelow),andtheprovisionofspecialeducationandrelatedservicestothegreatestextentpossible.Likein-personandhybridprograms,fulltimeremotelearningmustadheretolengthofschooldayrequirementspursuantN.J.A.C.6A:32-8.3,localattendancepolicies,andanyotherlocalpoliciesgoverningdeliveryofservicesto,andDistrictexpectationsofstudentsparticipatinginremoteprograms.

Reporting: Toevaluatefulltimeremotelearning,andtocontinueprovidingmeaningfulguidance,itwillbeimportantfortheNewJerseyDepartmentofEducation(NJDOE)tounderstandtheextentandnatureofdemandforfulltimeremotelearningaroundtheState.Therefore,theOceanCitySchoolDistrictwillberequiredtoreportdataregardingparticipationinfulltimeremotelearningtotheNJDOE.Datawillincludethenumberofstudentsparticipatinginfulltimeremotelearningbyeachofthefollowingsubgroups:economicallydisadvantaged;majorracialandethnicgroups;studentswithdisabilities;andEnglishlearners.

Communication: TheDistrictwillcommunicateallpoliciesandexpectationswithourparents,families,andstudents.TheDistrictwillutilizeourwebpage(www.oceancityschools.org),oursocialmediaaccounts(FacebookandTwitter)andourmasscommunicationsystem(SwiftK-12)tocommunicatewithourcommunity.

CurriculumandInstruction

CurriculumExpectations ThevirtualcurriculumwillstrictlyalignwiththeOCSDcurriculum,forallcontentareas.PerdefinitionthecurriculumallowseducatorsaframeworkforWHATtoteach;notHOWitisgoingtobetaught.

TheOCSDcurriculumandpacingdocumentsguideinstructionbyidentifyingwhatstudentsshouldknow,andareabletodowithineachcontentareaand/orgradelevel.Thecurriculumisdevelopedbyfirstunderstandingthestatestandards.TheNewJerseyStudentLearningStandardsareguidelinesthatensureconsistencyacrossthestateforeachcontentareaandgradelevel.Teachersreceivetrainingonhowtoanalyzeandimplementtheexpectationsofthesestandards.

Whatwillthecurriculumlooklikewhenstudentsarelearninginaremoteenvironment?

Thecurriculum,ortheroadmaptotheNewJerseyStudentLearningStandards,doesn’tchangebasedonthemodalityofinstruction.Forexample,NJSLS4thgrademathstandard4.OAindicates

thefollowing:StudentswillUsethefouroperationswithwholenumberstosolveproblems.Thiswouldremainalearningtargetforall4thgradersregardlessofwhetherstudentsarelearningonlineorinperson.Studentswillreceiveinstructiononthisconceptandareexpectedtodevelopmasteryofthisconceptthroughskillbasedassessment.

Duringtheemergencyschoolclosureandourspringshifttofullremotelearning,theworkoftheteacherandadministratorarticulationidentifiespotentialstandarddeficienciesandthemostimportantanchorstandardsasdecisionsaremadeoncurriculumresourcesandstandardpacing.Bydoingthis,teacherscanfocusonthecriticalskillsneededforthegradelevel/coursetoensurethatstudentsareabletoachievetheStateStandardsandprogresstothenextcourse/gradesuccessfully.

SupportsforSpecialEducationorStudentswitha504Plan Theprovisionofspecialeducationandaccommodationsforstudentswhohaveindividualizededucationprograms(IEPs)orSection504planswillbedeterminedbyeachrespectiveIEPorSection504teammitations.Insomecases,theDistrictmustdetermineifanIEPmeetingoranamendmenttoastudent’sIEPisneededforfulltimeremotelearning.

GeneralEducationandSpecialEducationteachersareexpectedtoprovideaccommodations,totheextentpossible/appropriate,basedonindividualstudentplans.Specialeducationteachersandgeneraleducationteachersareexpectedtocollaboratetoensureaccesstothecontentforstudentswithdisabilities.SpecialEducationstaff,includingspecialeducationteachers,GATEassignedteachers,and504casemanagers,willbeavailabletoprovidedirectsupporttostudentsandtheirfamilies.Specialeducationcasemanagerswillbeintouchdirectlywiththestudentsontheircaseloadsandtheirfamilies.

