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Academics - Curriculum and Instruction
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Attendance FAQ's
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What will be covered in the webinar titled "Technology Support for Families" that was shared in the Superintendent’s letter on August 6, 2020? Will it cover how to use Google Classroom or any other online platform BUSD chooses?
It will cover Google classroom as well as a couple of common programs. In addition, it will take parents through the parent support page created for them. There will be a live Q & A session with translation available.
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How many online platforms will BUSD be using? Will it be only Google Classroom?
Google Classroom is the only platform that teachers will be using. They may be using other programs, but they run them through the Google classroom, which will also contain all of the student assignments.
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What is live virtual interaction?
Live virtual interaction may include whole class teacher reinforcement of lessons; teacher monitoring and responding to questions; and, the teacher supporting individual students or small groups with class work, homework, projects, and other activities.
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What does live virtual instruction mean? Does the teacher need to be teaching the whole group live for the entire teaching period? (ex.: the 80 minutes for TK,K; the 120 minute ELA/Math periods in grades 1-5, and the times for secondary)
The teacher does not need to provide direct instruction to the whole class for the whole session. That time may include whole group and small group teaching, as well as supporting individual students and monitoring students as they complete work.
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Can parents continue with Distance Learning if we switch to hybrid or traditional models?
Yes, but it will not be the same as the current model that your student is participating in. Students may be reassigned to a new teacher.
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If the full fall semester is going to be online, when will that decision be made? If schools are going to re-open, even as a hybrid, how much notice will families be given?
The fall semester will begin online. Unless we get a return to school okay from the DPH early in the semester, the district will remain online with distance learning the full semester. We anticipate it would take at least four weeks to make a transition back to the classroom.
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How do students prepare for college? Do you know if SATs will be offered? Do you know if ACTs will be offered? Do you know if PSATs will be offered? I realize this is constantly changing. When you see information, can you share it with us?
The district will provide more information as it becomes available.
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I understand there will be no College Fair this year. Is there a possibility of doing a virtual College Fair?
The district is investigating virtual options.
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How are labs going to be taught in science? Will the science classes in high school still meet the UC a-g lab science requirements?
According to the UC website, the status of our courses will not be affected by a distance learning model.
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How will you address the PE requirement so sophomores can pass out of taking it for 4 years?
We may be able to test students in the spring. If not, we will make sure that students' schedules are not affected.
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When you refer to office hours in the MOU, is that one-on-one interaction with the teacher similar to when a student would go by a teacher's classroom after school to ask additional questions?
That is one possibility. It may also be a small group of students getting extra help.
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If the Stage Tech class does not have the required adults paying full tuition and the class has to be cancelled, when will that decision be made so that students can choose another class?
Every attempt would be made to notify the students before the start of the school year.
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Will there be Open House nights where teachers can share with parents about their classes?
We are still exploring options for Open House nights.
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What happens if elementary students cannot participate during the live instruction sessions? How will that impact attendance if they still complete their work?
The State requirement is to take daily attendance in both the in-class and at-home portions of instruction. The student will have to check-in daily, but can access the content at another time as directed by the teacher.
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How much synchronous instruction will students receive in Distance Learning?
Synchronous instruction is live virtual instruction with teacher-directed lessons on platforms like Google Meet and Zoom from Monday through Thursday. For TK/K, at least 80 minutes per day of live instruction is provided by the teacher. For grades 1-5, at least 120 minutes per day of live instruction is provided by the teacher. For grades 6-8, 135 minutes per day of live instruction is provided by the teacher. For grades 9-12 at JBHS, BHS, Monterey, Magnolia, and CDS, 150 minutes per day of live instruction is provided by the teacher.
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What does instruction look like for elementary students?
Teachers prepare their own curriculum/lessons based on State standards. Daily lesson delivery, assessments, and instructional methodologies used are at the discretion of the classroom teacher and may include direct instruction, teacher generated lessons, recorded video, samples, embedded videos, lessons found online, or contained in textbooks. These can be either digital or paper packets. Instruction may also include teacher monitoring and supporting of individual students or small groups with class work, homework, projects, and other activities.
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What does asynchronous instruction look like for elementary students?
Online asynchronous instruction may include, but is not limited to, self-guided assignments and projects, streaming video content, virtual libraries, posted lecture notes, pre-recorded lessons and videos, and exchanges across educational discussion boards. Lessons may be provided by teachers, instructional assistants, intervention specialists, or other staff members as appropriate.
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What supplies will students need for Distance Learning?
Students can work with their teachers to determine the textbooks, instructional materials, or supplies needed for Distance Learning.
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Will live synchronous instruction be recorded and posted for student access?
