Daphne Gronich concerned about learning, impact on grades, and internet access for students during the closure.

LAUSD has now initiated a closure. Pali has been discussing this for over a week and the administration, faculty, and staff have been discussing eLearning and all different aspects of the impact of school closures including the needs of all students. Legal counsel has been involved in the discussions as well.  Releasing the students on Friday was to have teachers work on and practice their plans and their plans to roll out to students. This is a historical event and every school in the country is grappling with it and the problems it creates. 
There will be challenges and there will be some messiness at times but communication is the best way to deal with it.
There are alternative plans for students who do not have access to the internet or devices. 
Also concerned about social isolation; want to be available to the students so that they know that the school is here for them.
Some districts are closed through April; some for two days.
Rick Steil gave a shout out to Dr. Magee's leadership on this and in calling for a pupil free day on Friday because it was really needed.
Dr. Magee is proud of Pali and it has been an incredibly collaborative moment
Paula Anderson also said that it was collaborative and that everyone was looking for solutions for learning and to avoid the issues with social isolation, especially for students with special needs, some of whom have special social issues.
Feeling positive about the likelihood that everyone will be paid. There should be some more definitive answers from the governor by Tuesday.
PCHS E-Learning Guidelines presented by Monica Iannessa (the plan is in the materials)
Faculty and staff to work overtime to implement these plans
PCHS decided to present e-Learning through Schoology as the students utilize this more than Infinite Campus.
PCHS proceeded on the assumption that the governor implemented the highest standards.
So the plan included attendance procedures; that was eased off a little because the governor indicated that funding would continue. So attendance procedures were modified so that the teachers would know that the students were engaged. The teachers wanted to keep a bell schedule and to set boundaries so that each class would have discrete time with each class.
Some teachers are using the Big Blue Button to give lectures.
Schoology attendance quiz to let the teacher know that the students are engaged.
Teachers will be cognizant of the material they are presenting; for instance, whether it is review material or new material and how that is presented and the rigor of the material given the circumstances.
English language limitations have been considered as well.
The material can be mandatory and can be graded; teachers can see if students are working toward their learning targets.
Limitations for campus access are delineated in the materials.
Guidelines across the country were looked at; many districts have e-Learning for snow days and this material was helpful.
The IT staff have been instrumental in pushing out this plan.
Attendance quiz is now being called virtual participation verification but it can be modified to attendance quiz if it needs to be changed.
Reeve Chudd inquired about some of the platforms that are being presented. Ed Puzzle is being used but YouTube is an option as well. ScreenCast is also available. Big Blue Button is similar to Zoom. Teachers have all of these platforms available. 
When the teachers were engaging with the kids on these platforms in class as they were trying them out the kids were very engaged. Rick Steil mentioned that they were all preparing for this at the Faculty meeting on Tuesday so they were able to engage the students with e-Learning for the past couple of days. Teachers are cognizant of the concerns about too much screentime so most teachers likely won't be lecturing for the entire block period. So the check-in is to virtually tether the student and have the teachers connect with the students. 
Reeve Chudd inquired about when emailing the teachers is appropriate. 
A detailed message will be sent out to parents and students with guidelines for parents and students.
Paula Anderson mentioned that John Vieira and Steven Burr have been extremely helpful in implementing these plans especially with regard to technology.
Paula Anderson discussed that IEP students are being addressed because a certain number of minutes of education and certain services must be provided. Mary Bush discussed that all of these things are being considered and discussed with the appropriate experts. Behavioral students are more difficult to provide but there are plans to put as many services in place as quickly as possible.
Timelines do stop when school is closed but Pali will continue to do assessments if it is safe to do so. IEP timelines do not stop so there will be an effort to conduct these telephonically if possible. Pali is collaborating with other districts and exchanging ideas.
Not all of the teachers are comfortable with this e-Learning platform but other teachers have been trying to assist those who are less comfortable with it. For now, there are some people here on campus and technology support is here.
Larry Wiener brought up that within the PLCs the teachers who are more confident with technology are helping the teachers who are less confident. The atmosphere has been very positive.
Don Parcell brought up that there has been one-on-one assistance to those who need it.
Monica Iannessa brought up that the social workers have been given instruction on the Big Blue Button to keep in touch with the kids who have anxiety over this.
Larry Wiener mentioned that we should not overreact with the glitches; even now we do not reach 100% of the students 100% of the time.
Sara Margiotta brought up access to the math paraprofessionals for tutoring services. The paraprofessionals are virtually available for tutoring and assistance.
Some of the platforms, such as Big Blue Button, provide for live discussions.




 

Pam Magee and Lisa Corr have been discussing the necessary resolution that the charter schools should have. The conversion charters worked together with Lisa Corr. 
Dara Williams suggested that the resolution should be up to 28 days.
Reeve Chudd inquired about free and reduced lunch. LAUSD  is creating centers for free and reduced lunch for students to receive their free and reduced lunch. Pali students are able to take advantage of this. It is the same process as the summertime program. LAUSD has 40 of those centers to provide meals and childcare for students in the lower grades. It has been confirmed that these services are available to charter school students. This information will be given to the students who use these services. 

Paula Anderson raised the issue of the Election Committee Meeting going forward given that elections will need to be held prior to the end of the school year. A discussion was held about the benefits of adhering to the current timeline for the election schedule. Because we are in an emergency situation the Board discussed making the Election Committee a board member only committee until school resumes. The two members of the committee who are board members are Paula Anderson and Reeve Chudd, with Paula Anderson being the Chair. Brooke King is no longer on the committee because she is running to be re-elected. Other committees were discussed as well. Most committees can put off holding a meeting until school re-opens or until we have more information on the length of the school closure and the measures that the Federal, State, and Local governments have put in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The other Board committee that should meet is the Budget & Finance Committee. A vote for how that committee will handle its business during the school closure will be placed on the agenda for the next regularly scheduled Board Meeting on March 24th. Greg Wood and Sara Margiotta will consider revisions to the Budget & Finance Committee calendar but will not make any decisions on revisions.
Because this was an emergency meeting and the existence of a pandemic, the Board took a vote on allowing the Election Committee to move forward as a Board member only committee. The administration will follow up with Lisa Corr about the propriety of this vote.
Dara Williams moved that the Election Committee be a board member only committee for the time PCHS remains closed.
Emily Hirsch seconded the motion.
The Board unanimously adopted the motion.

 

Questions about limiting contact with students
Yearbook production
Dara Williams mentioned that it seemed appropriate for the same rules to apply as apply during the time that school is in session.
VAPA is especially concerned about being able to communicate in small groups in person
Monica said it should be vetted through the parents with express permission from them
The administration will develop a protocol for this.
For grades and e-Learning, this is something that the administration will address.
Don Parcell said so far a number of campus activities have been canceled but that doesn't mean that there will not be ways for small groups to meet on campus once the appropriate evaluations that have been made.