Staff Reports
Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. will conclude eLearning for its students on May 21.
School board members voted unanimously Monday in a virtual meeting to make that date the effective end of eLearning for the school year. The meeting was live-streamed on social media for the public and media was invited to attend through video conferencing from the BCSC board room at the administrative offices.
Board members also agreed to make the last student day for BCSC for May 22, which will allow students to finish advanced placement testing which is being conducted online, school officials said.
The final teacher day for the 2019-2020 school year is scheduled for May 29, Superintendent Jim Roberts said.
The last day of school for BCSC was originally May 28, according to its calendar.
The time between the final student day and the last teacher day will be used to have student computer devices returned, textbooks turned in and for teachers to calculate grades for students for the final quarter.
“We want to end the school year as cleanly as we can,” Roberts said.
The school corporation has been conducting eLearning days on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays for students and staff and using Mondays and Fridays for staff to plan, provide student feedback and participate in professional development. Teachers are relaying lesson plan information through BCSC’s learning management system, itslearning, and are available to interact virtually with students from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day.
Because kindergarten students are not assigned a BCSC electronic device, those teachers are communicating activities to families for the students to complete.
BCSC is continuing a meal program for its students at meal sites throughout the community.
In a statement on its website, Roberts explained the use of the state’s waiver days, which were granted by Gov. Eric Holcomb at the beginning of the pandemic crisis.
While Indiana public schools are required to have 180 student instructional days, on March 12, Holcomb said each school corporation could claim up to 20 waiver days, making 160 days the new requirement for this school year.
Holcomb also announced that all public schools would be closed through at least May 1, although Indiana State Superintendent Jennifer McCormick then announced April 2 that all Indiana schools are to be closed through the end of the school year.
Robert said in the statement, that given the possibility that schools would not be allowed to reopen, BCSC began employing waiver days immediately by using two per week through the end of the school year. By doing this, the school corporation would not have to make up any days in June or July, the statement said.
The waiver days are being used on Mondays and Fridays and eLearning conducted on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. On eLearning days, students are “attending” school and required to check itslearning for assigned work, while teachers are available online from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., according to the statement.
On waiver days, students are not “attending” school (not required to be online) but can certainly use the time to work on assignments, according to the statement.
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For more information about Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. end-of-year plans, visit bcscschools.org.
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