Safety & Precautions

Schools will:

• Teach and reinforce good hygiene measures such as handwashing, covering coughs, and social distancing when possible.
• Encourage the “Gel in/Gel out” procedure. Providing hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol to students and staff as they come in and out of the building each day.
• Provide hand soap, sanitizer, paper towels, and no-touch trash cans in all bathrooms, classrooms, and frequently trafficked areas.
• Post signage in classrooms, hallways, and entrances to communicate how to hinder the spread of COVID-19, symptoms, preventative measures (including staying home when sick), good hygiene, and school/district specific protocols.
• Clean/disinfect frequently touched surfaces at least daily and shared objects after each use.
• Encourage students to bring hand sanitizer and allow face coverings to be worn if desired by the student and/or parent.
• Ensure water fixtures and features are cleaned regularly.
• Allow students to bring water bottles from home and encourage the use of the no-touch water fill stations that have been installed in all schools.
• Ensure ventilation systems operate properly and increase the circulation of outdoor air as much as possible, as long as this does not pose a safety or health risk to students or staff.
• Conduct deep cleaning of schools prior to students/staff returning and schedule periodic cleanings during weekends and/or school holidays/breaks (to the extent practicable).
• Utilize ionization capabilities of HVACs, enabling air to be cleaned as it circulates through the system.

Arrival/dismissal

• Signage posted in classrooms, hallways, and entrances to communicate how to hinder the spread of COVID-19, symptoms, preventative measures (including staying home when sick), good hygiene, and school/district specific protocols.
• Individual schools may reschedule arrival times to accommodate smaller groups of students.

Serving meals

Schools will implement standard operating procedures while taking preventative measures such as:

• Student and staff hand washing before and after meal service.
• Provide hand sanitizer for students and staff.
• Avoid sharing of foods and utensils/ No self serve using shared utensils.
• Conduct cleaning and sanitizing of cafeterias and high-touch surfaces throughout the school day.

Hybrid Model

Same as above and include:

• Use disposable plates, utensils, etc.
• Mark spaced lines to enter the cafeteria and serving lines (to the extent practicable); designate entrance and exit flow paths; stagger use.

Academics

As we enter into the 2021-2022 school year, we face learning challenges created by the COVID 19 pandemic. Our district is committed to supporting our staff as they design and deliver instruction to our students. Teachers will continue to meet in Professional Learning Communities (PLC) to prepare, plan, and monitor students' learning and mastery.

Remote

Remote learning will occur at different times during the Continuous Learning Plan.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten instruction and assignments will be provided by teachers for students using the platform Google Classroom. To fully cover the required curriculum, students should expect to spend up to 22.5 hours per week engaged in learning as required by the Tennessee State Board of Education. Recorded instruction and daily checks on progress will be combined with independent work supplemented by LCSS learning materials. All learning activities and materials will be aligned to the Tennessee State Standards for all subjects.

Grades 1 - 12

Grades 1-12 instruction and assignments will be provided by teachers for students using the platform Google Classroom. To fully cover the required curriculum, students should expect to spend up to 35 hours per week engaged in learning as required by the Tennessee State Board of Education. Concurrent, synchronous, and asynchronous instruction and daily checks on progress will be combined with independent work supplemented by LCSS learning materials. All learning activities and materials will be aligned to the Tennessee State Standards for all subjects.

The required hours for remote learning engagement include synchronous, asynchronous, and concurrent instruction, reading, completion of tasks and assignments, writing, experiments, homework, and other activities. This is not designed nor intended to be sitting in front of a screen for all of these hours. Students may complete assignments at their own pace, which could impact their engagement times.

Remote Learning teachers are highly qualified in their assigned subject and grade levels. All teachers hold valid Tennessee certification and have completed all necessary fingerprinting and background checks. Teachers are available to students via email or during onsite appointment times.

Attendance for Remote Learning

Per the Tennessee State Board of Education and Continuous Learning Plan Policy, Lawrence County School System will track and report daily attendance. Every student must participate in traditional, hybrid, or remote learning every instructional day. Schools will provide students in Grades 1 through 12 access to 7 hours of instructional time each school day and students in Kindergarten with access to 4.5 hours of instructional time each school day.

Absences during remote instruction will be noted and any resulting attendance interventions administered, according to the School Board Attendance Policy. Schools shall seek and receive daily visual, verbal, and/or written verification of student participation in instructional time. Attendance expectation accountability includes the following:

• Teacher phone contact with the student
• Teacher phone contact with a parent or guardian
• Remote instruction attendance log through Google Classroom
• Student work completion through remote platform
• Other remote formats initiated through the school system

A copy of the Lawrence County School System attendance policy can be reviewed at www.lcss.us by clicking below. Board policies are subject to change at any time as the Lawrence County School Board meets monthly.

Make-up Work

Students with absences are expected to complete the work missed. Students should communicate with teachers within 2 school days of returning from absences to make arrangements to complete work missed. The teacher will allow a reasonable amount of time for the student to make up his/her work. A reasonable amount of time should be at least a day for each day of absence plus one extra day. LCSS teachers and staff are entitled to provide an additional amount of time for students on a case-by-case basis.

academic & intervention programs

The following programs are being purchased for ELA & Math instruction and intervention.

