Weather Closing Guide

The Robbinsdale Area Schools e-Learning Plan is written to provide continued, standards-aligned educational experiences to students on days with inclement weather. E-Learning Days provide Robbinsdale Area Schools an alternative to extending the school year in the event of such weather events. The RAS e-Learning Plan will also be used during Blended Learning Days. Items specific to Blended Learning and/or different than e-Learning are called out in subsequent sections of this document. Where otherwise not called out, both e-Learning days and Blended Learning Days will follow the same procedures. Our plan is developed following Minnesota Statute 120A.414 and 124D.094, which state the following:

Subdivision. 1. Days.

a. "e-learning day" means a school day where a school offers full access to online instruction provided by students' individual teachers due to inclement weather. A school district or charter school that chooses to have e-learning days may have up to five e-learning days in one school year. An e-learning day is counted as a day of instruction and included in the hours of instruction under section 120A.41.

b. "Blended instruction" means a form of digital instruction that occurs when a student learns part time in a supervised physical setting and part time through online instruction.

c.  "Online instruction" means a form of digital instruction that occurs when a student learns primarily through digital technology away from a supervised physical setting.

Subd. 2. Plan. A school board may adopt an e-learning day plan after meeting and negotiating with the exclusive representative of the teachers. If an exclusive representative does not represent a charter school's teachers, the charter school may adopt an e-learning day plan after consulting with its teachers. The plan must include accommodations for students without Internet access at home and for digital device access for families without the technology or an insufficient amount of technology for the number of children in the household. A school's e-learning day plan must provide accessible options for students with disabilities under Chapter 125A.

Subd. 3. Annual notice. A school district or charter school must notify parents and students of the e-learning day plan at the beginning of the school year.

Subd. 4. Daily notice. 

a. On an e-learning day declared by the school, a school district or charter school must notify parents and students at least two hours prior to the normal school start time that students need to follow the e-learning day plan for that day.

b. A Blended Learning Day will be declared by the school district with at least five days notice to families and staff. 

Subd. 5. Teacher access. Each student's teacher must be accessible both online and by telephone (via Voicemail) during normal school hours on an e-learning day to assist students and parents.

Subd. 6. Other school personnel. 

a. A school district that declares an e-learning day must continue to pay the full wages for scheduled work hours and benefits of all school employees for the duration of the e-learning period. 

This includes the following staff: AFSCME, Cabinet, Casual Employees, Custodians, Education Assistants, Nutrition Services, Principals, Robbinsdale Equity Allies, Program Assistants, Program Directors, and Teachers.  During the e-learning period, school employees must be allowed to work from home to the extent practicable, be assigned to work in an alternative location, or be retained on an on-call basis for any potential need.

b. During a Blended Learning Day, staff must report to work as directed by their supervisor. 

This includes the following staff: AFSCME, Cabinet, Casual Employees, Custodians, Education Assistants, Nutrition Services, Principals, Robbinsdale Equity Allies, Program Assistants, Program Directors, and Teachers.

Robbinsdale Area Schools will communicate with families and stakeholders through the following methods:

• Websites, district and school sites, and traditional media
• Social Media:
  • Facebook - district and school pages
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
• Automated Telephone Message
• Automated Text Notifications
• Email notifications

The Robbinsdale Area Schools e-Learning Plan is written to provide continued, standards-aligned educational experiences to students on days with inclement weather. e-Learning Days provide Robbinsdale Area Schools an alternative to extending the school year in the event of such weather events.

Teachers, administrators, and other licensed professionals are expected to be available by email or phone (via voicemail) during regular school hours.

Early Learning licensed staff are expected to prepare plans for an e-learning day based on the guidelines below.

Staff will reach out to families with scheduled visits directly via email to check in and provide appropriate learning activities.

Any teacher or specialist with a class or student contact time on a declared e-Learning Day is expected to provide learning opportunities for students.

• Information regarding instructional activities will be shared through a virtual platform (Seesaw) and emailed to families by 8:30 am.
  •  5 Instructional activities can be online or offline.
  • Special Education staff will email families individually to check in and provide any modified or adapted activities in alignment with the general education teacher’s plan.
  • Students and families are expected to participate fully in the day’s learning activities.
• Completed offline activities may be given to the teacher upon returning to school.  

1 day evening and daytime Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE):

Classes will be canceled in the event of a declared e-learning day. Teachers and/or Parent Educators will email class participants to confirm the class cancellation by 8:30 am.

Attendance:

• A student can be considered in attendance by:
  • Connecting via a phone call or email with the teacher
  • Parent/caregiver confirming via email or Seesaw that the instructional activities have been received
  • Emailing or submitting a completed instructional activity
• Teachers will call home for students who do not participate in one of the above mentioned ways.

