The MISD school year will begin Aug. 12, and parents and guardians must select the learning option—either face-to-face or virtual—for their children by July 29 here.
Parents will also have the opportunity to change their decision after the first nine weeks of school.
MISD information recommends parents who choose remote learning be willing to support their children through the process and have children who can self-motivate.
“Students in this model will be working independently at a much greater intensity than those students in the standard model,” according to the district plan.
Remote learning will also not be able to provide a full range of course options, which would normally be provided through traditional learning, such as International Baccalaureate courses, according to district information.
Additionally, remote schooling will be offered to any student in the traditional option that has come into contact with a person confirmed of having the coronavirus.
The traditional learning option will be as close to a normal school experience as possible, with some added safety and social distancing measures, the plan states.
All students over age 10 will be required to wear a face mask while attending school and will be responsible for providing their own face mask. However, MISD will have disposable masks available if needed, according to the plan.
Hand sanitizer will be available in each class; desks will be spread out when possible; and indoor assemblies will be canceled.
Curricula and grading guidelines will be the same across traditional and remote platforms, according to the plan.
“The online school assignments may look different, but they will cover the same content and skills as on-campus instruction,” according to the plan.
However, remote courses completed for high school credit will not be awarded weighted points or count toward class rank calculations, district information states.
“Online instruction will not be able to support some specialized programs and course offerings that would otherwise be available to enhance student options and experiences,” according to the district plan.
The programs not supported include: International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement and certain career and technical education and fine arts electives.
MISD outlined how its remote option—Magnolia ISD Virtual School—is different from what was provided during the spring semester, as instruction will include live and prerecorded lessons.
Remote students are expected to attend synchronous and asynchronous learning sessions on a daily basis. Synchronous learning sessions involve live learning and instruction, while asynchronous learning will be self-guided by the student.
“This will vary from grade to grade, student to student and class to class,” district information states. “As a model, students should plan to spend approximately 50% of their day in a synchronous environment.”
Students without access to required devices to complete online assignments can request them from MISD. The district will provide tablets for students in kindergarten to first grade and Chromebooks for students in grades 2-12, according to district information.
Students opting for the remote option should plan to follow a traditional “bell schedule” with classes or assignments throughout the day.
“While students may not necessarily have live instruction during the entire day, students should plan for approximately 4 hours of their day to be involved in direct contact with their teachers and other online students,” according to MISD’s plan.
Additionally, families opting for the remote option will have to coordinate with their school on having their children complete the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness and other mandated education assignments, the plan states.
Attendance for remote learning will be monitored through participation in live classes and evidence of student’s work.
“Similar to the students in the traditional model, online students will be expected to meet the state-required 90% attendance requirement for earning course credits,” according to the plan.
