Final Laptop Distribution Request
Home Device Access Form: please click here to be included in the Phase 3 device distribution. Please note, Spring-Ford does have a limited number of devices available. Based on the rigor of the online curriculum, we have determined that students in grades 7 through 12 will each receive their own device, while students in grades K through 6 will be issued a device to share with siblings. For instance, a family with two high school students and two elementary school students will receive three devices total. A family with one high school student and one elementary school student will receive two devices. A family with two elementary school students will receive one shared device.
Due to the current disaster emergency declared by Governor Wolf by Proclamation dated March 6, 2020, and the subsequent Executive Order closing schools “indefinitely”, and in consideration of the health and safety of the school community, notice is hereby given that the Board of Directors of the Spring-Ford Area School District shall convene all regularly scheduled Board meetings including Board Committee meetings virtually until such time that the Executive Order is lifted and schools are reopened. All meetings will be held virtually on those dates and times previously advertised with the exception of the Policy Committee Meeting and the Curriculum/Technology Committee Meeting which were scheduled to occur during the District’s Spring Break. For the month of April:
· the Policy Committee meeting has been cancelled
· the Curriculum/Technology Committee meeting has been rescheduled to April 7, 2020 at 6:30 p.m.
· the Community Relations Committee Meeting will be held April 7, 2020 at 7:30 p.m.
· the Finance Committee Meeting will be held April 14, 2020 at 6:30 p.m.
· the Property Committee Meeting will be held April 14, 2020 at 7:30 p.m.
Public participation at these meetings shall be limited to remote connection using a virtual meeting platform to allow for connection by any member of the public and provide a mechanism for participants to indicate that they would like to speak and offer comments during the public comment portion of the meeting.
Student Attendance
Reminder, online learning is now mandatory. Going forward, our Online Learning will count as regular school days. Please call your school's Attendance Hotline if your child is ill and not able to complete their online assignments for the day.
Each student must log in to their individual Google Classroom to log attendance each day. Each day, attendance will be recorded with a posted “Attendance Question of the Day.”
- K-4: Each day the homeroom teachers will create a “question” in the google classroom under classwork. The Questions should be labeled “Attendance Check-In: Question of the Day”
- Grades 5-6: Every day each class (pair of switch teachers) will create a “question” in the google classroom under classwork. The Questions should be labeled “Attendance Check-In: Question of the Day”
- Grade 7-12: Every day, each class will create a “question” in the google classroom under classwork. The Questions should be labeled “Attendance Check-In: Question of the Day”
- Attendance can be logged anytime during the day, up until 11:59 p.m. Teachers will record the attendance in Skyward the following school day.
FERPA Update
The Spring-Ford Area School District has made reasonable efforts to ensure that such conferencing is confidential, and access is limited to students in the assigned groups. However, some of these services will be provided in a group format and when this occurs students will be able to see other students in the group. In addition, the Spring-Ford Area School District is unable to control who else may be in the room in which a student is receiving these services remotely, including other family members or others who are living with the other students, who may observe the session and what other students are in the group. Due to the nature of distance learning which may include Zoom meetings and other internet-based platforms, parents also acknowledge and agree that the District (although it will take precautions to try to do so) may not be able to ensure confidentiality per the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). By agreeing to have their child engage in distance learning, Parents agree to waive the protections under FERPA during the time period of the mandatory school closing, and understand that the recording of Zoom or other virtual meetings by parents/guardians or students is prohibited. If Parents do not wish to waive FERPA during this time, they may opt out of distance learning, but understand that due to the state of emergency caused by COVID-19, other types of instruction may not be available.