Duringthistime,relatedserviceswillbeprovidedviavirtualmethodsandfamiliesofthosestudentswillbecontactedregardingthoseprocedures.

Pleasereachouttoyourchild’scasemanagerwithanyquestionsyouhaveduringthistime.

ParentRoleTheroleoftheparent,oracademiccoach,istoprovideorganizationandstructure,tohelpcreateaproperlearningenvironment,andtopromotecontinuityinthelearningprocess.Parentsalsoactaslearningcompanions,facilitators,andadvocatesfortheirchild.Theyhelpbuildandsustainapositiverelationshipwiththeschool,andworkcloselywithteacherstoensureasuccessfullearningexperience.Parentscontributetotheirchild’slearningexperiencebybeingpresentandavailableasmuchaspossible,showinganinterest,askingquestions,andcommunicatingfrequentlywithteachers.Beingyourchild’sacademiccoachmayincludethingslikeprovidingadditionallearningmaterials,exploringconceptstogether,reviewingandproofreadingassignments,readingoutloud,helpingthemlearntoplan,andexpressingencouragement.

PrimarySchool IntermediateSchool HighSchool

Duringtheprimaryschoolyears,parentsplayanespeciallyactiveroleinplanninganddeliveringthecurriculuminpartnershipwithourteachers.Parentsworkwithteacherstodevelopandnurturethestudent’seducationplanandcurriculum.Parentsareencouragedtoworkwiththeirchildtocreateascheduleforcompletingassignmentsthatworksintandemwiththeirlearningstyle.

Asourstudentstransitiontointermediateschool,theirparentsbegintoplayamoresupervisoryrole.Theyensurethattheirchildismanaginghisorhertimeproperly,andisontaskwithassignments.Parentsworkwiththeirchildandhisorherteacherstocreateaschedulethataccommodatesclassesandanincreasedamountofcoursework.

Inhighschool,parentstakeontheroleofsupervisor,academiccoach,andmentor.Teachersstayinfrequentcontactwithbothstudentsandparents,respondingtothemthroughemailorphone.BeingparticipativethroughPowerschoolandthegradebookisanexcellentwayforparentstoviewinformationabouttheirchild’sacademicwork.

StudentRoleTheOceanCitySchoolDistrictacknowledgesthespecificrolethatstudentsplayintheirowneducationateachstageofchilddevelopment.Weencouragestudentstobeactivemembersoftheirlearningteam,alongwiththeirparentsandteachers.Students’educationalresponsibilityincreasesgraduallyastheyprogressthrougheachgradelevel.

PrimarySchool IntermediateSchool HighSchool

Parentsplayavitalroleduringtheelementaryschoolyears,butultimately,studentsareresponsiblefordemonstratingthattheyunderstandthematerial.Studentsworkwiththeirparentsandteacherstoprogressthroughthecurriculumattheirownpace.Whentheyhavequestions,teachersareavailabletohelpclarifyconceptsandexpandachild’sunderstandingofthelesson.

Duringmiddleschool,thestudenttakesonmoreresponsibilityfortheiracademicsuccess.Inthesegrades,studentscompleteassignmentswithahigherlevelofself-sufficiencyandcanenjoyamorebalancededucationalexperiencebyincorporatingtheirowninterestsintoprojectbasedlearning.

Highschoolyearsrequirethehighestlevelofacademicresponsibilityforstudents.Bydevelopingawell-definedsetofacademicpriorities,ourhighschoolstudentsbecomeaccountablefortakingnotes,refiningstudyskills,andmeetingdeadlinesforassignments.

