Time to get this school year moving! Check out the summer updates, including:
Wolf Week (Sept 8-11)
To-do Checklist for Parents
Q&A Video Session (July 2020)
School Supply List
Back to School Q&A RECAP: CDL in a Nutshell (Summer 2020)
Miss last month’s virtual Q&A? Look no further, we’ve got ya covered.
Full disclaimer: All information given in this virtual Q&A is tentative and subject to change. Because… covid.
Dr. A began the session with some hard truth: last spring was not ideal & didn’t feel successful to many parents and staff. It was a reaction in a sudden emergency situation, where schools were given strict guidance from the state and BSD. Dr. A acknowledges that it didn’t provide a successful standard for rigor.
Fast forward to this fall. How have things changed? Let’s walk through the major components of distance learning this September.
First, take a look at some new phrases that will dominate this conversation. No need for a quiz. We’re gonna learn this whether we want to or not.
***CDL (Comprehensive Distance Learning): Remote learning through your neighborhood school, off-site and online. ***Available all year to students, regardless if we move to a hybrid model.
Hybrid Model: When deemed safe, the blending of in-person (two days a week) with at-home sessions
Synchronous: Learning that happens when participants interact at the same time and in the same space (live teaching)
Asynchronous: Learning that happens in elapsed time, like email, message boards, video, podcasts etc (such as last spring)
Applied Learning: Independent work by students, though teachers are still available for questions/interaction
Cohort: A group of students either online or in-person
ODE: Oregon Department of Education, who hands down state-wide mandates and guidance re: return to school
Flex Online: A totally separate BSD school that is also fully online, but is geared towards families not returning to neighborhood schools
So, here we find ourselves in a Comprehensive Distance Learning situation for the foreseeable future. Settle in for a nice long read as we go over all the moving parts.
SCHEDULE: Consistent
Students will now have the same schedule every day, (as opposed to a rotating A/B schedule), with classes beginning at 9:15am and ending at 3:50pm (our normal Cedar Park hours). Having said that, Wednesday’s schedule is still being confirmed as this may be used for special education and intervention services. So… hold tight on Wednesday.
LEARNING: Synchronous
While the exact CDL schedule is still being confirmed (due to ongoing negotiations with the teachers union), Cedar Park students can expect the same five classes every day, each 45 minutes long, including three core classes (humanities, math, & science) and two electives. Each period will begin with 15-20 synchronous minutes with a teacher. The rest of the period will be applied learning (fancy name for kids doing their work on their own, with the possibility of small group breakouts). The teacher will remain online & be available for questions/concerns until the end of the period.
In addition to these five classes, their school day tentatively includes:
30-minute lunch break
25-minute advisory session to promote socio-emotional health (which could include WEB for 6th graders, team building etc)
90 minute block for independent reading (humanities book), wellness (a screen break to catch up on assignments), or applied learning (doing their homework). This time may also be used to check in with AVID or ESL students, or any student with an IEP.
ATTENDANCE: Taken
Though the actual mechanism hasn’t been finalized, teachers will be taking attendance every day in every class period. Students will be marked as present if they participate in the zoom call, communicate with a teacher via phone, chat, text or email, or turn in an assignment.
Teachers need to report on attendance every day, but students need to be given the flexibility to complete tasks outside of the "normal school hours," given parents' work schedules. How exactly this is going to happen is TBD.
GRADES: Given
Even though we are waiting on final guidance from the Oregon Department of Education (ODE), BSD and Dr. Anderson fully expect that grades will be given.
CANVAS: Required
It appears to have taken a global pandemic, but finally, all Cedar Park teachers will be using the same learning management tool, Canvas. (Say goodbye to google classroom & all the random websites). Additionally, each teacher will be required to format their Canvas page in the same way.
Sidenote for the newbies: Canvas has not been previously mandated (leaving students to navigate various platforms depending on the teacher), so having all classes on one platform is a game-changer. Canvas is one location where a student can see all their classes, click into individual classes to see assignments, the calendar (due dates), and messages from the teacher. It is possible to have a view-only parent account for Canvas-- there’s even an app. Learn more & even watch a fun Canvas webinar right HERE.
ELECTIVES: Two
Students will now have two electives instead of four. Ms. Clifford, our vice principal, is literally going through every student’s forecasting sheet (900+!) to ensure that they are given one of their top two choices. BLESS THIS WOMAN. The offered electives are still up in the air, as BSD is waiting for more guidance from the Oregon Health Authority surrounding the safety of choir/band this school year, but art and PE will for sure be offered, and the Spanish position is open.
