Middle and Senior Schools

REMAINING FLEXIBLE AND ADAPTABLE

Virtual School places each of us on an ever-evolving learning curve, and we know that you will have questions and challenges that are unique to you and your family. As we learn from you and your students what is working well and what needs our attention, we will make adjustments. We also recognize that not every student or adult will be able to be online together at all times. We have the ability to record lessons that students can view later if they are unable to attend a live class. We will keep track of students who we notice have missed lessons and reach out to you and your child if we see a pattern emerging so that we can problem-solve together. This may include teachers or advisors inviting individuals or small groups to campus for additional support.

COMMUNITY

While we are in a Virtual School model, every day is a Spirit Day. Wearing SA-branded gear as much as possible when video conferencing is a great way to bring a bit of our community into this new learning space.

SUPPORT SERVICES

Sewickley Academy is committed to providing students with strategies that foster their individual strengths and allow them to reach their full potential. During Virtual School, faculty monitor student progress and student behavior carefully and will refer a student to support services if a need becomes evident. Students and parents will be able to access support services by contacting the relevant specialist directly via email:

• Dr. Christine Herring, Director of Support Services: cherring@sewickley.org • Mrs. Beth Brown RN, BSN, School Nurse: bbrown@sewickley.org • Ms. Suzannah Peluso, Head Athletic Trainer: speluso@sewickley.org • Ms. Lynn Sanborne MSW, School Counselor: lsanborne@sewickley.org • Mrs. Sally Weir, Lower School Reading Specialist: sweir@sewickley.org

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION (DEI)

Sewickley Academy remains committed to creating an equitable and inclusive learning community where all students feel welcomed, valued, and appreciated. We understand that Virtual School is a different way of engaging with our students and families that may raise unique issues. For support, contact the Director of Equity & Inclusion and Service Learning LaVern Burton (lburton@sewickley.org) or one of the divisional DEI Coordinators.

• Ms. Brandi Lawrence and Ms. Monica Lynn in the Lower School • Ms. Cheryl Lassen in the Middle School • Mrs. Sarah Pease-Kerr in the Senior School

TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT

Sewickley Academy is committed to equitable access for all students, including access to the technology required to facilitate Virtual School. Any family that may have a challenge participating in these plans because of internet or computer issues should contact our Technology Help Desk via email at portalhelp@sewickley. org or by leaving a voicemail at 412-741-2236. One of our Technology Department members will get back to you as soon as possible.

The remainder of this section provides specific information about schedules, expectations, and the delivery of instruction for students in each division.

COMMUNITY EXPECTATIONS

The Community Norms, established in the winter of 2020, remain the same in the virtual environment. These norms will be more important than ever as we engage with one another in new ways and seek to expand our sense of community beyond the boundaries of our campus.

• We welcome all. • We have fun learning together. • We take care of ourselves and others. • We respect our space. • We give everyone what they need with flexibility. • We grow from our mistakes.

ASYNCHRONOUS WORK

Asynchronous work for the week will be posted to the designated learning platform by homeroom teachers every Sunday evening. Other asynchronous work will be posted to the learning platform no later than 9:00 a.m. on the following days:

• Tuesdays - Science, Spanish, Art • Thursdays - Music, Dance, PE

Teachers will communicate expectations for due dates and methods of submission for each task.

VIRTUAL SCHOOL SCHEDULE

Virtual School in the Lower School will follow a five-day (Monday-Friday) schedule for synchronous class meetings.

During extended periods of Virtual School, this schedule will allow for three days of homeroom instruction (Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday), one day of specials (Friday), and one Flex Day (Wednesday) set aside for small-group and/or one-to-one work by sign-up.

For sudden or short-term periods of Virtual School, this schedule may require adjustment and will likely feature more homeroom instruction days. Please follow the schedule provided by the homeroom teacher.

SCHEDULE COMPONENTS

Homeroom instruction days for Grades 1-5 each consist of a Morning Meeting and two Connected Learning blocks. In Early Childhood (Pre-K and Kindergarten), each homeroom instruction day consists of a Morning Meeting and one Connected Learning block.

