As of March 31st the District moved from Act of God Days to Remote Learning Days. The main difference for students and parents is in the learning materials prepared and presented to students. During Act of God Days we were to prepare Learning Opportunities which essentially could have been review and reinforcement activities. Moving to Remote Learning Days children are now being sent new lessons in paper format, electronic format, or a combination where there is an advancement in learning. Staff are continually striving to find the best method for instructional delivery depending on the curricular area and grade level. Remote Learning cannot be a one size fits all format. We also understand that there are various factors that may affect a child's ability to work through the content presented. We do not want this to be a stressful time for families regarding instruction. Please be sure to communicate with your child's teacher if you have concerns regarding learning content, lessons, and the like. We want this to be a successful experience rather than an incredible challenge. Teachers will be setting up online office hours/classrooms per curricular area and/or grade level. Your child's teacher will email what their hours/format will be. Our District's Remote Learning Plan is posted on the Teutopolis School District website under the "Documents" Section. Please note that grading will be addressed differently at each building level. It may be used to check for a level of understanding at lower grade levels, assessed as Complete/Incomplete, given a number or letter grade, but all in all will not be used in a punitive manner. Grades at the high school level will still be entered on the 12 point scale but again will not result in a punitive outcome. The guidance from our state is that a student's overall grade cannot drop as a result of remote learning. Teaching staff and building principals will relay what methods will be used at various grade levels. Again, we do not want this to be a stressful issue for parents/students so if you have questions or need further guidance, please seek out your child's teacher and/or principal.
From April 9th through the 13th we will be "spring break" per our school district calendar. We want everyone to take a school break during that time. We suggest that everyone put the pencils down and truly try to enjoy a few days off with family during that time. Our teaching staff will be on break during that time also. While I know we are all limited in travel and our normal spring break outings, hopefully everyone can get some fresh air and enjoy a few days of pure family time.
Our next packet pick up date is April 14th from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm. We will be asking that work completed from packets handed out on the 30th be returned on that date. If this is a problem for anyone regarding pick up on that date or if there is a problem in getting lessons completed, please contact your child's teacher, the building administrator, or the Unit Office at 217-857-3535 and we can make arrangements to deliver if need be.
We continue to provide lunches for any students age 18 and under. These lunches are free to any student that resides in our district. If you would like to receive lunches for your child/children just fill out the online survey on our school district website or contact the Unit office and we will prepare sack lunches for your children. Lunch pick up dates are April 6, 8, 14, 17, 20, 22, 24, 27, and 29 for the month of April. Two to three lunch bags are distributed per child on each date. Lunch pick up is at Teutopolis Grade School from 10:30 am to 11:30 am. If you cannot pick up a lunch and need them delivered to your home on those dates, please contact us prior to the date and we can assist.
In closing, please know that we are so grateful for your patience and assistance during this process. Remote Learning is not something anyone anticipated and we are all doing our best to make this work the best for each and every child and their family. We also know that it is taking a tremendous amount of time and energy from everyone involved. Please do not stress over this. If you feel things are not working please let your child's teacher know and we can try to accommodate. We are working on "best practices" during this process also and want you to know that we do not want this to be frustrating for anyone. If we can help, please let us know. Thank you and take care!
Sincerely,
Deborah Philpot, Interim Superintendent
Teutopolis CUSD #50