DSST Team,
Thank you for living our DYB and Responsibility values to their fullest in this unprecedented time; we are SO grateful for your care and concern for every student and for digging into our new way of working (for the time being). As we consider how to handle the next two weeks, we are putting equity at the center of decision-making. We’re currently faced with hard decisions about how to support students with a variety of needs, and we’re striving to balance maximizing access to optional resources and ensuring we are appropriately addressing issues of equity for all students including students with special needs and MLLs. In this email, you will find details about the Optional Academic Resources we will be providing to families and students, as well as some Advisor Guidelines as you make your weekly check-ins with your advisees.
At this time, DSST is ONLY providing network-managed access to Optional Academic Resources for families, students, and our broader community. We want to provide optional resources to students and families who are able to and interested in accessing them, and we want to be mindful of the equity issues in accessing resources that may impact multiple members of our community.
We know that students will benefit from more targeted resources to support rigorous preparation for AP, PSAT, and SAT, so we’ve created an opportunity for experienced DSST teachers with a track record of success to provide 6 online modules specific to our AP offerings and PSAT/SAT prep. These newly created resources will also be optional.
Our Optional Academic Resources are designed to be leveraged as resources by our broader community: students, families, and staff. These include elementary, middle, and high school resources that are rigorous, standards-aligned, and vetted by our HO Curriculum and Instruction team.
What About Optional Office Hours or Other Resources for My Students?
We know that many of you would prefer to create content specific to your students (because you have the most familiarity with their strengths, gaps, and topics covered), however at this time we are only providing network-managed optional resources.
Our approach during this “Extended Spring Break” is informed by our commitment to equity and, in particular, our understanding of federal and state law regarding the rights of protected student groups. Federal law requires that any time a school provides educational services to the general student population, they must also provide special education and related services (accommodations / modifications, specialized instruction aimed at meeting IEP goals, etc.) in accordance with each child’s individualized education program (IEP) or 504 plan. Any failure to do so could be considered a failure to provide a Free and Appropriate Public Education (part of the federal IDEA law) and could therefore put the school, or in our case the network, at risk of litigation. Please see this article by the National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools for more information.
Given this information, we will not be providing any 1:1 instruction, group instruction, office hours (even optional), feedback on work, etc. during this extended break. DSST will be sending an email to all students with resources that they can access to keep them sharp while we are on this extended break. We are continuing to work on resources for modules that would support students to stay on track for AP/SAT exams and those will be posted soon. If students reach out, please point them back to the DSST communication and resources, and don’t assign them specifics.
We are actively working on plans for how we’ll ensure equity of access for all students if our schools are closed longer than the “Extended Spring Break”, and at this time we are prioritizing a balance between maximizing access to optional resources and mitigating risk. Thank you for your understanding and support.
What Does This Mean For Me?
For questions, suggestions, or ideas about our Online Optional Resources, please contact Leah Peters, VP of Academics, at leah.peters@scienceandtech.org.
As we mentioned last week, every advisor should be checking in with their advisees once a week to ensure that they are doing well and know about the many resources that are available to them.
We know families and students may have many questions for you, and to help you along with these conversations, we have created Advisor Guidelines. This includes general guidelines, as well as specific things you should be covering this week, and next week.
We continue to compile resources as they come our way and add them to the Family Resources page. Some notable additions include:
Tracking COVID-19: Because of the rapidly changing nature of this situation, coupled with student privacy and misinformation concerns, DSST is not able to track or communicate specific information about cases of the Coronavirus in our community. Please understand that we do not have the ability or the legal right to confirm or communicate information about cases. You and your children will undoubtedly hear through the grapevine and from social media of possible cases impacting our families. Please recognize that some of that information may not be correct or complete. In addition, during this time we encourage everyone to use your best judgement in terms of social distancing and other health precautions. Please refer to CDC for further guidelines on this.
Please continue to share this Family Resources page with your families as you see fit, and also refer them to our COVID-19 resources site which will always include the latest updates from our network.
Finally, look out for our daily emails sharing the latest updates, resources, and a fun picture or activity. Feel free to send any fun photos from your Working From Home adventures or a cute pet to feature on Pet of the Day to mac@scienceandtech.org!
Bill