COVID 13 4/7/20

Call for instructional videos for families and educators

A central instructional video hub has been created to share with families, students, teachers, & partners. Fill out the form & include a 10-25 minute video. It can run the spectrum of content and grades. The videos will be curated centrally and distributed across our networks. Contact: Jason Sachs
I think this would be a great opportunity for us to showcase the work that we are doing with our students as we move to this new world of virtual instruction.  I do believe we have the best teachers in our building!

Chromebooks-Correction from Earlier

We want to make sure that Chromebooks are going to students with need. Our first indication will be who has not logged in etc.

Do not simply go to Campbell. We must schedule an important. 

They do not want staff picking up large numbers of Chromebooks to deliver at this point. 

New Students

We are registering new students. You could potentially get a new student.  Keri and I will be in contact if that happens. 

Equity Roundtable

I have been talking in our grade level meetings about Equity Roundtables that were going to be an expectation for each Equity Roundtable

I have been talking in our grade level meetings about Equity Roundtables that were going to be an expectation for each school community. I received the mandate and the description of the roundtable yesterday. 

The problem of practice that we are going to examine is: What are the barriers that are keeping students from accessing learning from home? What can we do as the Boston Community to remove those barriers? 

This will require all of you to continue tracking how many of your students are accessing learning. Members of the equity roundtable will develop a way to reach out to those families who are not accessing learning and take an inquiry stance into why. We will then formulate scaffolds to help our community.

We need people to join this roundtable.

 I need your recommendations on who you feel would be good community representatives. I am specifically not going to ask the parents that form the nucleus of our family council and governing board. I also would like representation from our Latinx and Vietnamese community members and families. Of course, all meetings will be virtual. With those guardrails, who do you think good family and community member representatives would be? Please send me your ideas by end of the day tomorrow. 

I would love to have you join the roundtable. Please let me know if you are interested by the end of the day tomorrow. 

Fundraising

All fundraising on behalf of BPS students, families and schools must be directed to the Boston Resiliency Fund.  As a result, individual schools and departments cannot fundraise separately.  This includes Donors Choose

If you have families in need, please have them email mfarmer2@bostonpublicschools.org with Family Support Needed in the Subject line. The district will create a form that can be shared with families.

Inspiration

I came across the following on Twitter. I thought that I would share it with all of you. I am spending a lot of time on Twiter but if you follow the right people you find some great links to real research and some awesome ideas teaching and learning. This is a message that I want each of you to take to heart. 

We are human and our humanity is what will get us through this. One of the most important things that we are teaching our students and their families is that we are there for them. We have their backs and we love them. We are living our Lee Academy Pledge. We are the embodiment of what is good in our world. We are the helpers and caretakers. People can turn to us when they need us. We believe in each other even when they might not believe in themselves.

Tweet:

I read this and it brought me to tears. I love it when people take a step back and focus on the good. Sometimes I find myself stressing out about what I can’t do and failing to see what I am already doing... this was a good reminder.

A parent wrote this for his local teachers about distance learning.

Here is the letter:

Hey teachers, 

I just wanted to let you know that however this week goes down - it's all good. We're on your team. This wasn't what you signed up for, and I sort of can't believe you're actually going to attempt to do this. Your life is about to become one giant conference call with two dozen nine-year-olds who have no set bedtime and are hopped up on Captain Crunch and whatever their parents have been stress-baking for the past 12 days. What could possibly go wrong?

In light of this, our family is giving you blanket permission to do this however the hell you want for the next two months.

Your kid wants to sit on your lap while you teach long division? That's great.

Need to stress eat half a bag of Cheetos while you're trying to explain how to calculate Experimental Error? Go for it.

Feel like having morning meeting in your pajamas - all month long? It's a judgement free zone here. Lord knows that's what I'll be wearing until at least noon.

Having a panic attack because you need to check in on your parents and wanna point that Zoom camera at three straight episodes of Sponge Bob for an English assignment? Excellent plan.

Want to just sit there and ask them how their days were for 40 minutes without mentioning a single thing about MLA formatting? Please God do that.

See, I don't care if you teach my kids one more thing this semester, and this is why: Just by showing up, by checking in, by caring enough to do this freaking IMPOSSIBLE job - you've already taught them the only things I really wanted them to get out of school.

You've taught them that people are flexible - they adapt to new things.

You've taught them that people will show up for them even when it's hard.

You've taught them that communities work together for the greater good.

You've taught them the world is a good place. That even when circumstances are scary, people are good.

You've loved them enough to be there - and that's all any of us can do, is love each other through this.

Our kids will be ok. Take care of yourselves too. We love you. You've got this - and if you don't, I'm not telling.