Flexible Instructional DaysAct 64Intermediate Unit 1

Agenda

u General Overview

u Timeline

u Pre-Application Decisions

u Application Prep

u Application

u PDE Follow-up

u Final items Due

u A lot of this is still in that gray area

What is an Flexible Instructional Day

u Must be accepted or denied by PDE but delivery allows for variety and flexibility based on local policy and decisions.

u Can be used when a school building is prevented from opening due to: disease epidemic, hazardous weather, law enforcement emergency, transportation inoperability or other equipment necessary to the public school entity’s operation, damage to a building, temporary circumstance rendering portion of school building unsafe.

u Employs non-traditional strategies to provide continuity of instruction.

u Fulfills one of the minimum required days of instruction as long as instructional minutes are met.

u Cannot exceed five (5) days during a school year

u Often known as a Blizzard Bag day

General Overview

u Initial application for first two years is for three years and must be submitted on or before September 1, 2019 with final PDE acceptance or denial by November 1, 2019 or on or before September 1, 2020 and notification by November 1, 2020.

u Each year after initial application, application to establish or renewal a program must be submitted by June 1 preceding the school year with notification by PDE of acceptance or denial by August 1, preceding the school year.

u Subsequent applications shall remain valid for three (3) years.

u Each year PDE will issue a survey relating to efficacy of FIDS with a return date of June 30 of the same year.

General Overview

u A flexible instructional day would be utilized to cover necessary coursework. School districts would have the option to use technology for purposes of fulfilling the coursework.

u A flexible instructional day could be used when there are building and infrastructure problems, weather-related closures or threats made against schools and students.

u Must clearly delineate strategies for complying with the Free and Appropriate Public Education requirements, including delivery of service during FIDS, and provisions for missed services and/or compensatory time afterwards.

u Districts should continue to incorporate make-ups days in their school calendar.

Timeline

u September 1, 2019 – completed FID applications due in an approvable state including assurances, narrative and exemplars (specific naming procedure). Notes on need to upload signed application at end of this presentation.

u September 30, 2019 – Last day to upload copy of official minutes or a resolution presented to Board for approval with a signed letter from the Board president verifying date and results of vote (specific naming procedure).Application will be marked “Returned” to allow for documentation to be uploaded.

u November 1, 2019 – Notification of acceptance or denial by PDE will be made by this date.

u Teacher preparation and training – Appropriate professional development and preparation should be conducted with teachers. This may mean google classroom training, LMS training.

Pre-Application Decisions

u How will you make parents, students, staff and community aware of what a Flexible Instructional Day is? What will each group need to do?

u How will you notify students, parents and professional employees that a flexible instructional day is being instituted?

u Will teachers be reporting for a regular day and be available online to assist students via chat or email? How will you make sure they have internet access and devices?

u Will there be an option for parents to drop students off at a building or central location wherein students work on curriculum rather than staying home? Will this even be offered? There’s no requirement.

u Will above students receive lunch?

Pre-Application Decisions

u Will technology be used? If so, how will you accommodate students without internet access or a device at home? Or too many children at home for the amount of devices?

u What are the responsibilities for staff and students?

u How will attendance be enforced?

u How will Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) be addressed?

u How will special education students’ needs be addressed?

u How will health related services be delivered?

Application Prep

u Exemplars and Assurances must be prepared and submitted along with the application.

u Exemplars used to ensure the FID is a continuation of a regular program of instruction.

u Narrative must include methods for accommodations where appropriate.

u Assurances address things like how will people be notified

u Prepare narratives in another application to copy and paste. You must save your work every 10 minutes.

u May not still be a requirement: At least one Exemplar should be illustrative of the program’s contingency plan for students unable to participate in the FID’s primary instructional delivery method.

Application Prep

u May be offered online, offline or a combination of the two. If technology is involved options must be made available to students and teachers unable to access the resources due to lack of power, technology or connectivity

u Educational experience must be a natural extension of the classroom learning and be equitable for all participants and populations for PDE to grant approval.

Application Prep

u 6 Specific instructional exemplars for a Flexible Instructional Day must be uploaded in a prescribed format:

u English/language Arts for grades 9-12

u English/language Arts for grades K-8

u Mathematics for grades 9-12

u Mathematics for grades K-8

u Science for grades 9-12

u Social Studies for grades 9-12

Application Prep

Exemplars should model Danielson practices and must include the following design elements:

u reference standards and sequence,

u establish expectations for instructional outcomes,

u identify opportunities for accommodations,

u list resources to be utilized,

u delineate student participation and

u define evidence of learning

Application

u Chief School Administrator (CSA) is the only one with access to the FIDS SharePoint site. If you don’t already have access, request it by emailing your CSA PA Login username and their email address, to RA-FID@pa.gov

u Approval email will go to CSA email address and the requestor should receive a cc.

u Click on FID SharePoint Home Page then Login to USER and MUSER by entering user\paloginusername, in Password, enter your PA Login password.Click Sign in.

u REMEMBER: 10 MINUTES TO SAVE!!

Application

Application –Warnings

Application - Assurances

Application - Narrative

Application – Narratives continued

Application – File Upload and PDE Review

Application – File Upload and PDE Review

u For the 2019-2020 school year, applications and instructional exemplars are due to PDE no later than September 1, 2019.

u No later than September 30, 2019, applicants also must submit to PDE either a copy of the official minutes indicating Board approval of the local FID program or a copy of the resolution presented to the Board for approval along with a signed letter from the Board president verifying the date the resolution was presented and detailing the results of the vote.

u If submitting a letter and a copy of the resolution, the official minutes must be submitted as soon as possible after Board approval and no later than October 31, 2019.

PDE Follow up

u PDE may possibly kick application back at any point during review process and request additional information., but this is only minor clarifications.

u Notification may only come back to CSA so make sure that person is aware to be on the look out for any correspondence.

u Make sure you have Board approval by September 30th, complete the letter as well as other documentation and upload before deadline.

Contact Information

Monica L. Washington

Director, School Services OfficeDepartment of Education

717.783.6746

Ra-fid@pa.gov

Kristin Van Strien

Intermediate Unit 1

724-938-3241 x244

Kristin.vanstrien@iu1.org