Home About Us Departments Enroll Parents Support ADS Contact us Welcome To The 2020-2021 School Year! ADS Commitment Form Communication Austin Discovery School Revised Reopening Plan (1/27/2021) Meet the Administrative Team Meet the Social Emotional Learning Team Meet the Student Services Team Meen the Essentials Team (Click the links above to view slideshows and *virtually* meet Admin, Essentials, and Support Staff) First Day of School Update Dear Austin Discovery School Families, Today, you should have received an email from your child’s teacher with the links to their morning meeting and closing meetings for the first week of school, as well as your child's login information for Clever (based on their ADS account) which will allow them to access Seesaw (K-5) or Google Classroom (Middle School). Please reach out to me ASAP if you have not yet received communication from your child’s teachers. Please bear with us as we work through the kinks in our online systems this week. If your child’s class does not populate immediately on Clever or Seesaw, please know that we are aware and are working to correct the issue as soon as possible. If you encounter this problem and your child is in Middle School, they can temporarily log in to their Google classroom account without using Clever. For elementary students, if it is not resolved in time for class tomorrow, all students should join their live class meeting (either morning or closing meeting) to be counted present for the day. While we had anticipated providing you with detailed information today regarding the on-campus instructional option for all interested students on October 27th, our first priority is to address remaining technical needs to ensure a strong start for distance learning this week. We appreciate your patience and plan to release that guidance by next week. We will be following all health guidance outlined by the Texas Education Agency and the Austin Public Health authority. If you have specific questions, please do reach out to me directly. We are so eager to kick off the 20-21 school year virtually tomorrow! Best, Reed Ramirez Head of School Austin Discovery School August 7, 2020 Head of School Update to the Community: Dear Austin Discovery School Families, ADS will offer a fully-distance learning option throughout the Fall semester. Below you will find our comprehensive distance learning plans in keeping with Texas Education Agency requirements. The first 4 weeks of school will be completely virtual for all students. Our first day of distance learning will be September 1st. Please see the updated ADS calendar at the end of this document. TEA guidance now allows us to apply for a waiver to extend our distance learning period an additional 4 weeks for most students with board approval. To keep our teachers, students, and their families safe, ADS will present the waiver for approval at the August 18th board meeting. If approved, ADS will safely phase in services for special education students during the transition period. This means we will begin offering a full-day on-campus option for students on October 27th. Distance Learning Information Session This upcoming Wednesday, August 12th at 5 PM, the ADS Administrative Team will be hosting a Zoom session to review the information included in this document with a Q&A session to answer questions regarding distance learning this fall. Please join at this link, using the password Kv4ECq. Fall 2020 Family Survey While ADS recognizes it is challenging to decide now whether your child will be attending on-campus or via distance learning this fall, please complete the linked survey to the best of your ability if you have not yet done so. There are important questions about technology needs at the end of the survey. On-Campus Plans Detailed on-campus health and safety information will be provided to families on August 31st. We are committed to requiring masks for all students and teachers, frequent cleaning & disinfection, and maintaining social distancing whenever possible. We will follow all health and safety procedures outlined by the Texas Education Agency here. Virtual Meet the Teacher & Family Training Sessions Prior to Meet the Teacher on August 28th, you will receive a welcome video from your child’s teacher and a link to sign up for a live small group Meet the Teacher session. You will also receive a Zoom link to family training sessions specific to K-5 and 6-8 to learn how to best assist your child in navigating distance learning. Technology Support All students with a demonstrated need will be provided with a Chromebook and/or hotspot to ensure access to a working device and connectivity. ADS will provide a window for families to pick up the devices needed for distance learning in the week prior to school starting. Please fill out the Fall 2020 Family Survey as it will give us important info about your family’s needs. School Supplies Be on the lookout for more information about grade-specific distance-learning school supply lists in the Hoot newsletter next week. Commitment Forms Two weeks prior to on-campus instruction commencing, we will require a commitment to either distance learning or in-person instruction for the first 12-week attendance cycle. Those forms will be made available to families one week prior to their due date. Distance Learning at ADS In the Spring, we were allowed a great deal of flexibility regarding how we implemented distance learning. Within the constraints of the new TEA distance learning requirements, we hope to maintain this flexibility as much as possible going forward. One major change that will be required in this upcoming year is that students must demonstrate daily engagement with the material to be counted present. This engagement must be demonstrated through the submission of daily assignments, interaction with teachers, and logins through Clever. Our Spring family surveys indicated that our students found joy and were most engaged through live experiences with their teachers and peers. These synchronous learning components provide opportunities for structure, connection, and collaboration in keeping with our core values. Kindergarten - 5th Grade We have provided a sample schedule that your student could follow. However, you may customize the asynchronous components to fit your family’s schedule. We will offer both a morning and closing meeting to provide flexibility for families with scheduling challenges. While your child is welcome to attend both meetings and teachers would love to see them, attendance will only be required at one. Please choose whichever option best fits your family’s needs Instructional Minutes: Distance learning will be a mix of synchronous (live) and asynchronous (independent) instruction for all grade levels. TEA requires that K-5 students engage in 180 instructional minutes per day. Learning Management System: Clever will be used to facilitate single-sign-on access and to track student engagement. Seesaw will be used as the learning management system for assigning lessons, arranging small group instruction, collecting student work, building student portfolios, and facilitating family communication. Instructional Model: The following synchronous components will be required at the specific times they are scheduled: Morning Meeting OR Closing Meeting Small-Group Meeting(s) Wednesday Essentials Lesson The following required asynchronous components may be completed at your convenience prior to midnight each school day on which they’re assigned: Math Lesson and Independent Work Reading