Accommodations:

• Upon returning to school, families can request a printed copy of the instructional activities.
• Families can request a description of the activities via phone call.
• All work completed should be returned to the classroom teacher within one week of returning to school.
• All classroom teachers will collaborate with special education case managers or English Learner teachers to make appropriate modifications for students in their classes.

Additional Information Regarding Early Learning e-learning days:

• RAS will not be providing district devices or hotspots to Early Learning families
• Teachers will provide time for students to share, draw, or otherwise express what they did on the e-Learning day the following day.

Learning Activities:

Robbinsdale Area Schools will provide both online and offline options for students to engage in learning on an e-Learning day.  Any teacher who would have a class or student contact time on a declared e-Learning day is expected to provide learning opportunities for students.

Communication of Learning Activities:

Learning Pathways will be communicated in the following ways:

• Building grade-level teams will post current Learning Pathway activities for the day on SeeSaw (K-3rd) and Schoology (4th & 5th) by 8:30 a.m. (Tier I schools) and 10:30 a.m. (Tier III schools).
• Learning Pathway activities will be emailed to building administrators and posted on their social media sites and school web pages.
• Asynchronous instructional videos will be posted for students in grades 4-5 to access by 8:30 a.m. (Tier I schools) and 10:30 a.m. (Tier III schools).
• Teachers in grades K-3 will email Learning Pathway to all families and post online.

Teachers, principals, and other licensed professionals will be available by email or phone (via voicemail) during regular school hours. Staff contact information can be found in the RAS Staff Directory. All communication requests will be responded to promptly during school hours.

To assist families with multiple children, all emails will contain the teacher's name, grade level, and school name.

Students will be expected to complete all activities for all areas normally met that day. Completed activities can be posted to SeeSaw (K-3rd) and Schoology (4th & 5th) or delivered upon returning to school with a signature or note from whoever supervised learning activities if printing the assignment/activity is not possible.

Attendance:

• Parents/guardians can respond to the teacher's email or respond through SeeSaw (or Schoology, if appropriate) that they received the Learning Pathway activities.
  • The teacher will attempt to call home for any student who does not respond via email. The teacher will record the call in the “Contact Log” in Infinite Campus.
  • Attendance should be completed by 10:15 a.m. (Tier I, 12:15 p.m. Tier 3).
• Parents/guardians should call the school office if they do not have reliable internet access.
• Adventure Club sites will email appropriate school offices with students who are in attendance.
• All absences will be marked as Unexcused in Infinite Campus. The student’s parent/guardian must request that absences be excused, as stated in RAS Administrative Procedure 503AP.
  • Attendance will be changed from an unexcused absence to an excused absence within seven days of the declared e-Learning day by returning the assigned work from the e-Learning day or sending a written note.

Accommodations:

• Upon returning to school, families can request a printed copy of the Learning Pathway activities.
• Families can request a description of the Learning Pathway activities via phone call.
• Adventure Club will provide digital access to students in attendance.
• All Learning Pathway activities should be returned to the classroom teacher within one week of returning to school.
• All classroom teachers will collaborate with special education case managers to make appropriate modifications for students in their classes.

The next class day after e-Learning in elementary classrooms:

• Provide time for students to share, draw, write about, or otherwise express what they did on the e-Learning day.

Learning Activities:

Any teacher with a class or student contact time on a declared e-Learning Day is expected to provide learning opportunities for students. All Robbinsdale Area Schools secondary classes will use Schoology to post assignment information and lesson resources. This work may include, but is not limited to, online discussions, asynchronous instructional videos, quizzes, web-based and/or print assignments, and readings. This work is also expected to continue content from the previous day.

Communication of Learning Activities:

Teachers will post an “Update” on Schoology for their classes that includes all directions for the day, tasks to complete, and a clear statement of the day’s learning target(s). This information may also be sent home via Schoology, email, or Infinite Campus.

Teachers, principals, and other licensed professionals will be available by email or phone (via voicemail) during regular school hours. Staff contact information can be found in the RAS Staff Directory. All communication requests will be responded to promptly during school hours.

To assist families with multiple children, all emails will contain the teacher's name, grade level, and school name.

