Plans for End of School Year

Plans for End of School Year
Posted on 04/20/2020

Following guidance from health departments and government agencies, the Douglas County School System closed all school buildings beginning March 16 to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The Douglas County School System immediately moved to online learning through its Digital Learning Days (DLD) plan. On April 1, Governor Kemp ordered all public schools closed for the remainder of the school year. Douglas County implemented Digital Learning Days Phase II on April 13, with more structure and accountability for teachers, parents and students. The change to DLD has made it necessary to set new dates and grading practices for the end of the 2020 school year.

With the exception of seniors, students in the Douglas County School System will continue with DLD through May 15. Students will have the opportunity May 18-22 to complete and turn in missing assignments. Teachers will be available to assist students.

Seniors will end DLD on May 1. Teachers will assign final averages based upon grades assigned prior to March 11 in addition to the assignments completed during digital learning. If the grade is 70% or greater, this grade will be the final grade and the end of the school year. Seniors wishing to improve their final grade may continue to complete assignments through May 20.

During DLD, teachers, counselors and media specialists are available for "office hours" via email to field questions on assignments, assist with technology problems and participate in parent or staff meetings. Office hours are 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. for elementary and 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. for middle and high school.

For DLD, teachers are using Google Classroom to receive completed assignments or administer class assessments. Students also may take a picture of their work and email it to their teachers. Teachers are employing video conferencing via Google Hangouts/Meet for lectures and classroom discussion. Video conferencing sessions are recorded for students to access at a later time.

A non-digital component also is available for students who either do not have home internet or whose access is intermittent. In these cases, curriculum materials are shared through printed packets that students can complete at home. Schools have set up procedures for accessing printed materials and turning in completed work to be graded.

Elementary schools will not send progress reports on April 27, 2020 as previously scheduled. Students in kindergarten - 5th grades will be graded on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory scale based on student progress as of March 11, 2020. DLD assignments will be factored into the overall final average but will not negatively impact students’ final grades.

Middle schools will not send progress reports on April 27, 2020 as previously scheduled. Students in grades 6-8 will receive numerical grades. Grades will be based upon student progress in the first three quarters as well as digital learning. 

Students in grades 9-12 will receive numerical grades. On May 15 (May 1 for seniors), teachers will assign final averages based upon grades assigned prior to March 11 in addition to the assignments completed during digital learning. The week of May 18 will be used for students to complete and turn in assignments. No new digital learning activities will be conducted. Teachers will be available as needed to assist students with assignments.

Report cards will be mailed to elementary, middle and high school parents and guardians on June 1.

The school system remains hopeful that graduations will be held as scheduled on May 21 and 22. If social distancing guidelines prevent graduations from taking place in May, the backup dates will be July 21 and 22. A decision will be announced by May 5.
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