Family & Community Engagement

Family Communication during COVID-19

Happy Wednesday, Academy 360 Families –

Information distribution, resource sharing, and online instructional planning is moving at a rapid pace.  Here are more things you need to know as the extended break ends on Friday, April 3rd and as remote learning begins on Tuesday, April 7th.

K-5 Instruction – April 7th

Our teachers have begun working on remote instructional learning, which begins on Tuesday, April 7th.  While we certainly understand the strain this puts on our families and have gotten feedback that this attempt at homeschooling has been beyond challenging, we hope that come 4/7, our K-5 students will be regularly and consistently engaging in their lessons and academic work at least four hours daily.  The instruction will be delivered through the Google Classroom platform and will consist of a combination of independent work, instructional video tools, blended learning websites (Common Lit, Khan Academy, Splash Math) and more for each content area (Literacy, Math, Writing, etc.).

Teachers will host daily office hours – they are more than willing to support you and your students through this new process. We recommend thinking about a daily, consistent schedule that works best for adults and students.  We will have more information as we near 4/7, but wanted families to have ample time to think about the instructional time goals and create a daily schedule that works for everyone in the household.  Kindergarten Families, please look for an email from Mrs. Kristen to your email address; we will be inviting you as parents/guardians to join Google Classroom as to break down the technology barrier for our younger learners less familiar with the platform.  

Internet Access

Great news!  Xfinity has opened up all its hot spots for free!  Linked here is more information – https://wifi.xfinity.com/.  Below is a screenshot of all hotspots in Montbello and Green Valley Ranch.  Should you live outside those neighborhoods, you can search for your zipcode on their website.  Should you still be having difficulty with access, please email me directly.

Computer Access

Thank you to everyone that completed the DPS technology survey – only a few of you need a computer from us.  Ms. Rosie will be reaching out to make appointments for pickup this Thursday (3/26).  There is a very specific way in which we are to give you the device; please stay in your car and wait directly in front of the school building at your appointment time.

ECE Families 

We thank you for your continued advocacy and requests of resources as we hope to keep our youngest learners engaged.  The English/Spanish bilingual attachment is a helpful resource as it outlines and recommends a daily schedule, blended learning sites, at home activities and more.  As it relates to technology, DPS nor Academy 360 has enough computer devices at this time to hand out to all preschoolers. Several of the websites recommended on the attached can be accessed via cell phones and all families should plan to use that device at this time.  We apologize for the inconvenience and will keep families posted should that change.  The ECE team is getting on a call Friday to identify additional ways in which families can engage students beyond what the attachment suggests.  We thank you for your continued patience!

Additional Updates

1. The Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer season is on pause for the moment.  We hope to have more information about the season as we get closer to April 17th;
2. Girls on the Run (GOTR) has been cancelled for the spring.  If you paid electronically, the money has been refunded to you.  If you paid in cash, the school will get that reimbursement to you.  We plan to have GOTR in both fall and spring in the 2020-2021 school year;
3. Rocky Mountain PBS will be aligning its television programming to instructional content beginning Tuesday, April 7th.  More information is coming, but plan on tuning in to PBS, if able!

Should you have questions or concerns about anything mentioned above, please feel free to reach out to me directly – email hidden; JavaScript is required or communicate directly to your teacher.  The (720) 336-0320 number is still available for texting needs.  Additionally, DPS is always updating resources here – https://www.dpsk12.org/coronavirus/faq-covid-19/#family

We know these are unique and challenging times and uncertainty can be extremely stressful.  WE ARE HERE FOR YOU and ready to help!  No ask is too big – just let us know what you need.

Be well, stay well and talk soon, Becky

March 20, 2020

Hello Academy 360 Families –

I hope this update finds you staying safe and healthy during these unique
times in our society.  By now, I am sure you are aware of the Governor’s
Executive Order to close all public and private schools through Friday,
April 17th with a return anticipated for Monday, April 20th.  Since this
announcement, both DPS and A360 teams have been joining together to figure
out what this means for instruction for your students while at home.  While
we do not have all the answers today, I would like to send you
updates/tasks being worked on:

*Instruction*
I had the first of many conversations with teachers today to identify ways
in which we can deliver direct instruction to your students; the goal is to
have this method identified and ready to be used by *Tuesday, April 7th*.
In the meantime, K-5 students should keep working on paper assignments,
tasks posted in Google Classroom, IStation minutes, etc.  Currently, we are
considering our lead teachers recording themselves teaching lessons on
YouTube, then either posting it to Google Classroom or emailing it directly
to families for them to access on their schedule.  The goal would be that
students access these videos daily for instruction.  We hope to supplement
these lessons with paper materials to support the learning.  *Should we go
this route, we will give access to YouTube and limit the times in which
students can log onto their Chromebooks (for example, 8am to 6pm).
SafeSearch will still be on and families will need to monitor their
student’s computer use.  *

You may receive an email from the district inquiring about computer use,
access, etc. – if you have not yet received a device from us, go ahead and
complete the survey as the information will get to us.

*Students with IEPs*
Should your students receive special education services, the goal is to
have those videos emailed directly to both parent/guardian and the student
(for privacy protection).  Should you have questions about this
specifically, please be sure to email Mr. Wright at email hidden; JavaScript is required

*Computer and Materials Access*
We are grateful that we were ahead of most schools in this regard as we
were able to get into your hands both your student’s computer and paper
materials earlier this week.  If you were unable to get these materials, we
will schedule another day or two in which you can come safely into the
school to access these materials – probably later next week.  ECE families,
I am working with DPS to see if we can get preschoolers computers.  Until
then, we hope to identify ways to engage students through online platforms
you can access on your phones, like YouTube, etc.

Things are moving quickly and we will try and get you communication as
quickly as possible.  Please continue to check email, Facebook and text
messages.  Should you need anything immediately, please email me (or Rosie)
directly.

Love to our entire A360 community!

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Hello Academy 360 Families – please remember to practice drop-off and pickup safety with your car and students.  When dropping off your student, please either use the drive lane OR park your car and walk in your student.  Please do not let students run from anywhere in the parking lot – it is a terrible accident waiting to happen.  We appreciate your attention to safety!