START DATE: Monday, 9/14
The first day of school has been pushed out a week as BSD staff, facing a steep learning curve with all of these changes, will need additional time for professional development. As Ms. Clifford put it, “We need a really strong start and we know that.” AMEN. YES. STRONG START, PLEASE.
What about the rest of the year? BSD has not released a new calendar, as they are still negotiating with the teacher’s union, but we do know the kids will be in CDL (remote learning) until November 13th.
HYBRID: Metric-dependant
Last July, Governor Brown released the metrics that must be met before schools can open in-person, even part-time. Read all the gritty details and various exceptions on OPB, KATU, or on Oregonlive.
Basically, schools can only return to in-person learning if the following criteria are met:
The state must be at or below 5% COVID-19 positivity rate for three weeks
Counties must have cases drop below 10 per 100,000 residents per week, for at least three weeks. ***Most likely the hardest hurdle for BSD. Here’s a listing of Washington County’s weekly case rates (per 100,000) since 7/5, which have ranged from 58 to 43. We will need that to drop to 10 for three weeks straight in order to move into a hybrid model.
Counties must also have at or below 5% positivity rate for at least three weeks
However, Cedar Park is already working hard to ensure a smooth transition to hybrid, whenever that may be. Here’s how:
The draft hybrid schedule is already developed, which will be slightly different from our full-time CDL schedule. Students learning remotely will begin earlier in the morning & will have their synchronous zoom sessions for core classes while the in-person students are in electives. Electives in hybrid will be asynchronous (as elective teachers have in-person students all day). When it’s their day to attend in-person, students will begin later in the morning (this draft said 10am), but end at regular dismissal (3:50pm). Honestly, my brain just exploded. Thank you to whoever figured that mess out.
Eventual cohorts are being built from the fall’s CDL sections. Instead of reinventing the wheel when we move to hybrid, Cedar Park admins are already building the student schedules in a way that allows classrooms to be split into two heterogeneous cohorts that minimizes exposure in a hybrid model, meaning cohorts are generally being driven by electives. Confused? Basically, when your cherub receives their schedule this fall (for CDL), they will probably notice the same 33ish kids in all their core classes. Those same sections will be halved when we go to hybrid (half on M/T, half on Th/F). There won’t be a huge reshuffle of students and schedules when hybrid eventually begins because they are creating the learning cohorts now.
COHORTS: Balanced
A cohort, just another fun phrase we’ve learned this pandemic, is basically a small group of students that are kept together as much as possible to limit the amount of cross-exposure between the student body.
There are a few different types of cohorts that your student will be a part of when we move into the hybrid model.
Attendance cohort: The kids that go to Cedar Park on the same days during hybrid, either M/T or Th/F. BSD is looking at family information to ensure that all students from a household will attend school on the same days (and if that doesn’t work for you, then let Cedar Park know).
Learning cohort: This is the group of roughly 17 students that will be in the same physical room for their core classes and possibly, their electives. These students will remain in the classroom while their core teachers come to them. Most likely they will have lunch in that classroom. However, they will move into their elective classrooms.
Electives are a bit tricky and not as flexible so the entire learning cohort may not be together 100% of the time. Learning cohorts are generally based on elective choice, minimizing student contact with the greater student body, but with 900+ students, that can’t be absolutely guaranteed.
Sidenote: One cohort not mentioned in this session, but mentioned in previous BSD FAQs is the transportation cohort-- the group of kids that will ride the bus together. But… let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
News flash: ODE requires cohorts to be heterogeneous (diverse in character and content), so Cedar Park (or any school) can’t put all the IEPs or ELLs into their own cohorts. They can’t lump all the Cedar Mill or Terra Linda kids together. All cohorts will have the same ratio of gender, IEPs, socio-economics, special ed/intervention/AVID students etc. Elective choice drives a portion of the cohort-building, but ultimately, they must be balanced.
ALL YOUR BURNING QUESTIONS
Can students stay in CDL (remote learning), even if BSD enters a hybrid model? Yes, students can stay in CDL (distance learning) even when the hybrid option opens up. FOR THOSE IN THE BACK: Yes, yes, yes, students can stay in CDL (distance learning) even when the hybrid option begins.
Their experience will be different from the fall’s CDL schedule, and their interaction with teachers will be somewhat limited (electives move to asynchronous), but yes, they will still have that option through the end of this school year.
