DRP_FINAL_Oct16

IN PERSON LEARNING: GETTING READY FOR LEARNING

Secondary At the secondary level, last spring’s lack of daily, in-person access to teachers and peers impacted students’ development academically and socially. To address this, one major focus at the outset of the school year will be on building healthy working relationships between educators and students, as individuals and within groups. Although classrooms will be organized differently, there is no substitute for building strong classroom communities and healthy learning environments where students feel safe to think creatively, make mistakes, encounter new ideas logically and tolerantly, and develop strong critical thinking skills. These strong classroom communities serve as the foundation for the successful construction of other elements of our reopening plan, such as new routines, procedures, and health and safety protocols, as well as new technologies, apps, and digital learning platforms. In order to move forward, students must see themselves as operating within a series of successful and healthy classroom communities that are part of larger successful and healthy school communities. Putting educators in position to develop strong teacher-student working relationships is another major focus. Teachers must get to know their students’ academic strengths, areas for improvement, as well as any other challenges they face. In order for teachers to meet all students where they are and to be able to effectively differentiate instruction, teachers will (a) devote instructional time to administer formative assessments to identify any learning deficits stemming from learning disruptions last spring; (b) work with department chairs to adjust the pacing and other attributes of the curriculum to remedy any deficits; and (c) provide students with actionable feedback and academic goals that are in line with any adjustments that are made. Developing strong classroom communities and strong working relationships between teachers and all stu- dents is important for students at the grade-6 and grade-9 levels, as they will be experiencing all of the typical challenges that come with transitioning to a new building, along with changes related to the health crisis. These students stand to benefit the most from positive and supportive learning environments and from teachers who spend extra time and effort learning who they are as students and as young people. Moreover, if circumstances change and a need arises for a major shift in procedures and protocols, all of our students will benefit from having made personal connections within strong academic communities and from strong teacher-student working relationships.

Darien Reopening Plan: In Person Learning 34