The Peoria Heights School District may implement a E-Learning Day, also known as an e-Learning day, in the event school must be cancelled. An E-Learning Day (ELD) may be issued in place of an emergency day, as defined by the Illinois State Board of Education. In most cases, an ELD would likely be used in the case of closing school due to poor weather conditions but could be used for other emergency situations (loss of power, water, or other need to close one or all school buildings). This document summarizes the District’s plan for implementing an ELD.

Issuing a ELD: In the event conditions are such that school must be cancelled, administration will do its best to make that determination by 6:00 AM. Sometimes this is not possible, as conditions can change rather quickly in Central Illinois, but the goal will be to make the determination by the specified time. Once the decision is made, students, staff, and parents will be notified via (in order of sequence):

●        District call system (email/text/phone);

●        Announcement utilizing our website and smart phone app (www.ph325.org);

●        Communication via local television/radio stations.

If an ELD is implemented, everyone will be notified in the same manner as when school is cancelled (email/phone/text/website/television). Students will be expected to utilize the day to work on their required assignments/activities as described below in the Student Assignments/Activities section.

Instruction Plan: Expectations for student assignments/activities are going to vary greatly based on grade levels and subject matter. It is also important to realize that many students may have other responsibilities (watching siblings, etc.) or be in a different environment (at a grandparent’s house, in daycare, at work with a parent, etc.). For those students with multiple classes, remember that they will have work from each teacher.  

• PreK – 4th Grade: Paper-based assignments or “choice boards” will be provided and sent home and/or made electronically available to students/parents as soon as possible. They may be supplemented with internet-based activities that would be familiar to students and families (Freckle, Renaissance, SeeSaw, etc).  The focus of these learning activities will be review and reinforcement of previously taught skills while also emphasizing play-based family learning.   

• 5th – 12th Grade: Teachers will provide students with an email/announcement or Google Classroom posting announcing their assignment(s) for each of their classes by 9:00 AM each day of the shutdown. Though we will work with families that do not have devices or internet access to make provisions, teachers will have alternative paper assignments prepared that are in line with assignments provided electronically.  Teachers in grades 5 and 6 will focus mainly on reviewing and reinforcing previously taught skills, while teachers in grades 7 and higher may slowly introduce new content, using careful discretion on the readiness of their students to complete the work independently and realizing that the introduction of new content or skills needs to take place much more slowly than during face-to-face instruction.

Considerations for special groups:

• Students with Individualized Education Plans: Special education personnel will be available to students through electronic sources as applicable, based on student needs and IEP goals. Modifications and adaptations will also be included in all assignments, based on the needs of the student and IEP goals in collaboration with general education teachers. 

• Students in Need of Intervention:  Response to Intervention (RTI) personnel will make contact with students that were previously in their intervention groups.  Teachers may reach out to RTI personnel for assistance in helping other students that may be in need of intervention during this time.

• Homeless Students:  Teachers, paraprofessionals, and support staff will continue to provide learning activities for students. Weekly check-ins will occur with these students to offer support and specialized support based upon the needs and the status of the child’s learning. Resources will be made available based on the need to address needs of learning, health, and mental health. 

• English Language Learners:  Educators need to be aware of the language proficiency levels of their students.  To the extent possible, communication with these students and their families should be shared in the home language as well as English.  Teachers will utilize other staff or community members as needed to assist them in communicating and sharing directions and expectations with their students.

Student Accountability: Students will be expected to utilize E-Learning Days to work on their required assignments/activities as described in the “Instruction Plan” section of this document.  Students will be accountable for completing the assigned work by the due dates put forth by each teacher.  Teachers are encouraged to hold students accountable for completing work as they would with any missing assignments, and incomplete or incorrect work may be returned to students for completion or correction.

Teacher Availability: Teachers are expected to be available to students/parents from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM via email. For many teachers, other systems may work better than email (Google Meets, ClassDojo, Google Classroom, TeacherEase, SeeSaw, etc.).  Our staff is encouraged to utilize these other communication tools as the situation dictates. However, all teachers will check their email at least once per hour and provide feedback and guidance to students/parents on an as-needed basis.