Morning Meeting

Each Homeroom Instruction day (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday) will begin with a Morning Meeting. The Morning Meeting framework is a way to support the social and emotional learning of our students, as well as to strengthen and further develop our community. While we cannot and should not attempt to replace the amount of time they would typically spend together, we provide students with a quality experience that is reflective of what we offer in the classroom.

Connected Learning

Connected Learning times will be synchronous check-ins and learning opportunities that meet each homeroom instruction day. These blocks will begin with a whole group check-in and may be followed by a whole group lesson, small group lessons, or independent work in the homeroom subject areas. The purpose of Connected Learning is to reserve blocks of time in which students can receive instruction, ask questions, and learn

together in the Virtual School model. Every Sunday evening, the homeroom teacher will provide details on the planned use of this Connected Learning time for the upcoming week.

In Grades 1-5, one of the Connected Learning blocks each homeroom instruction day will be focused on math in an effort to sustain progress in the curriculum and to provide ample opportunity for students to ask in-themoment questions of the teacher as they engage in collaborative problem-solving.

In the Early Childhood program, these Connected Learning times will be used to engage students in a Reggio Emilia-inspired provocation/open-ended activity (which may be an extension of an asynchronous offering), a read-aloud, or a collaborative activity designed to inspire inquiry and creativity.

Flex Day

Wednesdays are set aside as a Flex Day, providing ample time for students and teachers to reach out to each other and engage in one-to-one and small group meetings. During Flex Day, students may meet with their homeroom or specialist teachers. While the amount of time spent in synchronous learning will be decreased on this day, Flex Day also ensures that students will have ample time to engage in asynchronous learning. Teachers will schedule students for times on Flex Day, and students can also request meetings with their teachers.

Special Day

Fridays are a Special Day, during which students can engage in synchronous learning in their specials classes. The synchronous special class meetings for each grade will rotate each week. Pre-Kindergarten will be split into two sections on the Special Day into groupings communicated by the homeroom teachers ahead of time.

Also on Friday, homeroom teachers will hold an “Office Hour,” during which families can sign up for a brief check-in with the teacher. Families can, of course, request to meet with teachers on other days and times as well.

ASSESSMENT PRACTICES

We continue to focus on formative, ungraded assessment at this time. With our virtual tools, however, we now have unprecedented opportunities to provide personalized, 1-to-1 or small-group feedback to students.

Progress Reports will reflect learning both done on campus and in Virtual School. All students will continue to receive specific assessment results in various content and skills through the “N/A, Emerging, Developing, Secure, and Extending” learning continuum as implemented on past Progress Reports.

THE ROLE OF FAMILY MEMBERS

We encourage families to spend time together in learning that often feels like play. For example, play a game that requires math/strategy/critical thinking. Card games and board games can create wonderful family moments while providing the opportunity to create graphs of wins and losses to develop the mathematical thinking of the student.

The family members of Lower School students are not expected to take the place of their children’s teachers. Families can assist, however, by ensuring that their children are engaging with their virtual classes and materials each school day. Getting students settled into synchronous lessons may require your assistance. Our earliest readers, in particular, will require increased support at home to understand and follow teacher guidance. thinking of the student.

COMMUNITY EXPECTATIONS

Community of Respect

A community of respect is a code that we want to live by in any environment. It doesn’t matter if we are at home, at school, or with friends, we strive to show respect for others and should be able to expect respect in return. Classroom norms in a virtual environment promote a community of respect.

Community Space

While you are not at school in classrooms or the commons, you will share a virtual community space. This means that when you are on video with teachers or peers, students can comply with the community space expectations by setting up a space at home that is conducive to learning. This includes assuring that what or who is in the background of a video conference does not detract from the learning and that additional devices are out of reach.

Academic Integrity

We expect that compliance with academic integrity will be a standard that you follow while in Virtual School. It may be even more tempting for you to plagiarize while at home. Please remember that using proper citations and putting things in your own words is essential to learning and doing your best work.

