January 2021 – The Collinsville Community Unit School District #10 Board of Education approved a plan to allow Snow/Emergency Weather Days to become E-Learning Days beginning in Winter 2020-21. The change was approved on December 21, 2020 and became effective immediately.
Click HERE to read the full, approved E-Learning Plan.
When weather conditions make travel hazardous, CUSD 10 will declare an E-Learning Day meaning students will learn remotely from home based on expectations determined by their school/teachers. A complete school closure could still be issued if power outages or other circumstances make remote learning difficult or impossible.
E-Learning Days are important because students do not lose instruction due to inclement weather, so learning continues and there are no missed days to make-up at the end of the school year. If school is “Closed” – those emergency days are added to the school calendar. If no emergency days are used, the school year ends on the designated day.
What is an E-Learning Day?
E-Learning Days are designed to serve as official attendance days of school when the students and teachers stay at home due to emergency situations, yet learning continues as students remotely leverage digital tools and engage in teacher-prepared lessons. The Collinsville School District E-Learning Plan also includes teachers available remotely to assist students by email with their assignments during the hours of the E-Learning school day.
Issuing an E-Learning Day:
In the event conditions are such that school must be cancelled, administration will do its best to make that determination by 6:00am. Sometimes this is not possible, as conditions can change rather quickly in Southern Illinois, but the goal will be to make the determination by 6:00 am.
Once the decision is made, students, staff, and parents will be notified:
● through our District call system
● through our website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
● through local tv and radio stations, as well as newspaper websites
If an E-Learning Day is implemented, everyone will be notified in the same manner as when school is cancelled. Students will be expected to utilize the day to meet with their teachers virtually and work on their required assignments/activities.
Student Attendance
During E- Learning, attendance will be taken. The preferred method of collecting attendance is always a one-to-one daily connection between the teacher and the student. However, we recognize that this method is not available or practical for all student scenarios under an E-Learning situation. We encourage and suggest several ideas for how classroom teachers can collect and count a student as present during an E-Learning Day.
• Video conference “check-ins.”
• Wellness checks coupled with a question on student engagement/participation in lessons.
• Phone calls coupled with a question on student engagement/participation in lessons.
• Text messages or email communications coupled with a question on student engagement/participation in lessons.
• Packet collections by school personnel.
Grading
Students will be accountable for completing the assigned tasks either online or by printed materials in the same manner as any other school day. Students will only receive a “present” for attendance once work is completed. Incomplete work will be considered incomplete.
Teachers are encouraged to hold students accountable for completing work as they would with any missing assignments. Completed work can either be turned in online or on an upcoming school day.
Teacher Availability:
Teachers are expected to be available to students/parents from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm by email. For many teachers, other systems may work better than email (Telephone, ClassDojo, Google Classroom, etc.) and staff are encouraged to utilize these other communication tools as the situation dictates. However, all teachers will check their email regularly and provide feedback and guidance to students/parents on an as needed basis.
The District understands that many teachers have their own responsibilities that may arise with these days (supervising their own children, shoveling snow, etc.). The District also understands that there will be time spent in follow up activities after the E-Learning Day (reviewing completed assignments, providing support for students without internet access, encouraging students to complete assignments, etc.). Staff will respond to all communication requests in a timely manner (within 24 hours) during scheduled hours. Teachers may communicate outside of office hours as needed.
Student/Parent Technical Support:
In the event of an issue with a student’s District assigned device, please call or email the technology support person at your child’s school. Click HERE for a list of tech support staff.