• Smarty Ants by Achieve3000 - K-2
• Achieve3000 Literacy - 3-8
• Achieve3000 Literacy & Math - 9-12 Intervention
• Ready Math - K-8
• iReady Intervention - K-8
• CKLA/Amplify ELA - K-8
• MyPerspectives ELA - 9-10
• Envision Math - 9-11

Course progress & Grading

The student has the sole responsibility to complete the work for his or her courses. LCSS teachers will support and/or tutor students as needed over the course of the academic term. Any student who needs support should inform the teacher.

Parents play a vital role in their child’s remote education. Parental support and encouragement are critical for students working in online courses. Parents shall ensure access to the necessary technology to support digital learning. Monitoring of a student’s progress will be a key component to student success and should occur at regular intervals during the day and week.

LCSS teachers will make several individual contacts with students and parents during the academic term to provide regular feedback to students, but ultimately the student must take the initiative to complete the work to stay on track for completion. Students, who fall significantly behind or who struggle with completion, may be required by the teacher to attend academic support sessions to develop the skills needed to ensure their completion of the content. Summer Learning and/or before/after school tutoring opportunities may be offered or required, as needed.

Parents and students can, and are encouraged to, monitor grades through the Skyward portal and student work and teacher feedback through Google Classroom.

academic honesty expectations

Lawrence County School System insists on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic honesty applies to all students in all classes. Schoolwork must be based on a student’s original ideas, while fully acknowledging the work of others. Teachers will provide guidance on when and how to use acknowledgments and how to paraphrase.

Examples of failure to follow the Academic Honesty Expectations include:

• Plagiarism: the act of passing off someone else’s work as your own;
• Fabrication of data: manufacturing data for a table, chart, survey or similar requirement;
• Collusion: supporting academic dishonesty of another student, as in allowing work to be copied or submitted by another;
• Duplication of work: the presentation of the same work for different assessments and/or course requirements;
• Also including, but not limited to, any other behavior that creates an unfair advantage: taking unauthorized material into an assessment environment, disrupting an assessment by misconduct, any effort at passing on information related to an assessment, failures to comply with assessment instructions, impersonating another student, stealing assessment materials.

response to intervention (rti)

All students will be universally screened in Reading, Math, and Writing and all data will be considered by the RTI team to determine if services are needed. All K-2 students will complete CKLA "Boost" to remediate and support Foundational Skills learning. iReady Intervention will be in place for K-8 students for remediation and acceleration. Students in Grades K-8 will be screened using the TDOE Benchmark Assessment, students in Grades 3-8 will be screened using STAR Reading & iReady Math, and students in Grades 9-12 will be screened using an Early Warning System. If your student qualifies for RTI services, we will contact you with more information. Any student needing RTI services will receive them whether traditional, hybrid, or remote, according to state and federal RTI guidelines. These guidelines include daily research-based intervention of appropriate duration and intensity, bi-weekly testing in the area of need, review of progress by the team to determine growth and modify future intervention to meet needs, and monthly communication with parents about student progress. For families of students in Grades K-8, please note that intervention will begin after the universal screening process has been completed.

English as a second language

Upon initial enrollment in the Lawrence County School System, the parents of all students will complete the Home Language Survey. Students requiring screening in Grades K-12 will be screened using a WIDA screener (WAPT for kindergarten and WIDA Screener for Grades 1-12). If your student qualifies for ESL services, you will be contacted with additional information. Any returning English Language Learner who has not tested English Proficient (using the state’s exit criteria for the spring 2021 WIDA Access test) will continue to receive ESL instruction during the 2021-22 school year.

All students needing ESL services will receive them through either on-site or remote instruction, according to state and federal guidelines. Student testing and other sources of student performance will be used to establish learning goals and to create an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) that is reviewed and updated each four and one-half weeks. Remote instruction will be provided through Google Classroom, which may include concurrent, synchronous, or asynchronous instruction, assignments, instructional videos, activities to be done with family members, and/or live video chats with instructors. Further instructions and ways to contact the ESL teacher for assistance will be provided on the LCSS website for families of students receiving intervention.

special education/iep

Students with disabilities will be provided with special education instruction and related services per Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). Special education students will utilize the Academic Remote section previously mentioned. IEP meetings will be held in-person, via teleconference or video conference. Questions regarding testing or special education programming should be directed to the Special Education Department at the LCSS Central Office.

504

All accommodations for students with 504 service plans will be provided during traditional, hybrid, and remote learning, as applicable.

homeless

The Lawrence County School System Homeless Liaison will continue to provide McKinney-Vento Services to students. Services will be provided remotely via phone calls, emails, and online meetings. The Homeless Liaison will ensure all necessary information is posted on our website and widely shared throughout the district.

ready graduate

High School and Ayers counselors focus on scheduling to ensure students have no gaps in classes and classes aligned to the students' post-secondary goals. Counselors are available to meet with students and parents virtually or by appointment.

Technology

Technology devices will be available for all students in the Lawrence County School System and will be issued by each student’s assigned school. While efforts will be made to issue similar devices across the district, some school-level variation may occur. These devices can be used with or without internet access at home through access to Google Classroom. Teachers have been trained in using these devices to integrate technology into their curriculum through digital resources, collaboration, and Google Meet.

For families in need of internet access, hot-spots have been set up at each school campus.