Here is the proposed Waiver Application for USD #115 Nemaha Central that the Board of Education will consider at tonight's Special Board Meeting. If you have questions contact Darrel Kohlman: dkohlman@usd115.org or 785-336-6101
Waiver Application Packet
As a result of COVID-19 and the closing of school buildings, school districts must submit an application to waive 2019-2020 attendance requirements in order to receive exemption from KSA 72-3115. (1,116 attendance hours for all students and 1,086 attendance hours for high school seniors)
To apply for the waiver, you must complete and submit by April 8th the following items contained within this document:
1. Waiver Application
2. Assurances Document
3. Continuous Learning Plan Application
All required documents must be emailed as a single package to CLPlan@ksde.org by Wednesday, April 8, 2020.
Please direct questions to the following:
• Waiver Application: ddennis@ksde.org
• Plan for Continuous Learning: mmiller@ksde.org
To access Continuous Learning guidance documents and resources, visit: https://sites.google.com/ksde.org/kansascontinuouslearning2020/home
Application to Waive 2019-2020 Attendance Requirements
Date: April 2, 2020
School District Name Nemaha Central Schools USD #115
Superintendent name Darrel Kohlman
Board President name: Jason Hammes
1. Who closed your schools? (Check all applicable)
☐ County Health Department
☐ Secretary of Health and Environment
X Governor
☐ Military Base Commander
2. How many hours was your school district open during the 2019-20 school year?
883 hours
3. How many hours are you requesting be waived from school term of 1,116 hours for the 2019-20 school year?
286 hours
Note
A continuous learning plan must be submitted as part of this waiver request in order to receive approval.
Assurances Document
Date: April 2, 2020
School District Name Nemaha Central Schools USD #115
This assurances document needs to be returned to KSDE with your request to waive attendance requirements and your continuous learning plan no later than Wednesday April 8, 2020, to indicate that the district will adopt a plan to ensure continuous learning for all students through the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year.
USD #115 hereby assures the Kansas State Board of Education it will follow the requirements for a Continuous Learning Plan for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year:
1. USD #115 assures the State Board that it will develop a continuous learning plan that will meet the Kansas requirement for a waiver of the minimum requirement of 1,116 hours of school.
2. USD #115 assures the State Board that it will pay all current hourly employees during the balance of the 2019-2020 school year based on the plan developed and approved by the local Board of Education.
3. USD #115 assures the State Board that it will send the Continuous Learning Plan to the Kansas State Department of Education on or before April 8, 2020.
4. USD #115 assures the State Board that it will enroll all new students according to the state statute and the school district’s enrollment policies and provide an educational plan for all new students for the duration of the 2019-2020 school year.
5. USD #115 assures the State Board that it will apply a health and safety policy limiting the opportunity for students, staff and families to be exposed to potential pathogens that could lead to illness.
____________________________________ ____________________________________ President, Board of Education Superintendent of Schools
Please print this document and sign.
Continuous Learning Plan Application
Date April 2, 2020
School District Name Nemaha Central Schools USD #115
Academic Support
Briefly describe the Professional Development plan for Continuous Learning.
Our staff has been meeting for content and teacher training during the week of March 23. We are also utilizing training and support from Greenbush to make sure our staff feels comfortable delivering content in a new manner.
Please describe how you will ensure continuous learning is available for every student.
We followed the guidelines laid out in the Continuous Learning Plan provided by the task force, which included surveying our families as to access, planning learning activities that met the timeframe guidance at each grade level, created office hours where students, parents, and teachers can all interact, and made accommodations for students with needs, both academically and in regards to technology access.
Will online learning be used? If yes, list what you will be using
Yes, we plan to provide students with opportunities to both participate in "live" lessons, as well as pre-recorded or posted content to do at any time during the day. Our staff are using Google Classroom, Zoom, and Seesaw to house their content and connect with students/parents.
If so, is tech support available for families and teachers?
We provided families with an email address to send all technology questions and also established office hours where staff could be reached by phone, including some during the evening. We have also established WiFi Hotspots in our communities for families to access as needed. For those families without adequate access, we have provided experiences for students that do not require any technology and created a communication system for teachers and students to communicate and share completed work.
If so, how will you ensure that all students have adequate access to devices and internet?
We surveyed families regarding access to devices and the Internet with an online survey. For those who did not respond, we had staff call each family and record their responses. Our survey found that less than 10% of students/families did not have access. There is WiFi in our parking lots and our local service provider extended WiFi capabilities by the city library, we have worked with other agencies to add WiFi in our surrounding communities.
Please describe additional measures you will take to support students with disabilities, and students served under Title Programs (ELL, Migrant, etc.).
