[0:03] hey everybody welcome thank you very [0:05] much for joining us for our information [0:07] session related to edina virtual pathway [0:11] um i am uh pleased that you are all here [0:14] and i have some guests that we will [0:17] introduce in time [0:20] but let's [0:21] proceed [0:23] first off i wanted to note that if you [0:25] have any questions during this [0:27] presentation the link that you see on [0:29] your screen right now can be used to [0:31] submit those questions [0:33] we're streaming via youtube and youtube [0:35] doesn't have a built-in way that's [0:37] elegant for you to share your questions [0:39] so if you put this url into a separate [0:42] browser window throughout tonight's [0:44] seminar we'll have somebody willie will [0:46] be checking to see if their questions [0:48] will monitor it [0:49] likewise if you'd like to if you'd like [0:52] us to send you more information about [0:53] edina virtual pathway you can use this [0:56] link to request a follow-up and we'll [0:58] send you an email or give you a call so [1:01] again if you have questions you can use [1:03] this link [1:04] bit.loi [1:06] evp dash july and i'm afraid it is case [1:09] sensitive for those of you who [1:11] registered in advance i also emailed [1:13] this link to you [1:19] so let's talk about why we learn online [1:21] or why you or your family may choose to [1:24] edina public schools takes pride in its [1:26] work to ensure that its buildings are [1:28] welcoming safe environments for learners [1:31] but as much as we work to make our [1:32] buildings a home away from home [1:35] they aren't actually home [1:37] for some students there are fewer [1:39] distractions and fewer stressors at home [1:41] and that translates into better learning [1:44] during the pandemic many adults you may [1:47] be among them had the opportunity to [1:48] work from home [1:50] and some of those adults found that they [1:51] preferred working from home and in fact [1:53] we're more productive [1:55] well students are the same way for some [1:58] the place where they learn to tie their [1:59] shoes is the best place for them to [2:01] learn calculus or civics [2:05] you probably won't be doing calculus in [2:06] elementary school but you know your [2:08] mileage may vary [2:10] all edina students are growing in their [2:13] digital literacy but our virtual pathway [2:15] provides an unparalleled opportunity to [2:18] hone many of those skills which will [2:19] serve people well [2:21] throughout [2:22] their future [2:24] our students are going to graduate with [2:25] tech savvy strong communication [2:28] abilities and vital critical thinking [2:30] skills [2:31] students in the edina virtual pathway [2:33] are going to develop their capacities to [2:35] work independently but also to [2:37] collaborate and self-advocate [2:39] what we're building are the definitive [2:41] 21st century learners [2:43] what you see up on the screen to the [2:45] right [2:45] we asked the parents of our online [2:47] students from the past year why they [2:50] chose edina virtual pathway and this [2:52] word map summarizes their responses they [2:55] spoke to the rigor of our program but [2:57] also the flexibility of it [3:02] so let's talk a bit about [3:04] this program [3:07] our elementary program is an online [3:08] experience that utilizes the excellence [3:11] of edina staff i myself am not just an [3:14] edina schools teacher but also a grad [3:17] many of you may be aware of the [3:20] reputation that edina brings for [3:22] academic excellence [3:23] well we bring that over to our online [3:25] program now our curriculum is rigorous [3:28] and standards aligned [3:30] and our elementary program includes time [3:33] with specialists we have pe class and we [3:36] have the arts which not all online [3:38] programs are able to provide [3:40] and we also include enrichment [3:42] opportunities led by talent development [3:44] specialists this is what some other [3:47] schools will refer to as gifted and [3:49] talented [3:51] so now i'd like to welcome david higley [3:54] david is one of our returning teachers [3:57] from the edina virtual pathway [3:59] elementary program david thank you so [4:02] much for being here [4:03] for starters can you tell us a bit about [4:05] how edina virtual pathway went last year [4:08] thanks steven um yeah so it was i am so [4:12] excited to [4:13] to get started again this year with the [4:15] virtual program [4:17] last year's program [4:19] was simply put just just amazing [4:24] my class the students were fantastic [4:27] they [4:28] like what you were talking about before [4:30] um [4:33] you know [4:34] where [4:37] these students sometimes [4:39] don't get [4:41] always a front row in the regular brick [4:44] and mortar the in-person [4:46] part [4:47] and the the virtual aspect [4:50] it's wonderful [4:51] i'm meeting with the students sometimes [4:53] we're well we are full class sometimes [4:56] we're in small groups most of the time [4:58] we spend our time in small groups and so [5:00] as one of the other teachers last year [5:02] put it eloquently she said that um [5:05] it's kind of like every child has a [5:07] front row seat and i love