Attendance:

• To be counted as present for an e-Learning Day:
  • A student must “Like” the UPDATE posted by the classroom teacher outlining the work for the day. This acknowledges that they have seen the task(s) to be completed for the day.
  • A parent/guardian may respond to the email from the classroom teacher verifying that they have seen the task(s) to be completed for the day.
  • Teachers will post attendance to Infinite Campus by the end of the school day.
    • 3:25 p.m. for high schools
    • 4:05 p.m. for middle schools
• Parents/guardians should call the school office's attendance line if they do not have reliable internet access.
• All absences will be marked as Unexcused in Infinite Campus. The student’s parent/guardian must request that absences be excused, as stated in RAS Administrative Procedure 503AP.
  • Attendance will be changed from an unexcused absence to an excused absence within seven days of the declared e-Learning day by returning the assigned work from the e-Learning day or sending a written note. 

Accommodations:

• All classroom teachers will collaborate with special education case managers to make appropriate modifications for students in their classes as needed.
• Self-contained classrooms may adhere to the general education model or use the learning pathway model used in elementary classrooms, as deemed appropriate by case managers and self-contained classroom teachers.
• Any other service provider working with a student on an e-Learning day must email an assignment or task and document this in the “Contact Log” in Infinite Campus.

Robbinsdale Academy Programs

Included Programs: Alternative Placement, Credit Recovery, Edge, and Highview 

Robbinsdale Academy classes that do not use Schoology will adhere to the following additional guidelines:

• Students and their parent(s)/guardian(s) enrolled in any of the Robbinsdale Academy Programs will receive an email from each teacher outlining the day's expectations.
• Students or parents/guardians will need to respond to this email for attendance purposes.

Post-Secondary Enrollment Option (PSEO) Students:

Students enrolled in PSEO will be contacted by their enrolled high school principal or designee, who will inform the student that they must contact their PSEO instructors for details of their classes that day.

The next school day after e-Learning in secondary classrooms:

Teachers will have the following available to students:

• Time to work on tasks that were not completed on the e-Learning day
• Time to deepen understanding and engage in richer tasks for those who completed their tasks on the e-Learning day.

These should be done in ways that continue learning for all students in the classroom.

Learning Activities:

Any teacher who would have a class or student contact time on a declared e-Learning Day is expected to provide learning opportunities for students. All classes provided through AAP will adhere to their state-approved Distance Learning guidelines. This work may include, but is not limited to, online discussions, quizzes, web-based and/or print assignments, and readings. This work is also expected to continue content from the previous day.

Communication of Learning Activities:

Teachers will communicate expectations with their students via email and telephone on declared e-Learning days.

Teachers, the AAP Director, and other licensed professionals will be available by email or phone (via voicemail) during regular school hours. Staff contact information can be found on the Adult Academic Program webpage. All communication requests will be responded to promptly during school hours.

All communications via email will contain the teacher's name and school name to assist students who might also receive emails from their children's teachers.

Attendance:

Student attendance will be counted following Distance Learning practices that the State of Minnesota has already approved for use in the Adult Academic Program.

Accommodations:

The distance learning plan already in place for adult academic programs accounts for the necessary accommodations for their students.

Learning Activities:

Teachers at Robbinsdale Transition Center (RTC) will collaborate to create a unified document with all student learning activities. Any teacher with a class or student contact time on a declared e-Learning Day is expected to provide learning opportunities for students. Robbinsdale Area Schools will utilize learning pathways that provide online and offline options for students to engage in learning. 

Learning pathways will be revisited monthly from November through April to ensure that the work being completed aligns with the current topics of study.

Communication of Learning Activities:

Learning opportunities will be emailed to building administrators and directly to students and their families.

Teachers, principals, and other licensed professionals will be available by email or phone (via voicemail) during regular school hours. Staff contact information can be found in the RAS Staff Directory. All communication requests will be responded to promptly during school hours.

All communications via email will contain the teacher's name and school name to assist families with multiple children.

Students will be expected to complete ONE option for each course. Completed activities should be returned upon returning to school. Parents/Adult Students have the option of writing down the completed learning activities in the event that printing them is not possible.

Attendance:

• Parents/Adult Students can respond to the email from the teacher that they received the learning activities.
  • The teacher will attempt to call home for any student who does not respond via email and record the call in the “Contact Log” in Infinite Campus.
  • Attendance should be completed by 10:15 a.m.
• Parents/Adult Students should call the school office if they do not have reliable internet access.
• All absences will be marked as Unexcused in Infinite Campus. The student’s parent/guardian must request that absences be excused, as stated in RAS Administrative Procedure 503AP.
  • Attendance will be changed from an unexcused absence to an excused absence within seven days of the declared e-Learning day by returning the assigned work from the e-Learning day or sending a written note.

Accommodations:

• Families/Adult Students can request a printed copy of the learning activities upon returning to school.
• All learning activities should be returned to the course teacher within three days of returning to school.