Live virtual instruction of whole classes may be recorded and posted upon request by a student or parent on Google Classroom for at least seventy-two (72) hours. Other student interaction, such as small groups or individual guidance shall not be recorded. If teachers choose not to record live virtual instruction, they shall create a method to deliver class instructions and information, or provide an alternative assignment without penalty to students who are absent, or who are having technological issues and are unable to attend live virtual instruction.
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Will teachers have “office hours” or help sessions when students are not in live instructional settings?
Yes. Teachers will provide their students with a schedule of their office hours.
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Will my child still be enrolled in Dual Immersion in distance learning?
Yes. Dual immersion will be provided in a distance learning setting.
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What is the current status of the Dual Immersion program?
The Dual Immersion program will continue to be offered by certificated teachers in Grades K-8. Instruction will be provided in Spanish. We will continue to work with our Dual Immersion teachers in further designing the distance learning program. Each day, Monday through Thursday, students will be provided Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics instruction in Spanish. Social Studies and Science will be incorporated into that learning, as appropriate. Small group instruction will also be scheduled to support students learning of State standards, skills, and concepts in Spanish. When the District shifts back to hybrid including in-school teaching with a possible distance learning option, new information will be provided.
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Please describe the Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten schedule for distance learning.
Live instruction and interaction will occur at least 80 minutes daily from Monday through Thursday. Students will also be provided about 100 minutes per day of at-home assignments/asynchronous learning. Teachers will provide information about their schedule and instruction to families.
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Please describe the Grade 1 through 3 schedule for distance learning.
Live instruction and interaction will occur at least 120 minutes daily from Monday through Thursday. Students will also be provided about 110 minutes per day of at-home assignments/asynchronous learning. Teachers will provide information about their schedule and instruction to families.
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Please describe the Grade 4 and 5 schedule for distance learning.
Live instruction and interaction will occur at least 120 minutes daily from Monday through Thursday. Students will also be provided about 120 minutes per day of at-home assignments/asynchronous learning. Teachers will provide information about their schedule and instruction to families.
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Please describe the 6-8 schedule for distance learning.
Live instruction and interaction will occur 135 minutes per day from Monday through Thursday. This will be three 45 minute classes per day from Monday through Thursday. In addition, students will be provided 105 minutes per day from Monday through Thursday at-home assignments with teacher support and monitoring.
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Please describe the 9-12 schedule for distance learning.
Live instruction and interaction will occur 150 minutes per day from Monday through Thursday. This will be three 50 minute classes per day from Monday through Thursday. In addition, students will be provided 90 minutes per day from Monday through Thursday at-home assignments with teacher support and monitoring.
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For elementary, what does the live virtual interaction in the afternoon include?
Activities may include, but are not limited to, conferring with students, providing support to individuals or small groups, responding to assignment questions, responding to emails, assessments, etc. If teachers want to schedule a small group at that time, they may. However, if it is a regular small group, families should be notified ahead of time, so they know to log back into the teacher's Google Meet.
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For elementary, why is the live virtual interaction done after lunch?
Holding it after lunch gives students who are starting their at-home assignments a chance to ask questions about that work. It also gives a set time period for communication, away from the morning teaching time, that teachers may direct families to use. In addition, as it is the shortest required time period, it makes time in the afternoons for special services to create their complex schedules of multiple student appointments.
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How many minutes of elementary at-home learning assignments are to be scheduled on Fridays?
TK/K classes must schedule 180 minutes, grades 1-3 must schedule 230 minutes, and grades 4-5 must schedule 240 minutes of at-home learning assignments on Fridays. The required live virtual interaction of at least one hour on Fridays is included in that time. These numbers are minimums and teachers may exceed the required number of minutes.
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How many minutes of secondary at-home learning assignments are to be scheduled on Fridays?
Grades 6-12 must schedule 240 minutes of at-home assignments on Fridays. Students will be assigned work for each class. The required live virtual interaction of at least one hour on Fridays is included in that time. These numbers are minimums and teachers may exceed the required number of minutes.
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For elementary, will teachers or staff be able to have a “meet n greet” before school starts or the first day?
Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten teachers may have a virtual “meet n greet” time before the first day of school at the teacher’s discretion. “Meet and Greet” is at the teacher’s discretion.
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What will grading look like at the elementary level?
Elementary teachers will provide standards-based grading. Report card comments are optional. Grading of classroom assignments will also occur as appropriate.
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Will there be any other school activities, live or remote?
School activities will be governed by the requirements from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH). For now, all activities should be remote.
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Will school photos be taken this year?
This decision will be made at a later time based on guidance by the LACDPH.
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How will attendance work?
Students will be required to attend live virtual instructional sessions where attendance will be taken.
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Independent Learning Academy (ILA)— is this going to be a choice— in other words, are spots actually going to open up? Will the district allow as many students to sign up as are interested in the program?
