ARPS STUDENTS URGED TO PARTICIPATE IN DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS

Amherst Regional Public Schools Superintendent Michael Morris, in a memo dated April 24, sought to assure Amherst families that their concerns about the impact of current school closures on the coming academic year are being heard and taken into consideration. Morris said, “I want to assure our families that the District is taking these concerns into account in planning for the beginning of the new school year. There are no plans to retain students [in their current grades] since they will be supported in catching up on both their academic and social/emotional learning when the new [academic] year begins”. In the meantime, students are strongly encouraged to participate fully in the Distance Learning 2.0 work being provided by their teachers. At the high school level, students will receive credit for their courses based on their work prior to the school closure and their participation in distance learning.

Morris noted that the District wants to hear from families about how Distance Learning 2.0 is working for both students and their parents/guardians. “We have already heard from elementary families that sample schedules will be helpful in planning their distance learning routine,” Morris said. A sample of distance learning schedules for elementary was provided in the memo and is reproduced below.

Sample Elementary Schedules for Distance Learning 2.0
Elementary school teachers are assigning educational activities for their classes consistent with the Distance Learning 2.0 plan. The sample family/student schedules below are intended to help families organize their children’s work during the week. They were developed based on feedback the district received from families who desired additional support on structuring distance learning for their children. 

Families are free to use these schedules as is, modify them, or use them any other way to help their children with their distance learning. The categories in these schedules can be matched with the categories in the Distance Learning Plans (DLPs) that teachers are sending home weekly. Families and students will receive more options via the weekly template teachers are sending home.