Lincoln-Gavin Elementary School

With how quickly events change, it is understandable that so many feel a level of anxiety. This
memo hopes to address concerns you may have about educating our youth in light of the
COVID-19 pandemic. Please read the entire document; it may answer some questions you
have.
As you may already know, Governor Pritzker announced a Stay at Home order that tentatively
runs until April 30, 2020. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) provided guidance for
school districts regarding e-Learning/Remote Learning. Luckily, School District 170 has had its
e-Learning Plan in place since last November. Teachers were provided with professional
development in November and December on e-Learning platforms suitable for instruction.
Google Classroom and Google Meets are our preferred platforms. Student emails DO NOT need
to be used. Everything is to be posted in the Google Classroom. For face-to-face facilitation,
District 170 recommends that teachers utilize Google Meets.
ISBE has declared that March 17 through March 30 were Act of God days. These days do not
need to be made up, and they count towards student attendance days.
Our previously scheduled spring break has been changed to March 30 through April 3. Students
and teachers are not required to participate in instruction during this time.
Beginning April 6, 2020, all school days will be e-Learning days. Meaningful lessons and
activities will be provided for all students through the remainder of the school closure. These
lessons will be posted on the school’s website. Additionally, guidance from ISBE has been
provided as follows:
● The focus is on keeping students emotionally and physically safe, fed, and engaged.
● Lessons may be in the format of online instruction, paper/pencil, or a combination of
both.
● Grading will focus on the continuation of learning and prioritize the connectedness and
care of students and staff.
● Students will have the opportunity to redo, make-up, try again to complete, show
progress, and attempt to complete work assigned.
● With regards to grading, the e-Learning days will embrace the principle of “no
educational harm to any child.”
Additionally, all 2020 state assessments have been suspended per Governor Pritzker’s Executive
Order 2020-15. This means districts will not be required to administer the Illinois Assessment of
Readiness (IAR), the Illinois Science Assessment (ISA), or the Dynamic Learning Maps-Alternate
Assessment for the 2019-2020 school year.
Because instruction is moving in a new and different direction, ISBE has developed suggested
minimum and maximum times of engagement by each student in e-Learning activities:
Grade Level Minimum Maximum Recommended
Length of Sustained
Attention
Pre-K 20 minutes/day 60 minutes/day 3-5 minutes
K 30 minutes/day 90 minutes/day 3-5 minutes
1-2 45 minutes/day 90 minutes/day 5-10 minutes
3-5 60 minutes/day 120 minutes/day 10-15 minutes
6-8 Class: 15 minutes/day
Total: 90 minutes/day
Class: 30 minutes/day
Total: 180 minutes/day
1 subject area or class
We have also developed a list of student and teacher responsibilities:
Student responsibilities:
● Self well-being check-How are you feeling today?
● Take personal responsibility for learning.
● Review work assigned by the teacher.
● Complete your assigned work by the due date.
● The teacher is happy to help. Ask questions if you do not understand an assignment or
task.
● Exercise!!!
Teacher responsibilities:
● Self well-being check-How are you feeling today?
● Maintain high standards for students by providing rigorous curriculum.
● Learning standards and expectations should be clearly defined.
● Lessons, activities, and tasks should be related to a continued learning progression.
● Make learning activities available in a timely manner.
● Be available to answer student/caregiver questions.
● Share positive, encouraging feedback to students and families.
● Communicate regularly with students.
● Provide a range of meaningful learning opportunities that meet the needs of all
learners.
A list of At Home Learning Resources is provided for your use.
Topic Web Address and Links
ISBE
Resource
www.isbe.net/keeplearning
Exploratory
Learning
Resources
Virtual Field
Trips-https://adventuresinfamilyhood...
s.html
Ideas for Home Learning: https://ideaillinois.org/Home-...
Family
Engagement
https://www.commonsense.org/ed...
_medium=social
18 Home Ideas to Keep Kids Busy:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/melis...
vities-kids-coronavirus?utm_source=dynamic&utm_campaign=bffbbuzz
feed&ref=bffbbuzzfeed&fbclid=IwAR33lZtZcC82SsXtIuvfOXPvrAZBvLRLC
P4cgh-W-yoyEmxUAAliZASJiOc
List of Education Companies Offering Free Subscriptions:
https://kidsactivitiesblog.com...
ering-free-subscriptions/
Resources for
Balance
GO Noodle- Videos to get kids up and moving https://www.gonoodle.com/
100 Things to do Indoors
-https://padlet-uploads.storage...
481b9133/image.png
Mindfulness resources
https://drive.google.com/file/...
Reading
Resources
Making the Most of Independent Reading:
https://www.slj.com/?detailSto...
ibraries
Read, Wonder, and Learn:
https://www.katemessner.com/re...
e-resources-for-learning-anywhere-spring-2020/
Scholastic: https://classroommagazines.sch...
Let’s Keep Reading:
https://docs.google.com/docume...
WQrb6dNfI/mobilebasic?fbclid=IwAR0Ji770mSVzCnUCTSf8UBPsc7FmjLD50Vwx
Ph7MYeWnK6SpEtibXteu-Gg
Live Online Activities
--https://calendar.google.com/ca...
40i8%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America%2FChicago&fbclid=IwAR0AOH
KcOiLKVrjxBjrchCcIMpFmLIrtyFzfX3kIomyJ6JEZ-FcJn01Qp28
Storyline Online: https://www.storylineonline.ne...
Audible Free Resources: https://stories.audible.com/di...
Read the World:
https://sites.google.com/view/...
Math Resources Kahn Academy-https://www.khanacademy.org/?s...
Kentucky Center for Mathematics:
https://docs.google.com/docume...
SZjz7gXos/preview#
Science Resources National Geographic Resources:
https://www.nationalgeographic...
e=25
Field Museum Education Resources
https://www.fieldmuseum.org/ed...
National Science Teaching Association:
https://www.nsta.org/dailydo/?...
m=email&utm_term=What%20Research%20Says%20About%20Online
%20Learning%20%7C%7C%20Free%20Science%20Resources%20Updat
ed%20Daily&utm_campaign=2020%5FMarch%5F31%5FNewsletter%5F
Express%5Fnonmember
Maker/STEM Maker Projects at Home:
https://drive.google.com/file/...
?fbclid=IwAR3_Xau_Fl-Rql4BJN99Dmxr_09UEtZvP-eHxPxTChUwcIRYK2PLESo
YzbM
PBS Design Squad: https://pbskids.org/designsqua...
STEM at Home Activity Calendar:
https://docs.google.com/presen...
56qxUBjd47A/edit#slide=id.p8
Wonderopolis: https://www.wonderopolis.org/?...
Writing Fun Finish the Comic: https://jarrettlerner.com/acti...
Multi-Subject Study Jams: http://studyjams.scholastic.co...
More e-Learning Ideas:
https://drive.google.com/file/...
Tech Tutorials
for Parents/
Students
Google Classroom Overview for Parents/Students:

Various
Resources for
Families
Family School Closure Resources:
https://docs.google.com/docume...
HqcZRAqQU/edit?fbclid=IwAR1_nDSsstLjlvYAc8nuCE-bJa3AMTiTHyRP4kvtQT
MN7oqUQ9oMoUktsw8
If a parent is in need of an electronic device for his/her child, he/she should contact the school’s
principal to schedule a time to check out a Chromebook.
As this is a very fluid situation, we will keep you updated regularly.
Finally, I want to take a moment to thank all of our staff, students, families, and community
members for coming together for the good of our students. I appreciate all of your efforts in
providing our students with instruction, meals, and outreach. Together, we will get through
this!
Kindest regards,
Mary Kay Entsminger