Tuesday, May 26, 2020
As we enter our last week of instruction with our students, we can all agree that this has been a year like no other. All year, and especially these last ten weeks, thank you for your commitment to maintaining relationships and finishing the year strong.
While we are finishing this year, we are also looking to next year. Our four committees are working with various stakeholders to evaluate return to school options, possibilities, and needs for next fall. While there are still many unknowns, we do know there is a likelihood of distance learning, in full, part, or for a time period next school year. With that, we will dedicate a significant portion of June 1st-12th in training to prepare for this possibility.
Over the last month, a team of educators from our district, led by Susan Frediani, has been exploring various Learning Management Systems (LMS) with the essential question, is our current educational distance learning delivery model, most often Google Classroom, meeting our needs. Our team, consisting of Brittany Spence, Tarrick Grant, Sara Murphy, Becky York, Terry Hernandez, Gina Pixler, Merry Marcher, and Yvonne Casalnuovo, have explored, researched and evaluated four different options.
The consensus is that we need a more robust tool to carry us into distance learning. Through a partnership with the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE) to provide funding, we will join many other TK-12 districts and schools in utilizing the LMS Canvas for the 20-21 school year.
We have many things to learn and we look forward to sharing the June training plan via email tomorrow, May 27th, which will be a mix of synchronous and asynchronous professional learning. Please begin by reviewing the one-page attachment for a brief overview of Canvas as well as information on implementation, training, and support.
Thank you to our LMS review team, and to each of you as we #FinishStrong this year and prepare for next year.
