Nov. 5, 2020 – Duval HomeRoom is in its second quarter, and the district has identified five areas where adjustments need to be made to improve learning outcomes for students.
These areas are assessments, testing, cameras, student information and teacher conferences. HomeRoom students and families are asked to read the information below carefully and contact their school if they have any questions.
1) Assessments:
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- Assessments at school: Although the district has made many assessments available in an online format, there will be times when students must come to the school for an assessment. Arrangements will be made to ensure social distancing and a safe, clean testing environment. If a student is not able to come to the school during normal school hours, they will need to notify their school. The school will work with district testing proctors to find an acceptable solution, based on individual student needs.
- Assessment windows: Most of these assessments must be given within a specific timeframe, with no opportunity to make up the testing. Students are asked to make appropriate arrangements to take these assessments during the testing window. These assessments are used for a variety of purposes, including course placement, promotion, and to meet graduation requirements.
- Testing integrity: For those assessments that can be taken online, it is important that the results reflect the work of the student. Students should take all assessments without assistance, unless specifically allowed by the teacher for some of our youngest learners. Not only is it important to maintain academic integrity, but the authenticity of the results depend on students doing the work on their own. For proctored assessments, students must have their cameras on to be observed during testing.
2) Attendance
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- Attendance checks: Regular attendance remains a requirement. Because it is easier for a student to disengage in an online class than a physical classroom, Homeroom teachers may be developing attendance checks throughout class to ensure students are still present and engaged for the entire class period. To ensure full attendance, a student must respond to all attendance checks throughout the period to be considered “present” for attendance purposes.
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- Academic Intervention Team: An Academic Intervention Team (AIT) meeting will be conducted to create a plan for students not meeting attendance expectations, as required by law.
3) Cameras:
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- Cameras on: To better engage students and verify their presence in online learning, there will be times when teachers will instruct students to turn on their cameras. The district’s platform has a feature that allows the background to be blurred if privacy is an issue. Families can contact camera feature on your district issued laptop, please call the Technology Helpdesk at 348-5200 if they are experiencing issues with the camera issue.
4) Student Information:
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- Get a parent account: It is the responsibility of students and parents to monitor their assignments and grades in our online student information system, FOCUS. Please click on the following link to learn more about setting up an account in FOCUS. If you need assistance in accessing FOCUS, please contact your school.
5) Teacher Conferences:
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- Availability to meet: During instructional time, teachers are busy with students and are not available for parent conferences. If parents need to speak with a teacher, they are asked to request an appointment through the school.