What is the difference between FLEX and CDL? This graphic pretty much sums it up.
Other cool items about CDL include:
Cedar Park teachers still have access to Apex Learning materials (used in Flex)
MYP methodology
WEB support for 6th grade (read more below)
Access to Cedar Park library & classroom libraries
Natural transition into neighborhood high school
Is WEB happening this year? Yes, WEB (Where Everyone Belongs) is an 8th grade mentorship group that supports incoming 6th graders. Each spring, 7th graders apply to join the WEB team and spend the first couple months each fall meeting 6th graders during advisory, doing ice breakers, answering questions, and providing information on various topics surrounding what it means to be in middle school.
Last spring, that application process happened online and this year’s 8th grade WEB team is gearing up to meet and have fun with incoming 6th graders, albeit virtually.
When will my precious student receive their schedule? Not until the very last minute. Those schedules are gonna be coming in hot.
And that’s a wrap! Check out the full 60 minute video or dive deep into ODE’s “Ready Schools, Safe Learners” document.
YOUR MONEY AT WORK: New Cedar Park Sign
Even though students will begin this school year at home, our community’s fundraising effort from last school year continues to pay off. A new Cedar Park sign was installed on-site this summer, thanks to the joint effort of the Cedar Park PTC and our Cedar Park admins. The Cedar Park PTC contributed $5000 toward this new sign rebuild, an effort two years in the making. The previous sign was removed in 2017 due to rotting wood.
Check out our new sign, ready and waiting for our students and staff to return to school. This successful project was funded by the Cedar Park 5K and our generous community donors.
June 2020 Community Meeting Minutes & Treasurer's Report
The Cedar Park PTC held its last community meeting of the year virtually on 6/8. Your PTC Board was on hand to give PTC news and Dr. Anderson, CPMS Principal, shared Cedar Park updates.
Topics included:
Communication plans for the summer
2020-21 PTC Committee Lead Openings
Ways for new families to stay informed
Approval of 2020-21 Budget
Approval of the 2020-21 PTC Board
President, Bettina Jeszenszky
Vice President, Erika Hammond
Secretary, Hannah Donohue
Treasurer, Skye Kutansky
Volunteer Co-Coordinator, Jenna Dornblaser
Read through the minutes right HERE. Questions can be directed to Bettina Jeszenszky, PTC President.
Spring 2020 Principal Coffee Recap: Where's Our Crystal Ball?
Dr. Anderson’s first virtual principal coffee was a huge success, with over 80+ attendees. While the chat feature was going strong, Dr. Anderson and Student Supervisor Melissa Ackerman did their best to keep up and answer questions. Here’s the highs (and lows) of what we know (and more honestly, don’t know) about school this fall.
What Will School Look Like Next Year?
Short answer? We don’t know. Dr. Anderson is participating in a District think tank of administrators and District leaders to generate ideas and hear back from parents, but the truth is, nothing has been decided.
First reason? All districts are waiting to hear from the Oregon Department of Education for their official guidance for next year. Side note: those recommendations were released on Wed, 6/10, and it’s a 46 page read of flowcharts. Joy.
Second reason? The State of Oregon hasn’t released their proposed budget, meaning school districts across the state are unable to finalize their own numbers. However, all are bracing for cuts as the recent economic downturn has greatly diminished the predicted state revenue. The recent Friday furloughs have been a means to preempt some of those budget woes. According to Matt Schoolfield in BSD’s Business Dept, these furlough Fridays have saved 30+ teaching positions for 2020-21.
Third reason? Ummm….. It’s called a global pandemic. Where.To.Start. Once BSD learns what social distancing measures are being required of schools, they can begin the work of implementing these measures into our schools.
Will students be required to wear masks? We don’t know, but probably in some capacity. That’s a Department of Health decision.
What will PE look like? Not sure, though Dr. Anderson has requested additional money from the PTC to double the number of equipment, as half will need to be sanitized while the other half is in use.
Can students take an antibody test to see if they’ve already had it? As Dr. A put it, that’s “above her pay grade.” That is something beyond the scope of BSD at this point.
Can school start early to avoid the inevitability of a winter closing? Again, nothing is decided, but that seems unlikely as an early start would require a shortened planning period for new guidelines, a new agreement with the teacher’s union, and the conflict of summer bond construction at multiple sites.
Will school start on time (September 8)? Possibly, but again (say it with me)... nothing has been decided. The governor’s latest guidance restricts gatherings over 25 through September. If that holds true, it will be difficult to be compliant.