If you are interested in ILA, please contact johnparamo@burbankusd.org Staff will review the option of ILA with you. The number of available spots will be determined by the number of available teachers and the interest of students.
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I am an athlete— I know I cannot do ILA. Can I take hybrid or 100% distance learning through BHS or JBHS and be able to participate in my sport?
You are still eligible for athletics if you choose either the hybrid model or 100% distance learning, unless we receive new notification from CIF indicating otherwise.
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Can middle school students be enrolled at the ILA?
ILA is open to students in grades 7 through 12.
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Can middle school students and high school students be dual enrolled at their home school and ILA?
A middle/high school student can take up to 2 elective classes at their home school. The rest of their classes have to be done through the ILA.
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If my child attends the ILA do we have to pay for books like we do when we take the APEX course over the summer and we pay for it?
No, there are no fees.
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How does APEX do PE and science labs?
The curriculum is all online with some virtual components for PE and labs.
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If I choose 100% distance, can I still enroll in 7 periods?
Every effort will be made to accommodate 7 periods, but we will not know for sure until we see the enrollment numbers by course.
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If an AP class is taught online, will colleges recognize the score on the test and still offer units?
Yes. If a student passes the AP exam, colleges will recognize the score and offer units even if the AP class was taken virtually.
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If parents are forming study pods with students can they be assigned the same teacher?
No. Classes have been formed taking into account several variables such as, gender, academic levels, special needs, behavior issues and English language proficiency to ensure groups are well balanced. Also, non-virtual learning pods go against “Safer at Home” guidelines issued by the LACDPH, as well as the district's guidelines.
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How will GATE instruction be delivered through Distance Learning?
Students who participate in the GATE program will continue to receive differentiated instruction provided by their teachers. Most gifted students will be clustered together within a class, but some may be grouped as a whole class of gifted students.
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For secondary, can teachers assign required work outside of class time each day?
Yes. The minimum number of instructional minutes per day is 240 for secondary, which is 80 minutes per class period. Middle school has a 45 minute live virtual whole class instructional period, and then a minimum of 35 minutes of asynchronous assignments. High school has a 50 minute live virtual whole class instructional period, and then a minimum of 30 minutes of asynchronous assignments. Asynchronous assignments can include watching videos, readings, practice problems, online lessons, essays, long-term projects, etc. Many teachers may find it necessary to assign more than the minimum amount of work to sufficiently cover their curriculum.
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For secondary, what happens after lunch?
For secondary, all live interaction takes place before lunch. Teachers are not expected to hold Google Meets or Zoom meetings after lunch. 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. is teacher work time for planning, grading, and communicating with parents and students.
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For secondary, what happens on Fridays?
Friday is a teacher work day. Teachers will work from 8:00 to 3:00. Students will be assigned a minimum of 240 minutes of asynchronous instruction (40 minutes per period) on Fridays. Teachers are expected to hold a 60 minute live virtual office hour for students who have questions. Each site will organize the scheduling of office hours to avoid conflicts. Teachers will also collaborate with peers, attend staff meetings, prepare lessons, grade assignments, and respond to parent and student communications.
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For secondary, what is the purpose of the 30/35-minute live monitoring period?
Immediately following each 45 or 50 minute live virtual whole class instruction period is a 30 or 35-minute monitoring period. Teachers can use this time as they see fit, as long as they make themselves available to their students. The expectation is that teachers keep their Google Meet or Zoom meeting open until the end of the monitoring period. This time can be used to work with individual students or small groups, to help students complete assignments, or simply be an open office hour. Teachers could also choose to assign work that is due at the end of the monitoring period. The live virtual whole class instruction and monitoring period together total 80 minutes, which is the minimum number of instructional minutes required for each class period.
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For secondary, why is zero period scheduled for Monday through Thursday?
Each class period (1-6) meets a total of 160 minutes per week, including live virtual whole class instruction and teacher monitoring. In order to have the same number of total minutes, zero period is scheduled for 40 minutes, 4 times a week. It is up to the teacher how they want to schedule the live virtual whole class instruction and teacher monitoring within those 4 class periods.
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When will English Language Development (ELD) instruction occur?
Designated ELD will include 15 minutes of live interactive instruction Monday through Thursday. ELD instruction will be provided by the teacher and/or the ELD instructional assistants under the direction of the teacher. ELD instruction on Friday will be an assignment or recorded lesson. Staff will reach out to families/students to schedule that time.
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When will RSP, Speech, OT, APE, etc. be held?
Special Education Related Services will try to be covered in the afternoons, as much as possible, as appropriate for instruction and as IEPs dictate. This is one reason why the afternoon live virtual interaction is only 45 minutes. It gives special services staff some time to be able to accomplish their complex schedules. Due to the number of students receiving these services, some students will need to be pulled from their classroom live instruction time.