that i feel [5:10] like i'm more connected [5:12] with my students [5:14] in the virtual aspect than i was in [5:17] person [5:18] you know that's something i've heard [5:19] from other teachers that um [5:22] sometimes parents are concerned about [5:24] that relationship building but when the [5:27] teacher does it right there's a neat [5:28] opportunity i remember as a teacher [5:30] sometimes if i wanted to pull a student [5:33] aside and have a one-on-one conversation [5:35] in person [5:37] sometimes that could be a little awkward [5:38] the student's like oh why is the teacher [5:40] want to talk to them but when you are [5:42] online you just create this other little [5:44] room and suddenly you know you're able [5:46] to talk with them um [5:47] without you know the eyes and ears of [5:49] the rest of the class [5:51] right exactly and so what we are doing [5:53] is [5:54] last year we were able to set up an [5:55] environment that's welcoming the [5:57] students felt [5:59] they felt welcomed they felt like they [6:01] belonged [6:03] they felt like they had friends i had [6:05] several students just comment that they [6:07] said that i had more friends this year [6:10] than i have [6:11] previously [6:12] and i think that's powerful [6:14] so they have interactions with me [6:17] the teacher more and more than possible [6:20] we also have [6:21] a para that's involved and so they'll [6:24] have all their adults that are guiding [6:26] and supporting and assisting the [6:29] students but then they each they ha they [6:31] have each other and so we really try to [6:34] to build that sense of community [6:36] and we build that sense of community [6:38] through [6:39] you know the the morning meetings we'll [6:41] play games we'll get let them talk with [6:44] each other so we have that [6:46] that thing called breakout rooms so we [6:48] use google meat and a lot of parents [6:51] have heard of zoom [6:52] but we use google meet and so it works [6:55] the same they have little breakout rooms [6:57] they can go and talk with each other [7:00] teachers are here they can come back [7:02] they can talk to us and [7:04] it works out really well [7:06] you know you've already answered some of [7:08] the follow-up questions that i was [7:09] anticipating i was going to ask about [7:11] why might families choose edina virtual [7:14] pathway or why do you like teaching [7:16] online and i feel like you've probably [7:19] spoken to some of those but anything to [7:21] add about [7:22] why you like teaching online or why a [7:25] family might choose evp [7:27] you know i i do enjoy the flexibility [7:30] aspect of it [7:32] when i'm teaching in the classroom in [7:34] person [7:35] we are i'm very structured with the the [7:39] schedule [7:40] excuse me so [7:42] reading will start at you know 9 15 and [7:45] the reading class will end at [7:48] i don't know 10 30 or so um [7:51] however when we're online [7:54] the students [7:56] while we will have small groups but if [7:58] they want to do their reading [8:00] at [8:01] two o'clock and maybe they want to do [8:02] their math first because they really [8:04] enjoy the math so they'll start their [8:06] math and then they'll do their reading [8:08] it gives us it gives choice to to their [8:11] day it gives them flexibility some i had [8:14] some students get all their stuff done [8:16] or at least get started on their stuff [8:18] right away maybe they were early risers [8:21] so i would get on my computer and i can [8:23] see their screen because we have we have [8:25] a safety feature that that's built in so [8:27] i can see what the students are [8:30] are looking at in case i need to help [8:32] them and support them through or i can [8:34] open up a tab or close a tab whatever [8:37] so it's a safe secure environment [8:40] um [8:41] but some students are are doing that [8:42] work [8:44] early in the morning some are doing it [8:46] you know after lunch it all depends on [8:48] what they want [8:49] and i want to speak to that that that's [8:51] you raise a good point that this isn't [8:53] the same thing that was happening during [8:55] um the early days of the pandemic where [8:58] it went to emergency learning where um [9:01] with the preparation and the forethought [9:02] we're able to put into it features like [9:04] the ability for the teacher to see [9:06] what's on each person's screen [9:09] which we're able to do because we will [9:11] provide devices for our students [9:15] allows us to create that [9:17] feeling of the teacher being present [9:20] even though [9:21] the students are in their own homes [9:24] um we actually have you talked about the [9:26] flexibility this screen i'm not going to [9:28] spend too much time on it [9:30] but these were just some quotes from [9:32] people who participated last year any [9:35] die in a virtual pathway at the [9:37] elementary school level [9:38] and they speak to the flexibility and [9:41] the success that they had last year [9:46] and actually these are these are more of [9:49] those which again [9:50] since we have had one of our own [9:52] teachers here to speak to it we're not [9:55] going to read through these through [9:56] these quotes [9:58] um