Will school start in person this fall? (All together now!).. nothing has been decided. The District does not know Oregon Department of Education’s requirements to open in person in the fall.
Could BSD offer a hybrid model, where students alternate between the classroom and online? Yes, it’s a possibility. In fact, literally EVERYTHING IMAGINABLE is on the table, including:
A/B days
Students alternating each week
Students alternating every three weeks
AM/PM sessions, which would avoid lunch
Creating some sort of cohort where students remain in the classroom and the teachers come in & out (better for contact tracing)
Lunch in their classrooms
One way hallways
Offering parents some sort of choice (online vs. physical classroom)
Staggered start times
No volunteers or visitors
No field trips or school socials
How is Cedar Park going to ensure academic rigor? (Well isn’t THIS the million dollar question!) Sadly, this year’s online learning is exposing the gaps in our community more than ever before. While many students at Cedar Park are engaged and regularly turning in work, the reality is that there are many students who have not logged on in nine weeks.
So how to ensure learning continues? Well, BSD has the luxury of watching other school systems around the world go back first, so they can pull from those successes. Second, they’ve been able to use this spring to build valuable experience. Students need to learn how to be online students and teachers need to learn how to be online teachers. That’s not something that happens overnight and now Cedar Park staff now have some experience in what works and what doesn’t.
Dr. A identified three ways that she feels Cedar Park and BSD can ensure academic growth during these crazy times:
Clear expectations for teachers
Listening to families & engaging with parents
Developing deeper relationships, even online
Can families expect more higher requirements for online learning next year? Yes, but first add synchronous to your “Words I Learned this Pandemic.” Dr. Anderson expects that next school year, teachers will be required to include some sort of ‘live’ or synchronous interaction with students online. These will need to be recorded for our students who struggle to be online at specific times.
The threshold for online work will be greater next year and will most likely include more traditional grading. This spring was an emergency response to a sudden global event. Moving forward, the expectations and accountability will increase for all.
What electives will be offered next fall? Awesome question from the back, but.. you guessed it, nothing has been decided. Dr. Anderson and Megan Clifford, our vice principal, can’t create a master schedule until they know how many staff members they will have. And they won’t know that until BSD creates its budget, which we can't do until the State releases its budget. See how that works (or.. actually, doesn’t work?). All schools are on hold with their schedule until budget numbers are released, staffing is confirmed, and required social distancing guidelines are communicated. Dr. A expects to lose between 4-12 staff members next school year.
Cedar Park has been lucky enough in the past to offer the full complement of fine art electives: drama, choir, band, and art, and had planned on bringing back Spanish. Whether we can continue to do so remains to be seen, especially with the expected social distancing measures.
When will schedules be available? Due to a myriad of reasons (see question above), students most likely won’t know their electives or their schedule until right before school. As in, these schedules will be coming in hot. There’s a real possibility that they won’t be released until the first day.
Can the PTC pay for additional staffing? No, BSD does not allow parent groups to pay for staffing. However, the 2020-21 PTC budget does include multiple items that support this new world, including remote art boxes (for students without art supplies at home), additional outdoor picnic tables (to encourage & create more outdoor seating), more PE equipment (since equipment will need to be rotated/sanitized more often), and additional carts for teachers (since most likely teachers, instead of students, will be moving through the building more).
Can the federal government provide any financial support? Well, doesn’t that sound lovely. However, there appears to be no current plans to earmark education dollars at the federal level.
What happened to the Student Success Act? Yes, what about last year’s knight in shining armour that was going to swoop in to save us all to provide an influx of money to public education? Well, with the sudden & dramatic economic downturn due to COVID-19, the State has delayed collection of these new taxes (as they were directly tied to business revenue). Read more HERE.
Dr. Anderson’s Biggest Fears:
The possibility that BSD and/or the community will go too fast & then have to totally shut down again.
All of the learning we are losing, though some comfort is the knowledge that every school across America is grappling with the same issue. Beaverton and Cedar Park aren’t alone in this struggle.
How this pandemic & new guidelines will economically impact school districts for at least five years.
Parents Bringing the Heat
True to form, our parents had a few thoughts themselves. Here’s a quick roundup of the ideas tossed about:
Make all teachers use Canvas. Our students need all the info & assignments in one place. Ummmm…. done. Next school year, ALL TEACHERS must use Canvas (bye bye google classroom!).