Lesson and Independent Work Writing Lesson and Independent Work Science Lesson and Independent Work, twice per week Social Studies Lesson and Independent Work, twice per week Essentials Independent Work, Wednesdays Outdoor Time/Hike, once per week 6th Grade - 8th Grade We have provided a sample schedule that your student could follow. However, you may customize the asynchronous components to fit your family’s needs. Electives will meet in daily live lessons combined with asynchronous independent work. If your student hasn’t completed the Elective Choice Sheet for the 2020-2021 school year, please do so class placements can be made. Instructional Minutes: At ADS, distance learning will be a mix of synchronous (live) and asynchronous (independent) instruction for all grade levels. TEA requires that middle school students engage in 240 instructional minutes per day. Learning Management System: Clever will be used to facilitate single-sign-on access and to track student engagement. Google Classroom will be used as the learning management system for assigning lessons, arranging small group instruction, collecting student work, building student portfolios, and facilitating family communication. Instructional Model: The following synchronous components will be required at the specific times they are scheduled: Morning Meeting Small-Group Meeting(s) for Math, Science, History, and ELA Elective Class Meetings The following required asynchronous components may be completed at your convenience prior to midnight each school day on which they’re assigned: Math Lesson and Independent Work English/Language Arts Lesson and Independent Work Science Lesson and Independent Work History Lesson and Independent Work Elective Independent Work Outdoor Time/Hike, once per week PE Lessons and Independent Work EcoWellness Lessons and Independent Work Communication and Feedback Family/Teacher Communication: Teachers will send regular updates informing families of upcoming concepts and learning objectives. Progress reports will be sent home at the end of every trimester. If you have concerns or questions, please reach out to your child’s teachers first at their ADS email addresses. Student/Teacher Communication: Students will be interacting with their teachers on a daily basis for class meetings, and weekly through small group instruction and Wednesday essentials integration. Individual conferences may also be scheduled during teacher office hours to check-in and provide additional support for students. Weekly feedback on student work/assignments. Schoolwide Communication: Families should expect schoolwide updates in the form of the Hoot newsletter, Head of School email updates, and a text message notification system. Student Services Support Individualized Education Program (IEP) and 504 plans will be implemented to the fullest extent possible to ensure that students with disabilities have access to a free and appropriate public education during distance learning. Staff will collaborate with parents in making service recommendations to meet unique student needs. Learning opportunities will be delivered through synchronous and asynchronous opportunities, which may look different for each student. To the greatest extent possible, each student will be provided the specialized instruction, support, and related services identified in their IEP or 504 plan. More information specific to Student Support Services will be provided in a separate document. Section 504: Our campus 504 Coordinator, Rosie Medina (rmedina@austindiscoveryschool.org), is your point of contact for collaboration about your child’s 504 plan. Special Education: Student learning teams will be reaching out to collaborate with families in the creation of distance learning contingency plans as part of the IEP. We will monitor progress and maintain open communication to support the continued growth in the general education curriculum and on IEP goals and objectives. Social-Emotional Support Our SEL Team will be working to support students and their families this year through a variety of means. They will provide resources for all students to access social skill-building through videos via the SEL Google Classroom page. Students who typically receive behavioral MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) Tier 3 social skills support through Restore or a small group will continue to receive targeted social skills instruction directly from the SEL team. We will host virtual family support events during the fall. Be on the lookout for more information coming soon. Distance Learning Attendance & Make-Up Work Under Texas Education Code, §25.092, students are required to attend at least 90% of their classes to receive credit and be promoted. Students earn attendance through daily engagement measures. The engagement methods approved by TEA are as follows: Dailly progress in the learning management platform - SeeSaw (K-5) or Google Classroom (6-8) via login through Clever Daily progress via teacher-student interactions Completion/submission of assignments from student to teacher According to TEA, if a student completes the entire week’s worth of learning activities on Monday and does not log in for the remainder of the week, they must be marked “present” on Monday only and counted “absent” for Tuesday-Friday. Therefore, daily engagement with the material is required to be marked present. Absences from live (synchronous) components: If your child is unable to attend a live component of their learning plan on a given day due to illness or unexpected changes to your family schedule, they can still be counted present for that day through the completion of an asynchronous makeup activity, as long as it is completed on the same day. Just as you would communicate absences with teachers on-campus, please give notice if your child will miss their scheduled small group instruction. Teachers will provide information on how to access makeup work. Class meetings: It will be the student/caregiver’s responsibility to select, complete, and submit documentation of asynchronous social-emotional learning activities on Seesaw (K-5) or Google Classroom (6-8). Small group instruction: Your child’s teacher will assign specific tasks in MobyMax aligned with that week’s lesson. Wednesday Essentials Integration: Students will watch the recording of the live lesson and complete the associated assignment. Expectations for Students & Families Students Follow the daily schedule communicated by their teacher to attend class during synchronous times Complete assigned asynchronous activities daily Participate in learning during live class time Follow classroom norms during distance learning activities Communicate questions and needs with the teachers Turn in assigned work in expected time-frame daily Caregivers Designate a learning space for your child Facilitate academic support and encouragement as a learning partner to motivate and guide your child Support your student in establishing and following a schedule to make sure work is turned in and completed daily Enter into a learning partnership with your child’s teacher(s) by communicating with the teacher as needed Updated ADS Calendar August 1, 2020 Letter to the Community from Reed Ramirez, Head of School (click for PDF) About Us Our History Our Program Testimonials Employment Current Openings Apply for Employment Substitute Teaching Governance Board Minutes Audits, Finance, and Academic Reports Governance Documents 2019 Austin Discovery School. 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