Planning Process

These core principles will be at the foundation of our planning and design process: the physical and social emotional well-being of our students and staff, positive and justice-driven educational outcomes for all, sound financial stewardship, and community.

 

Scenario Planning

Because the health situation continues to evolve and present many unknowns, our responsibility to our students, staff and families is to be prepared for multiple scenarios. Our success will come from developing a variety of instructional models under the 100% Distance Learning scenario. If we depend on this strong, sustainable and flexible “backbone” of options, we can pivot at any time between any of the three scenarios.

100% In-Person Learning

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Students receive all instruction on school campuses that can safely accommodate all students as they adhere to federal, state and local health guidelines and requirements.

Hybrid Learning

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Students receive instruction at home and on campus. A plan would be created to decide which students attend, for how many days, etc.

100% Distance Learning

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Students receive all instruction at home using internet connected devices. District technology and internet access devices will be distributed to families in need.

 

What is guiding our planning work?

Since 2017, the work of the Northshore School District has been guided by the goals in our community-built 2017-22 Strategic Plan.

 

Common Understanding

All models will prioritize the health and safety of our students and staff, the advancement of a more racially just system, and positive educational outcomes.

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Any student or staff member’s presence at school will only be allowed with safe and healthy protocols.

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Meeting the social-emotional learning needs of students and staff will be part of both the online and hybrid models.

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The online / remote-only model will include plans to address specific student populations (e.g. students with IEPs, students with 504s, students farthest from educational justice, EL students, multilingual students, and other students identified with challenging needs).

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At the time when it is appropriate to move from an online/remote only model, the hybrid models will include a rotation in which some, but not all, students are on campus at any one time.

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Hybrid models will include more in-person time for specific student populations (e.g. students with IEPs, students with 504s, students farthest from educational justice, EL students, multilingual students, and other students identified with challenging needs).

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Hybrid models will include more in-person time for some of our youngest students.

 

Process

As we design Northshore Learns 3.0, we are following these steps to design learning models that are effective and flexible.

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1. Research, Listen & Learn

What worked well in our schools and in schools across the region, state, country and world? Gather information from students, families and staff through surveys, as well as employee group conversations and student conversations.

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2. Identify Learning Models

In which ways can we provide high quality education: remote, hybrid and in-person? With a focus on social justice, the whole child and positive education outcomes, committees comprised of district leadership, staff, bargaining groups will develop different learning models for students that support learning during the pandemic.

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3. Gather Community Feedback on Learning Models

The learning models that were identified will be shared with students, staff and families, who will have the opportunity to provide feedback in order to inform the details of how each learning model would be implemented. These will also be shared with school board, staff, student/parent/guardian focus groups.

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4. Plan Instruction for Each Learning Model

How would we provide instruction in each scenario? The details of how learning models will be implemented will be determined. Select committees will collaborate with district departmental staff to review feasibility, sustainability and professional development for each model. In the process, student and parent/guardian focus groups will also provide feedback.

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5. Launch, Adapt & Communicate

Once we have announced the Fall 2020 Reopening Plan, we will continue to monitor health data to make an announcement closer to the start of school.

 

 

Stakeholder Engagement

As Northshore Learns began in March, we committed to being in a listening mode and made adjustments as possible. We continued to gather student, staff, family and expert feedback, ideas and solutions, as we began planning for Fall 2020, and that listening will continue.

Students

  • Survey
  • Focus Groups
  • Emails, phone calls, meetings

Families

Family walking their students to school on the first day of school
  • Survey
  • Focus Groups
  • Emails, phone calls, meetings

Staff

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  • Survey
  • Conversations with each labor group
  • Planning committees
  • Emails, phone calls, meetings

 

Timeline

March

  • ✅ Instruction planning with diverse group of employee groups, leadership, community members
  • ✅ Tracking cases
  • ✅ Adjusted instruction according to state and federal regulations as well as community feedback
  • ✅ Joined global stakeholder group

April - May

  • ✅ Developing and reviewing collection of research/articles 
  • ✅ Continued global engagement
  • ✅ ESD conversations with OSPI

June - July

  • ✅ Continued research and article review
  • ✅ Guidelines received from OSPI along with continued clarification
  • ✅ Continued review of state and county COVID data
  • ✅ Elementary, Secondary students & Parents/guardian surveyed
  • ✅ Conversations with employee groups
  • ✅ Conversations with student and parent/guardian stakeholder groups
  • ✅ Committees/stakeholder focus groups developed for instruction planning

Week of July 6

  • ✅ Continued research and article review
  • ✅ Interest-based Bargaining/Planning
  • ✅ Confirm three instructional scenarios to prepare for an unpredictable state COVID scenario
  • ✅ Hold student and parent/guardian focus groups
  • ✅ Superintendent communicates process to the community

Week of July 13

  • ✅ Committees engage in instructional design based on three scenarios
  • ✅ Hold student and parent/guardian focus groups
  • ✅ Continued refining of instructional designs based on three scenarios
  • 🗸 Receive planning template from OSPI
  • 🗸 Complete interest based bargaining and planning.

Week of July 20

  • 🗸 Share Fall 2020 School Reopening Plan

Week of August 3

  • 🗸 Continue to monitor key health data
  • 🗸 Planning training triangle for stakeholders

 

Questions about the Fall 2020 Opening?

We are building a list of frequently asked question to answer on our website.

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