December 14, 2020
Dear Prescott families and friends,
Saludos! Greetings! We hope you and yours are healthy and safe! Please see below for the full guidance pdf.
This mid-year guidance follows up on the Prescott School Remote Learning guidance for families August 21, 2020.pdf, Prescott families Remote Learning Guidance for Fall, 2020 (6.15.20).pdf, and previous school and district guidance and our commitment to high-quality, holistic learning for 100% of our students. This update includes enhanced features that build on instructional strengths. You can find information on the topics below by clicking on any of the items:
- Prescott Hybrid Learning
- Social Emotional Learning
- Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment
- Resources for families
- Supply lists
- Current schedules for grades K-8 (subject to change)
Our children, teachers, staff, families, and partners are amazing! Ms. Malsch and I have visited classrooms over 125 times during Remote Learning, and we are deeply impressed with:
- Student participation– a lot of “Accountable talk”
- Student attendance (over 97%)
- Rich, challenging curriculum
- Small group work tailored to where students are
These months have also been extremely difficult. We are surviving an unprecedented set of crises that are weighing on our community in many different ways. We are so grateful to everyone for doing the best they can to support our students’ learning. Students have done an amazing job being engaged while missing friends, relatives and their regular activities. Our teachers and staff spend so much time planning and preparing lessons to teach online. Security Officer Ms. V and AP Ms. Malsch have made over 50 home visits. Parents have made hundreds of pick-ups at school for instructional materials and books to read at home.
We’re learning and adapting. Sean Scanlon set up tech in the gym — to best demonstrate movement, to connect with students, and to keep them moving (see photo right). Beth Ammons and Amy Manata’s art students have uploaded over 4000 art projects to Artsonia which lets students share art with families around the world! Teachers Kim Gow and Nessy Moos have led some 30 students in Battle of the Books, and Nicole Tokarski started an after-school video game club so students can socialize. Teacher Jenn Phares and parent Meaghan O’Callaghan started a Mock Trial club. Fellow Gaby Johansson scanned over 7,216 books from 3rd-8th grade classroom libraries to Booksource’s Classroom Organizer, so students could check them out from home and parents could pick them up from the school. Throughout this challenging pandemic, Prescott students have read thousands of books.
Check out some of our innovative teaching practices:
- Waterfall responses in the chat feature: asking students to write their answer (or opinion) in the chat on the count of 3 (as the answers appear, they arrive in the chat like a waterfall)
- Response cards: using white boards or cards for students to write answers and show it in front of the camera, so the teacher can get a sense of universal student mastery
- Art: teachers have been modeling techniques using the students own artwork and the annotate tool on zoom. See your students growth on Artsonia!
- Book clubs online: based on students’ interests and reading levels and in breakout rooms
- Teach back and re-tell: students teaching each other or the teacher in order to confirm mastery of concepts or content
- Embedded self and peer assessment hi s: students use criteria and rubrics to give themselves and classmates feedback. Students use that feedback to then adjust and strengthen their writing, presentations, solutions, or other final work.
- Student collaboration via Classkick, Jamboard, and other whiteboard apps– students together creating real work and talking about the work
During Remote Learning, Prescott goes beyond the state and district’s requirements to take attendance at the beginning of the day by taking attendance at each synchronous class. Then teachers and staff know that all students are attending. Parents then receive a phone call if students are absent. We want to make sure that all our students are attending all the classes, as long as they are able to. High student attendance, teachers and staff create opportunities for high student engagement and interaction and less teacher talk– a lot of “accountable talk.”
| Prescott | District | |
| Overall attendance | 97.8% | 91% |
| Black students | 95.8% | 88% |
| Latino students | 97.4% | 92% |
| Asian students | n/a | 97% |
| White students | 98.6% | 96% |
| Students with IEPs | 96.1% | 86.1% |
| English Learners | 98.2% | 93.5% |
At this point before the winter vacation, we have sent separate SEL/Climate surveys to students, staff, and families to get feedback as we prepare for the second half of the school year. We ask you to prepare yourselves for many more months of Hybrid/Remote Learning. Please take this time to make sure that your child(ren) understands that Hybrid will be very similar to Remote Learning (but at school). Whatever your choice, we are looking for ways to invigorate student interest and family engagement!
Erin Roche, Principal
Amanda Malsch, Assistant Principal
Please see the full guidance pdf below.
Prescott Parents 