Wednesday 4/29 8 a.m.

Grading

We've received some new guidance from OSPI this past week. Of most significance are the directions on grading. There are 295 school districts in Washington State and while most of us use a traditional A-F grading scale, there are many that do not. During the closure, school districts were developing their own grading procedures. At the high school level, grades have significance for scholarships, college admission, college athletics, military entrance, and can influence employment. Many of us were asking OSPI for clear guidance on expectations.

OSPI responded by saying that districts are to provide a letter grade, but may not issue a No Credit (NC), F, No Pass, or allow a student's existing grade to decrease from the level it was on March 13. Prior to this guidance, THS had determined it would utilize a Credit/No Credit system. The OSPI order does not allow this system. Our District Leadership Team met last week to discuss the options:
A, AB, ABC, ABCD. We also discussed using an incomplete. (The grade decrease provision doesn't impact us because our new trimester began on March 16, so no one had a grade that would be impacted.)

The conversation about A-D centered around equity and our teachers' ability to distinguish between A work and B work or C work during this closure. Not every student has internet access. Some of our teachers have unreliable internet access and phone service at their homes.  Some students are working in the family business right now, some students are babysitting younger siblings, some families have sickness or are coping with grief. There are so many issues that prevent us from having a level playing field for all that the team did not feel it was appropriate to differentiate between A, B, C, and D. (This was why we initially chose the "Credit" grade earlier.)

The team determined that we would record an "A" for all grade 6-12 students who were engaged in continuous learning during this time. Transcripts in Washington will note that grades issued in June were issued during the pandemic. We do not believe that this is a gift. We believe that an A under these circumstances is the best way to do no harm to our students and to support them going forward. Students in grades K-5 will receive a 3 on their report card for many of the same reasons.

Some students are choosing not to engage in continuous learning for a variety of reasons. Those students are not providing enough evidence for us to assign a grade. Those students will receive a mark of "Incomplete" on their transcript. We will enter into conversations and plan with those students about how they would like to remove the incomplete mark and replace it with a grade at a future time. Those students will receive credit only when that incomplete is removed.

I've spoken with parents who are concerned that their child won't put forward their best effort if they know they'll receive an A. They are concerned that the provision of an A will cause their child to disengage. Teachers will continue to record marks for assignments and engagement in Skyward. These marks are visible to parents through Family Access. You can continue to monitor your child's work and encourage them to perform at levels that are expected in your home for the remainder of the school year, knowing that on or about June 19, an A or 3 will be recorded manually by the teacher. Students are most likely to respond to their parents' encouragement to improve performance. Students who choose to disengage now will receive an incomplete and the opportunity to remove that mark later. (This is not recommended.)

OSPI requires that we continue to engage students and monitor the degree to which each student is engaged as well as our efforts to do so. While grades are one motivator, they should not be the most important. Grades are intended to be a report on the extent of a student's learning. We want our students to be focused on learning, not grades.

Fall and School Opening

We are currently planning to begin school according to our published calendar for 2020-21, however it is possible that the Governor will make decisions that impact those plans. Until we have more certainty, we encourage everyone to be flexible and "light on your feet" as we may need to make adjustments.

Friday Night Lights

I've heard from several people in our community that they thought that this event was a great way to honor seniors and bring the community together, they were disappointed that those participating in Friday Night Lights did not observe social distancing and protective measures during the event.

I think that people are missing one another so deeply that the temptation to ignore social distance is too great. For this reason, all of the events that TSD will be involved with going forward will avoid the possibility of breaching CDC guidelines and the Governor's orders. There are too many people who are at risk for COVID-19 to do otherwise.

Office Hours

I've begun a practice of opening a zoom chat from Noon to 1 p.m. during the week for people to stop by and chat, ask questions, make suggestions, etc. I encourage you to participate by going to:

https://zoom.us/j/91787775770?pwd=RnhITTBoZUQzRjhYbjBCY2xPVTVyZz09

This isn't a private conversation as others may be present. If you need a private conversation, please email me at crust@toledoschools.us or call 360.200.1459 during business hours and I'll make arrangements for you.