AcademicIntegrity:TheOceanCityVirtualAcademypromotesthreebasicprinciples:respect,responsibilityandintegrity.Eachstudentisexpectedtodemonstratetheseprinciplesinhis/heracademicwork.Academicmisconductisadenialofthesethreeprinciplesinthatitisevidenceoflackofrespectforselfandothers,lackofindividualresponsibility,andlackofpersonalintegrity.

InstructionalSchedules&DeliveryVirtuallearningwillfollowthesamestructureandscheduleasin-personinstruction,butinaremoteenvironment.Classesandteacherswillbescheduledwithintheschool’snormaloperatingday(classperiodstructure)andteacherandclassplacementwillbebasedonstudentenrollment.StudentsvoluntarilychoosingtoenrollintheVirtualAcademywillbeheldtothesamestandardsandexpectationsasin-personinstruction.Participationattendancewillberecorded,assessmentswillbeadministered,andgradeswillbeawardedwhichwillcounttowardthechild’scumulativegradeaverage.Classeswillconsistofamixofsynchronousandasynchronousinstructionandactivities.TechnologyPowerschoolwillbethedistrict’splatformforremoteandvirtuallearning.Classpagescanbeaccessedbygoingtoclassroom.powerschool.com.ThiswillbethelocationforallcommunicationwithstudentsenrolledintheVirtualAcademy.Inordertoengageinavirtualprogram,studentswillneedtohaveanappropriatedeviceandareliablehomeinternetconnection.XfinityhaspreviouslyprovidedfreeWiFiforeveryone.XfinityWiFihotspotsacrossthecountrywereavailabletothoseinneedforfree,includingnon-Xfinitycustomers.TheDistrictcannotguaranteethatthiswillcontinuetobeavailable.TheDistrictwouldliketosharethatXfinityisofferingtwomonthsoffreeserviceforqualifiednewcustomers(https://www.internetessentials.com/).Forstudentsthatareinneedofadevicetoengageinremotelearning,parentswillbeaskedtocompleteanonlineformrequestinordertoborrowadistrict-ownedChromebook.ThatformwillbeavailableontheDistrict’swebsiteaswegetclosertothestartoftheschoolyear.TheDistrictwillreachouttothoseparentstoprovidetimesandalocationwhentheycansignoutandtakehomeaChromebookthatwillprovidethemaccesstoPowerSchooltocompleteassignments.PleaseknowthatthehomewillhavetobeequippedwithwirelessinternetaccessinordertoutilizetheChromebook.Parents/guardiansassumeanyresponsibilityfortheChromebook,includingremunerationforlostordamageddevices.Devicesareonlytobeusedbystudentsandonlyasnecessarytocompleteschoolassignments.Wealsounderstandthatissuescanarise.Shouldassistancebeneeded,pleasecontacttheOceanCitySchoolDistrict’sTechnologyHelpDeskbyemailingquestionsorissuestohelp@ocsdnjathome.on.spiceworks.com.Thiswillgenerateaticketinoursystemandoneofoursupportteammemberswillrespondasquicklyaspossible.Pleasemakesurethatyouincludethestudent’snameorIDnumber,youremailaddress,andyourphonenumberinallmessages.Ifyouareunabletoreachusbyemail,youcancallandleaveamessageat(609)399-1290ext.1234.Co-curricularandExtra-curricularActivities

VoluntaryparticipationintheOceanCitySchoolDistrict’sVirtualacademycomeswiththeacknowledgementthatenrolledstudentswillnotbeabletoparticipateinanyco-curricularorextra-curricularactivities.Timelines VoluntaryenrollmentintheOceanCityVirtualAcademywillrequireparticipationuntiltheendofthefirsttrimester(PrimarySchool)orfirstsemester(IntermediateandHighSchool).Atthattime,thenecessityofthisprogramwillberevisited.Anyrequesttotransitionbacktoin-personinstructionwillbedeterminedbycurrentguidelines.Shouldafamilyorstudentexperiencealifealteringeventthatnecessitatesarequesttotransitionbetweenourhybridandfull-timeprograms,pleasecontactthechild’sschoolformoreinformationandguidance.