- Estes Park School District R-3
- Cloud School
General information
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Introduction
At EPSD, we are proud that we will be able to deliver excellent education and fulfill our mission under exceptional circumstances that may require partial or full campus closure. We are proud that we have the resources in place to do this in our district and feel very fortunate. The loss of onsite learning does not mean a loss in our dedication to providing excellent educational experiences for every student every day.
In such circumstances, our commitment is to provide an alternative means of education in the form of online learning at home. “Cloud School” designates the experience students will have when school remains in session but when students are unable to physically attend school because of campus closure. While Cloud School does not replicate onsite learning, our teachers can deliver powerful instruction that allows students to meet expected standards in an online environment.
The goal of the Cloud School experience is to define learning targets for students that can be met online, empower students to make choices about how they will reach those clearly defined learning targets, and keep students engaged in online learning and collaboration. Teachers will do this through modeling, differentiation, specific feedback, and by providing opportunities for reflection and revision.
The success of our Cloud School endeavor is a partnership and is dependent on careful planning by our dedicated faculty, appropriate student motivation and engagement, and strong parent support for this alternative mode of instruction. While this is a time of uncertainty and challenge, it is also a time that provides us with the opportunity to persevere and problem solve, two important Global Outcomes.
The purpose of this document is to outline how EPSD will continue to offer continued learning online in a blended learning model, which includes real-time engagements with teachers and independent learning at home.
The following EPSD Cloud School Plan is designed to address the following scenario:
- Asynchronous learning: Independent learning that can be done at home without the need to be online at the same time as the teacher.
- Synchronous learning: Opportunities for real-time engagements with the teacher or counselor to support the social and emotional well-being of students and academic needs.
- Alternative opportunities for students who have limited or no access to the internet for online learning.
- A commitment to monitoring and improving this plan and the student experience during this time of implementation.
Tools we will use for monitoring the EPSD Cloud School Plan will include but are not limited to:
- Data on student participation from digital learning platforms such as SeeSaw, Schoology, and Google Suite.
- Survey and verbal feedback from students, parents, and teachers to help us understand how the plan is impacting student, family, and teacher experiences.
- Feedback from students, parents, and teachers to help us understand how the plan is impacting those experiences, and to provide data on what improvements we might make going forward.
- Review of Schoology and Seesaw discussion postings as a form of data collection to support teachers and students.
This EPSD Cloud School Plan will define the following:
- Implementation Procedure to conduct school remotely until resumption of normal operations.
- Details on the Expectations required of both teachers, students, and families for the successful continuation of student learning, family communication, and attendance.
- Individual school plans that address developmentally appropriate and meaningful student learning experiences.