Many students, parents, and even teachers have been concerned about how to best incorporate online instruction into their lives in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. After a week of planning, Keller ISD has come out with an eLearning and grading plan beginning on Sunday, March 29.
“Sunday to Sunday” Planning, Unified Schedule for Live Instruction
Running on a “Sunday-to-Sunday basis”, the instruction plan will then continue on a week by week schedule as long as Keller ISD campuses remain closed.
For students in middle school or high school, the core classes (ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies) will provide one weekly lesson per subject and the elective classes will also provide one weekly lesson. This schedule does not apply to dual or AP class coursework.
Students in dual or AP classes should follow their teacher’s guidance regarding classwork in order to earn both college and high school credit. Dual credit students should already be in contact with both their Keller ISD teacher as well as their college professor and AP students will follow their teacher instructions as to how best to proceed and become successful for the AP test.
ALL teachers will send a class overview email detailing the timing of lessons and content that will be explained. Teachers are allotted a certain time slot to teach their students according to what subject they teach. English, Math, Social Studies and CTE courses have between 8 a.m until 11 a.m. to offer “Live Time” events such as Zoom meetings or mini-lessons. These “Live Time” events should not exceed 45 minutes. Following the morning block, students will have an hour lunch break as well as several other breaks in between “classes” before a section of 12 to 3 p.m. classes for Fine Arts, World Languages, Science and Additional Electives, based on the schedule.
Sample Schedules
“The unified schedule was designed with our students and families in mind,” Sara Koprowski, Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction explained in an email. “Some families have children in multiple grade levels, and the schedule will prevent families from having to prioritize one student’s learning over the other.”
For an even more detailed example, look at this sample secondary student schedule put together by the Curriculum and Instruction team. Note: Your own schedule will be different.
Full Email from Koprowski: KISD Secondary Teacher eLearning Letter
Pass/Fail Grading for Fourth Quarter
In regards to grading, Keller ISD teachers are currently finalizing grades from the third nine-weeks and report cards will be available to view by Friday, April 3 in Home Access Center (HAC).
The fourth nine-weeks will be a Pass/Fail grade in each course for students in grades two through 12. A Pass grade translates to 100% whereas a Fail grade becomes 69%. For second semester grades, the third and fourth nine-weeks grading periods will be averaged together.
In order to receive a “pass” for the fourth grading period, teachers will evaluate a students’ participation within the content given. Students have the opportunity to show their participation through “weekly lessons, submitting weekly lessons, participating in online instruction, phone calls/Zoom meetings with their teachers” and other assignments given by teachers. All teachers will provide what their expectations for grading are by Monday, April 6.
“Our goal is to provide an abundance of support so that every student has ample opportunity to be successful,” Principal Michelle Somerhalder said in an email to Falcon families.
Students in dual credit courses will be contacted directly by their teachers for class expectations in regards to grades.
Additionally, there will be no final exam administration in May 2020.
Grades for the remainder of the year will be following these guidelines regardless of when school resumes.
For more information about course grades, students and parents should contact their teacher or administration.
Full email from Keller ISD: Keller ISD Mail – Keller ISD Update on Grading
The Too Long, Didn’t Read Summary (TL;DR)
Your teachers will e-mail by 7 p.m. each Sunday with the plan for the week. They might have a scheduled “Live Time” event on some date based on a schedule. You’ll do the rest of the work they assign for that week during the other block times. Eat lunch, take care of yourself, get some exercise. All grades will be Pass/Fail for the last quarter, even if we go back to school. There are no final exams in May. Ask us any more questions.