We believe communication with our families of students with disabilities and Title Programs is critical, so we created a communication plan including documentation to be sure we make continual and consistent contact with these students and families. In addition, we created office hours for our special education and title staff for families for direct communication. Our special education and Title teachers also collaborate with our general education teachers to ensure the needs of ALL our students are being met by having access to the materials and making accommodations and providing support. For our students with disabilities, staff has made individual contact with all families and developed an Individualized Continuous Learning Plan for each student on an IEP to support participation and progress related to the general education curriculum and special education goals.For our ELL and migrant families, we provided access to a variety of language specific learning tools they could use to continue their English language development, as well as provided specific time and access for these students to support sessions. We have also dedicated specific staff to work with students and families of our ELL community. We are working with our County Transit to provide transportation of our ELL students to pick up lunches and work with staff (following CDC Guidelines and meeting outside) to give academic and language support.
How will teachers check-in with students?
Teachers established regular office hours, provided email and cell phone numbers, and they have the ability to connect virtually. Teachers documented their check-ins with students. Counselors and other staff made contact with students expressing additional needs, both academic and social emotional.
Describe your plans for continued Career and Technical Education.
Teachers used current, real-world experiences as curriculum. Teachers focused on encouraging behaviors/workplace skills as outcomes. Students concentrated on honing their workplace skills through virtual field trips, remote conversations with mentors or job shadow partners, etc. Teachers collaborated with other CTE educators to share content and ideas for lessons and cross-curricular projects. CTE teachers served as resources for other in-house educators as experts in the field of Learning by Doing in their classrooms and through work-based learning.
Do you have a plan in place to address graduation for seniors?
Our administrative team, counselors, and staff will work closely with students and parents to ensure they remain on pace for graduation and will work individually with at-risk students to ensure our process does not negatively impact their ability to graduate. We also continue to work with parents and students to find ways to honor our graduates.
Social and Emotional Supports
How will you utilize counselors and social workers?
Our counselors and social workers led communication efforts with our staff and families regarding resources available in our community and through the school, providing direct communication for those families most in need. They will be available to school staff and families per request to assist with current stressors that arise. For general education students, Counselors/Social Workers will determine which students are in need of virtual social work services and will provide those services following current HIPPA/FERPA guidelines.
How will you support students’ social-emotional needs?
Our staff will engage students in developmentally appropriate conversations and lessons to discuss the news around COVID-19. Staff will also provide consistency in daily school routines and continue SEL and community-building practices, which help maintain a sense of emotional safety and support. All teachers will contact their small advisory group to ensure that all students have direct teacher support. Counselors will contact at-risk and vulnerable students.
How will you engage families and caregivers in supporting the social-emotional needs of their children?
Our staff will provide families with consistent communication, as well as guidance and support in talking with their children about coronavirus. Our staff will consider the different needs of students and families when making response plans and connect them to the necessary resources. This includes ensuring that response plans will fully meet the needs of students and families who are homeless or in transitional living situations, may not have easy access to computers or the internet, receive free or reduced-price meals through school, or rely on support services at their schools.
Family Community Communication
How will you keep families informed?
Our staff has been meeting for content and teacher training during the week of March 23. WIth this process we have been updating students, family, community members by phone, email, social media, etc.
How will you collect feedback from families?
Our district has and will continue to create surveys with KSDE and Greenbush resources to gather feedback on families. With that information we have developed supports that meet the unique needs of all students by continuously checking back in with staff, students, and families after implementation to gauge the success of your plans and adjust as needed.
How will you evaluate the validity of the feedback and respond?
We continue to analyze our feedback from parents and students to develop practices. We have also used office staff and other classified personnel to respond to emails and/or phone calls.
How will you support families and caregivers as they facilitate learning at home?
a district our focus has been on enrichment and activity based learning that families can do togetherAs and parents feel comfortable leading. We provide office hours for all teachers, including special education, Title staff, and counselors/social workers to be sure families can communicate and ask questions.
Other
How will you reflect, monitor & evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation of this plan and the results?
We continue to survey staff and community and will use that survey data to continually update and improve our content delivery, and communication.
Please describe the measures you will take in collaboration with your local county health department to protect the health and safety of students, staff and families.
We are in regular communication with our county health officials and will make decisions based on their recommendations. Additionally, official communication we send out will be in coordination with county and state officials.
____________________________________________________________ ____________________
Superintendent Signature Date
____________________________________________________________________ _________________
Board of Education President Signature Date
Please print this document and sign.
Please direct questions to the following:
Plan for Continuous Learning: mmiller@ksde.org
Local Contact: Darrel Kohlman dkohlman@usd115.org 785-336-6101