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In elementary, what will PE look like in Distance Learning?
In elementary schools, PE will be provided remotely with activities and skill development taught. These will be recorded activities and skill development. Schedules will be posted in the teacher’s Google classroom.
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What supplies or technology needs might students require for Distance Learning?
Students will need a device to connect to the remote classrooms. Cell phones are not the best device to connect to the classroom.
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A parent received notification from ATB that there is a way to hold their child's spot for this year. Is there any similar hold for ASES ?
Yes. The ASES staff will be contacting ASES families about placing a hold on the child’s seat in ASES.
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Are students expected to have cameras and use video on live instruction sessions?
Yes, students are expected to have video and “appear” during live instructions so teachers can facilitate student engagement.
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If my child has an IEP, how will they receive their accommodations and services in the hybrid model? In the online-only model?
In the hybrid model, students with specialized academic instruction (SAI) will be receiving much of their SAI in person, not distance. All of their related services will also be in person. For general education classes, all relevant accommodations will remain in place for distance learning.
Additionally, under the guidance of the California Department of Education (CDE) and the U.S.
Department of Education, the District is collaborating with our teachers and support staff as wework to meet the needs of students with IEPs. CDE has established a workgroup of special education practitioners and other experts to help brainstorm best practices that they plan to share in the coming weeks. We’ll continue to keep our families informed and continually review how we can best support our students with special needs. For questions or concerns, please contact your child’s teacher(s) and/or principal.For the distance only model, the district is researching appropriate online curriculum and distance models. It may vary based on grade level and needs.
More details will be provided once they are determined pending negotiations. -
How will my child receive their special education supports and service in a hybrid model?
Students with IEPs are being considered as schedules are being developed and proposed. We are continually monitoring county, state and federal guidelines to ensure that we follow best practices in reopening and meeting the needs of students with disabilities, in light of the current pandemic and safety concerns.
The specific schedules for students with Specialized Academic Instruction can't be proposed until the District determines what the overall school schedules will look like. We are planning to have students receive the their SAI in person and not remotely to the extent possible, within the context of the model for school schedules the district implements.
Additionally, for those students planning to attend in person school, all related services will be provided in person.
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How will my child receive their special education supports and services in a distance only model?
We have been researching platforms and strategies to ensure students are provided with a quality education to meet their individual, unique needs. Students will receive live special education support remotely from their teachers and/or instructional assistants, depending on their IEPs and their unique needs. IEPs will be implemented to the extent possible in a distance learning model. Related services will be also be provided remotely.
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When will my student’s assessment and/or IEP from spring be completed?
In person assessments will commence in August when school opens. Safety protocol will be put into place, including masks and face shields for assessors and clear desk partitions (“sneeze guards”) will be between the assessor and the student. Tables and assessment tools will be disinfected between students. IEPs will continue to be held remotely for the safety of all as long as social distancing orders are in place. The IEP computer program, SEIS, now has a component for digital signatures.
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If my child has a 504, how will students be supported in a hybrid model? In the online-only model?
School 504 teams will work with parents and students to provide accommodations during hybrid and online-only models of instruction. District and school staff will continue to explore best practices and keep our families informed as we review how we can best support our students on 504 plans.
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How will grades be determined?
Grades will be determined based on the student’s mastery of the content standards, as shown
through their performance on assessments, projects, and assignments. Students can earn grades
of A, B, C, D, or F. More details will be provided once they are determined pending
negotiations. -
What will secondary school electives like for choir, band and culinary arts look like?
All classes, including electives, will be conducted with safety measures in mind. Choir will utilize remote options, larger spaces and be strategic in the directions that students face as they sing. Band will also use larger spaces and will not be sharing any musical instruments. Students in culinary arts will not be sharing equipment when they cook.
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If my child is enrolled in the online-only model, can they still participate in extracurricular activities?
If the student is dual enrolled in ILA (online-only model) and their regular school, then yes, they would be eligible for extracurricular activities. This is not the same for sports, as athletic leagues and CIF have different rules for participation. We are still waiting for guidelines related to athletics. Students interested in dual enrollment would sign-up for dual enrollment when enrolled in ILA.
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What if I want to Homeschool my child?
Each person between the age of 6 and 18 is subject to compulsory full-time education. Parents who opt to privately educate or homeschool their children must first properly file a Private School Affidavit (PSA) with the CDE (California Department of Education) Ed Code 33190. Parents should send a copy of the approved affidavit to the school site before disenrollment. For more information, parents/guardians may access the CDE’s “Schooling at Home” web page located at https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ps/homeschool.asp which includes information about filing the PSA as well as educational resources.