Weekly Update - COVID, No School, Phones, Tutoring
- Mrs. Denise Griffin, CEO
- Oct 7, 2020
- 4 min read
Yesterday's update on covid19ca.gov showed San Bernardino with an uptick in cases over the last week. This means that San Bernardino County stays in the purple metric for another week. In the purple metric, schools are not allowed to reopen for in person instruction. Encore will continue to follow the guidelines and I will continue to give you weekly updates. Please help stop the spread by social distancing, wear a mask, wash your hands frequently, and stay home when you are sick.
NO SCHOOL MONDAY -
There will be no school on Monday, October 12, to celebrate Columbus Day. Offices will be closed and there will be no distance instruction. Enjoy your three day weekend.
ENCORE PHONE LINES -
As I had expressed to all of you over the weekend, we found a glitch in the phone system and are working on repairs. Apparently, this is going to result in us installing a different phone system. Our eight year old system is obsolete and apparently the last update crashed the messaging system. For those of you that have called and received the "Front Corporate Office Desk" message as your greeting, this is part of that problem. With a major change happening with the phone systems, it is going to take a few weeks to get the system fixed. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause you.
While we are working on the installation of the new phone system, you will still be able to call in to our office phone numbers - 760-956-2632 and 760-949-2036. When you call these numbers, they are going to go to the old fashioned phones with the old fashioned answering machines (I had to scour Target in the clearance section to find them.) If you need to be transferred during the call with Encore. The receptionist will ask you to hang up and then they will have to call you from the still operation internal phone line system. It is a little wonky, but this is the band aid fix on the system while repairs are happening. Thank you for your patience during this matter.
ENCORE TUTORING -
Tutoring started last Monday for all academic classes. Tutoring runs Tuesdays through Fridays from 7:45 am to 8:15 am. In order for students to participate in tutoring, they need to log in to their teacher's Zoom ID promptly at 7:45 am. Teachers will wait for students for 10 minutes. If no student logs in by 7:55 am, the teacher will log off of tutoring for the day. It is important that you take advantage of this tutoring time, especially in classes that you struggle in...like math.
ATTENDANCE MATTERS -
In this world of COVID-19, there are some misconceptions on what is expected and needed from students on a daily basis. For students that are attending school on the following programs:
Traditional
Hybrid
COVID Distance Learning
It is expected that you are logging in to your classes in real time via Zoom. When you log in, you must sign in for attendance in the chat in the classroom. Your classes run all day from 8:20 - 3:19 pm. When teachers log off of Zoom, this is not the end of the class period. Your study should continue in an "asynchronous" way. That means that the students should be working independently from the time the teacher logs off until the end of the class period. That is considered their "classwork." Teachers will then assign "homework" that they believe the student will complete after the end of the regular school day.
In general, academic teachers will assign 15 minutes of homework for junior high every day for their class and 30 minutes of homework for high school for every class meeting NOT INCLUDING AP OR HONORS. (AP and Honors will have more.)
Elective classes generally do not assign homework, EXCEPT, students are required to finish the encorestudent.com courses that are associated with their classes.
Junior High classes last for 42 minutes. Your student should be working on that class for 42 minutes every day. They will work synchronously with their teacher for about 25 minutes and then asynchronously for the remainder of the time.
High School classes last for 91 minutes. Your student should be working on that class for 91 minutes every day. They will work synchronously with their teacher for about 25 minutes and then asynchronously for the remainder of the time.
(I am using the terms synchronous and asynchronous because the state of California is using these terms for the purposes of attendance stemming from COVID-19. Synchronous means that the class is meeting either in person or virtually with teacher guided instruction in real time. Asynchronous means that the class is completing work without being together or with real time teacher guided instruction.)
When your student misses the scheduled class time, but still completes the coursework at a later time, you must verify the Asynchronous attendance by filling out the attendance form on the bottom of the page at encorehighschool.com
This week, I am working with the attendance department to update processes and make the processes more efficient. You will start receiving emails notifying you of missed classes and absent days soon. Be prepared. The teachers are still taking attendance every day for every class because we want to make sure your student will succeed.
We are excited for a great year. Thank you for your ongoing support of youth arts and thank you for your ongoing support of Encore High School.
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Denise Griffin, CEO is the author of this blog for Encore Education Corporation. Part of Encore Education Corporation is Encore High School, a free public performing arts regional high school in Southern California grades 7 - 12. Encore's program is currently taking applications for the fall 2020 enrollment. Encore offers full time, hybrid time, and independent study programs. Encore offers transporation from the Inland Empire and the high desert. www.encorehighschool.com. Where arts and academics grow together. WASC Accredited. Copyright 2020.
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