Final Details to be Released Later This Month
NORFOLK — Superintendent Paul Zinni is pleased to announce that the King Philip Regional School District will follow a continuum of learning model, beginning with remote learning and transitioning into a hybrid model, for the upcoming school year.
The continuum of learning model will allow the district to seamlessly transition from a 100% remote learning model to a hybrid learning model. This model features four phases including the purple phase, blue phase, yellow phase and green phase.
Prior to the start of school, students will be assigned to either Cohort A or Cohort B and will stay in the same cohort regardless of the phase the district is in. Siblings will be assigned the same cohort. Additionally, a small number of students requiring in-person daily instruction will be in Cohort C and a small number of students who will be fully remote for daily instruction will be in Cohort D.
On Wednesday, Sept.16, the district will begin the purple phase with all King Philip students participating in a remote learning curriculum. During this phase, teachers will have the opportunity to connect with their students remotely, set up Google Classrooms, arrange their all in break out group rooms and distribute materials/Chromebooks. This phase will also allow the district to provide virtual training to the students regarding the safety procedures they will be required to follow once in person.
After the district reassesses local health, learning and attendance data the district will transition to blue learning days beginning Oct. 15 if health conditions remain stable. Prior to students arriving at school for a hybrid in-person curriculum, staff will return on Oct. 13 and 14 for two days of professional development and preparation to ensure a safe and smooth transition from a remote to a hybrid learning environment.
During the blue phase, students will be separated into their cohorts, Cohort A and Cohort B, and alternate between in-person learning with safety requirements and remote learning. At this phase, in-person learning will occur during half-day sessions with a “grab and go lunch” on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
Cohort A will be in-person Mondays and Tuesdays with remote learning on Thursdays and Fridays. Cohort B will be remote learning Mondays and Tuesdays with in-person learning on Thursdays and Fridays. On Wednesday, all students will engage in a full day of online learning with live instruction on Zoom.
During the blue phase, students will be in the buildings for approximately 20% of the learning time.
Assuming that the state and local data continues to support an increase in the number of students, faculty and staff allowed in buildings, the district will move from the blue phase to the yellow phase learning days on Nov. 9.
In this phase, Cohorts A and B will be returning to school buildings for full-day in-person sessions for approximately 40% of their learning. Similar to the blue phase, students will alternate between in-person learning with safety requirements and remote learning.
The district will continue to follow the yellow learning day schedule until it either has to move back to blue or purple, or the state announces that the district can transition to green days, thus bringing all students and staff back into the schools without restrictions.
The plan will be flexible in order to adapt to any changes that may need to be made as the situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic progresses. The plan will be reevaluated throughout the school year to ensure that the health and safety needs of students, staff and their families are being met.
The district will take into consideration the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE) new advice regarding Gov. Baker’s color-coded municipality metrics guide that will serve as a guide as to whether schools should open using full-time in-person, hybrid or remote models as the district proceeds through the continuum of learning model.
The district’s proposed plan for the 2020-21 school year was presented to and approved by the School Committee Wednesday, Aug.12. The proposed plan will now be submitted for final approval to DESE.
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