Fix Canvas itself or at least offer better IT help. There seem to be frequent glitches within the system. A better student help desk would be ideal. Sidenote for all the newbies who are confused here: Canvas is the learning management platform used by all middle school & high schools in BSD. It’s where teachers post assignments, messages, etc. There’s a parent app that can be highly useful to check up on your little cherub.
Don’t make assignments optional. While we understand the pass/incomplete decision this spring, our students need graded work with summative assessments (tests) to sustain accountability. The work needs to matter!
Consider creating a student to student support system to help build friendships & fun throughout the year.
Focus on the core classes. Is it possible to skip some of the electives or at least greatly diminish their requirements so students can focus on humanities, science, and math?
Specific Items for Incoming Families: Burning Questions Answered
Math Curriculum: Cedar Park has all incoming 6th graders on an accelerated math course that puts them into AGS2 as freshman (Algebra/Geometry/Statistics). They will take Math 6/7 as 6th graders, Math 7/8 as 7th graders, and AGS1 as 8th graders. This model has proved successful in raising test scores the last three years and been duplicated in other BSD middle schools. Cedar Park has the highest math growth compared to like-size schools in Oregon. There is always a small group that tests into even high mather as 6th graders and a small group that repeats AGS1 as freshman to receive extra support.
Canvas: This learning management software is the biggest learning curve for 6th graders (imagine a secondary version of SeeSaw). Dr. Anderson recommends that if your student has an older sibling, have them show your new middle schooler the system and how it works. Once Canvas is set up for incoming students, parents can sign-up for notifications/parent access, which is super handy in the beginning. This is ENTIRELY SEPARATE from Parentvue (which posts grades).
First Day of School: If/when this happens in person, the first day of school is always 6th grade only. WEB leaders (8th grade leadership group) do ice-breakers with the 6th graders in small groups and 6th graders walk an abbreviated schedule to meet their teachers.
Sports: THPRD handles sports at the middle school level, or parents could look into the local club scene. Hopefully they’ll be back in some capacity in the fall, but that is not a decision made by BSD.
Other Fun Cedar Park News:
8th Grade Send Off is scheduled for Thursday, 6/11 from 10am- noon. 8th grade families can expect more details soon. Items will be mailed if you are unable to attend.
Yearbooks for current 6th & 7th graders can be picked up next fall. All 8th graders will receive a yearbook (thanks to the PTC) at the send-off on 6/11.
Chromebooks will not be returned. 8th graders will turn into high school. CPMS will collect this fall. Cedar Park was slated to receive new chromebooks anyway.
Families that want to enroll in BSD’s Flex Online (not to be confused with our current remote learning) can check it all out here.
And that’s a wrap! Bravo and thank you to Dr. Anderson and Ms. Ackerman for keeping up with a very active chat and THANK YOU to the many parents who attended. Let’s keep working together to keep Cedar Park awesome.
Introducing 2020-21 PTC Budget
We are proud to present the 2020-21 Budget. Your PTC Board, together with Dr. Anderson, went line by line through this year’s budget to discuss the value of each item and to craft a 2020-21 budget that works for Cedar Park during these unprecedented times of social distancing and unknown regulations.
Significant changes include:
Addition of Remote Learning Art Boxes ($1200) for students without home art supplies
Additional PE Equipment ($2500) as Cedar Park will need to double its shared equipment so half can be sanitized while the other half is in use
Addition of Carts for Teachers ($5400) as preliminary thoughts believe that more teachers will be moving room in order to accommodate social distancing measures
Addition of five more Picnic Tables ($3475) as outdoor eating will be encouraged to accommodate social distancing measures
Reduction of proposed income by $15,000 in response to diminished economy as well as larger savings (due to non-spending in spring 2020)
While this is our best guess as to the needs of the 2020-21 school year, the Cedar Park PTC Board acknowledges the rapidly changing dynamics and recommendations in our current pandemic. This budget may be adapted and reproved by a community vote this fall if needs and guidance change.
All community members can vote on this budget at our virtual PTC Community Meeting TONIGHT, Monday, 6/8 at 6:30pm. Email Bettina (president@cedarparkptc.org) for zoom info.
May 2020 Cedar Reader: PTC Edition
It's been awhile, Cedar Park! Check out the latest & greatest PTC news, including:
May Community Meeting minutes & YTD Treasurer’s Report
Yearbook ordering info
Open volunteer positions
Cedar Park's virtual talent show
How our staff have been breaking the internet