While Honor Council proceedings in the Senior School will not occur synchronously during Virtual School, the Honor Council will be consulted for any honor code violations, and decisions will be made by the Dean of Student Experience and Head of Senior School.

Attendance

Attendance is required for all scheduled meetings, including classes, advisory, appointments with teachers, and community events. Faculty will use MySewickley to report attendance for classes and advisory and will send Official Notes for students who miss scheduled appointments. Families of Middle and Senior School students should contact the division office to report an excused absence for their child. In the Middle School, students will register their attendance each day through the Virtual Check-In linked in the daily student and family email. In the Senior School, students must attend no less than 80% of all scheduled class blocks to earn credit for a course. Only absences documented by medical professionals and communicated through the Sewickley Academy Support Team will be considered excused.

Dress Code

In a video lesson with teachers or peers, students are asked to be in “day clothes” when they appear in a video conference. We are encouraging students to wear spirit wear when possible. Any shirt with inappropriate graphics or sayings should not appear on camera. No hats or hoods may be worn during video conferencing to ensure all faces are fully visible.

Device Use

There is no change to the expectation of how students use their devices for learning during class time together. Students may not record other students or lessons without permission from the teacher. Students are also asked to refrain from the usage of other devices during a video conference.

SCHEDULE

Managing a full load of courses can be overly challenging for some in a Virtual School environment. For this reason, we allow students in Middle and Senior School to make a request to drop an elective course for the trimester without penalty. We will remove the course from their transcript. Seniors should consult College Guidance before initiating any course drop. In addition, students who find the schedule and the load beyond what they are able to manage in this environment should consult with our Director of Support Services and their advisor to strategize the best pathway forward.

Senior School Schedule Middle School Schedule

EXPECTATIONS AND DELIVERY OF INSTRUCTION

Faculty may be teaching from their classrooms or from home. All classes will begin synchronously at the regularly scheduled time. Once students check-in, teachers will direct students to continue a synchronous lesson or engage in independent/collaborative work. • All teachers post the link to their Zoom Classroom on their MySewickley Bulletin Board. Students should arrive on time to class by accessing this link. • In certain cases, if arranged with a teacher in advance, synchronous lessons can be recorded and shared with students who are not able to attend the live class. • Office Hours are built into the schedule and are designated blocks of times when students can meet synchronously with teachers to ask questions or receive additional support. Students are free to come and go as needed.

When it comes to quantifying workload, there is no simple answer to the question: “How much work should I expect?” and it depends a lot on the class and the student’s existing skillset. Students should generally expect to be engaged and working for a combined 5-6 hours synchronously and independently each day. Students taking Honors or AP classes should expect significantly greater amounts of independent work beyond scheduled class time, whether or not the learning is in-person or online.

We recognize that students work at varying paces. The total work time of 5-6 hours a day should be considered an average. Students who exceed the maximum expected time should communicate with their teacher and potentially their advisor and Support Services.

ASSESSMENT PRACTICES IN VIRTUAL SCHOOL

During a lengthy period of Virtual School, it may be necessary to make adjustments to our assessment practices. Particularly in the Middle and Senior Schools, we want to be sure to reflect the changes in our students’ learning environment and to maintain our focus on fostering strong, caring relationships with our students that are a necessary precondition to learning. During Virtual School, students will continue to earn grades as they have during the school year. A continued emphasis on performance tasks, mastery of skills, and on providing feedback to bolster and improve student performance (assessment for learning, also called formative assessment) will become even more important in the virtual learning environment than the assessment of learning that is typically reflected in traditional tests and quizzes.

Wednesdays are reserved for elective courses and office hours in the Middle School and for catching up, working ahead, and Community Time in the Senior School. Therefore, no class assignments will be due on Wednesdays.

Using MySewickley, teachers will be specific about work completion times/dates, which generally are at the end of the class or at the start of the next class.

THE ROLE OF FAMILY MEMBERS

The family members of Middle and Senior School students are not expected to take the place of their children’s teachers. Families can assist, however, by ensuring that their children are engaging with their virtual classes each school day.