can we speak [10:00] jump in if you can go back [10:03] okay so if we look at this um [10:06] the top right so we have music class [10:09] right my class said live music class and [10:12] we did do the recorder um [10:14] the bottom right the gentleman holding [10:17] the the hawk there [10:20] we've had field trips and guest speakers [10:22] come and so [10:24] this is a gentleman from one of the area [10:26] parks and so we learned all about [10:28] raptors that day [10:30] but some of the other things that we did [10:32] do to to build community is [10:35] we toured uh and [10:37] we used all our our technology and we [10:40] toured amazon one of their their [10:42] distribution fulfillment warehouses [10:45] we looked at code my class does a lot of [10:47] coding and so we did a lot of coding [10:51] guest speakers [10:52] in california it's fantastic so [10:55] technology gives us another little [10:57] avenue to connect kids not only to each [11:01] other not only to the teacher but to [11:03] their their world and their interests [11:06] thank you [11:08] um so we've spoken about it a little bit [11:10] already um what i've done is just [11:12] grabbed one of the daily schedules this [11:15] might have been your own classroom dave [11:17] or it might have been one of your fellow [11:18] teachers um but this sort of is a day in [11:22] the life [11:23] of a student in edina virtual pathway [11:26] for one grade level or another it's [11:28] important to note that uh we're talking [11:30] about k through five um and certainly [11:34] what your day looks like when you're in [11:36] fifth grade versus and kindergarten or [11:38] first grader are different [11:40] um [11:41] but uh this sort of sort of captures it [11:44] um anything anything else david to speak [11:46] to what what a day looks like for our [11:49] students [11:51] uh this is this looks really familiar [11:53] with the schedule right so what it is is [11:56] we do have some synchronous and we're [11:58] going to talk about i know a couple [11:59] slides we'll talk about the the amount [12:01] of time live in person um [12:05] or [12:06] live connecting on the computer [12:08] we have some synchronous activities [12:11] which are [12:13] activities that we do at the same time [12:14] and then we also have some asynchronous [12:16] and so in third grade [12:20] which is what i taught is that we use a [12:22] program called schoology and that's [12:24] where all the students put her that's [12:26] where i put all the assignments and [12:28] that's where the students can pull up [12:29] see what they're working on see what [12:31] their homework is [12:32] some of the assignments in schoology [12:35] they respond to [12:37] in a digital manner [12:39] right so they i can they can write on [12:41] their screen because it's [12:44] our chromebooks that the students use [12:46] are touch sensitive and i use a program [12:49] where they can i can see them right on [12:51] their screen [12:52] um let's see some of them are just paper [12:55] and pencil as well because i i also [12:58] think that's important to have some [12:59] digital experiences [13:01] don't forget the paper and pencil [13:03] aspects and some of the times are just [13:06] unplugged [13:07] is where they will just [13:09] close their computer and they will read [13:10] a book and [13:12] so that's how we do it i noticed the [13:15] lunch bunch um if memory serves um [13:19] it's sort of the equivalent you know we [13:20] can do things virtually like lunch and [13:22] recess and maybe this is a moment where [13:24] some families [13:26] would [13:27] pull their kids away from the computer [13:28] and they'd have lunch together something [13:30] that's not as easily done when you [13:31] attend in person but also that maybe is [13:34] the moment for the kids to interact with [13:36] each other and so they would have lunch [13:38] together uh with one of the [13:40] paraprofessionals [13:41] just like they might supervise a [13:43] lunchroom in person uh the kids could [13:46] eat lunch together without any of the [13:47] pressure of hey get on task [13:50] right right then [13:52] i had lunch bunch as well and [13:55] i would have breakout room [13:57] breakout rooms open and they could [14:00] they could choose to go into the [14:01] breakout rooms to talk with each other a [14:03] lot of times honestly they would stay in [14:05] the the main call with me and just uh [14:09] chat with the teacher um and it's a it's [14:12] a choice time so they could come and go [14:14] as they see fit but you're right that [14:16] there is an aspect of family family [14:19] seems more it seems very important and [14:21] an integral part in this [14:23] process um [14:25] i feel more connected with the families [14:27] and a lot of parents actually talked to [14:29] me and they said [14:32] that they valued [14:34] really the connection with the teacher [14:36] and the connection with their child [14:39] i've had parents say that i [14:41] that they had [14:42] never known how much [14:46] the kids do [14:47] in school [14:49] than they did when we were in virtual [14:52] i feel good thank you for that you [14:54] mentioned schoology this slide just [14:56] references the robust ecosystem that [14:59] there are all these electronic tools [15:01] that we use to make the experience for [15:04] our students at home um as you know as [15:08] excellent as possible [15:10] and of course we take pains to uh be [15:13] mindful of what programs we partner with [15:18] uh so [15:20] one of the things that parents sometimes [15:21] ask is who is online learning for [15:24] um [15:25] and you will you will know know your [15:27] child uh there is room for self-directed [15:30] learners [15:31] um i think that that is [15:34] and you know part of the slideshow is [15:35] used both for elementary and secondary [15:37] um [15:38] that that self-directedness is [15:41] less a case at the elementary school [15:44] um that we're more combined and working [15:46] together but still all the same um a [15:49] student who uh [15:52] what i'm struggling with is the notion [15:53] of what is self-directed look like for a [15:55] first grader um but you know we do we do [15:58] want somebody who will you know sit at [16:00] the computer during those moments that [16:02] we're together uh that said uh the [16:05] teachers work to be engaging in a way [16:08] which you know helps captivate and keeps [16:10] the student attention [16:12] right one thing if i can jump in [16:14] absolutely with with self-directed is uh [16:16] that that's one of the [16:18] uh [16:19] key features of [16:21] of the elementary aspect process here is [16:25] that we do talk about what does it mean [16:26] to be a virtual learner [16:28] and um so the students are [16:31] you know watching the clock and they're [16:33] we're teaching them how to set their [16:35] timer in using their device [16:38] um [16:39] the second one here is comfortable with [16:41] technology oh my goodness yeah we are [16:45] the students are going to be amazing [16:47] with the chromebooks by the end of the [16:49] school year [16:50] they're going to have google [16:52] my students had their own website by [16:54] week two [16:56] they were building [16:57] google slide shows and coding and [17:02] kids are amazing you know it's um and [17:05] this is where we acknowledge as [17:07] educators sometimes if we do things if [17:10] we make mistakes [17:11] but um truly as i gathered this slide [17:14] was intended for the high school but [17:15] it's a nice happy little mistake because [17:17] what you're speaking to is that our [17:19] elementary virtual pathway program [17:22] builds [17:24] those people who can be independent [17:27] learners who are comfortable with [17:28] technology [17:29] down the road [17:31] for those who will join us for our next [17:33] information session almost directly [17:35] after this one uh we'll talk about the [17:37] fact that for the older students [17:40] there's a little less hand holding the [17:41] teacher isn't there [17:43] in the room with them in quite the same [17:45] way [17:46] but uh [17:47] whether it's in high school online or as [17:50] college students in the future [17:52] developing these skills when we're [17:54] younger to be independent to [17:56] self-advocate and use technology will [17:59] pay dividends [18:02] so [18:03] why edina [18:05] some of you who are attending the [18:06] session are residents of edina and so [18:09] may have felt natural to look to your [18:11] home district you're already familiar [18:13] perhaps with the quality of our [18:15] education and our educators [18:18] but others of you because this program [18:21] is open to people throughout the state [18:25] maybe considering other programs as well [18:27] we're not the only online program [18:30] uh so why edina well first i just want [18:33] to speak to the academic excellence um [18:37] that edina heist sorry has my next [18:40] presentation he in a virtual pathway [18:43] we align everything with our values [18:46] the edina public school system is often [18:48] one of the top ranked in the state and [18:51] the country and we're carrying that over [18:54] to [18:54] our virtual experience [18:58] next i want to speak about our [19:00] professional [19:01] excellence [19:03] the level of academic achievement and [19:05] the longevity within the district of our [19:08] educators are indicators of their [19:11] dedication the edina public schools [19:13] teaching staff [19:15] is dedicated to our students 90 [19:18] and this is for the district but it also [19:20] carries over to our our program 90 of [19:23] udina public school teachers have [19:25] master's degrees or higher uh 58 of them [19:28] have been with the district 10 or more [19:30] years uh david i won't put you on the [19:32] spot for how long you've been in the [19:34] district at risk giving away your age [19:36] but it is ten or more years [19:38] oh absolutely [19:40] um about a fifth of our staff are [19:43] nationally certified um [19:45] and that's the highest in the state [19:48] we've had um 15 minutes uh [19:51] of the 15 minnesota teachers that have [19:53] received national certification [19:56] last year eight of them were from edina [19:58] public schools [20:00] um so that's one thing is the excellence [20:03] of our staff [20:04] when i speak to operational excellence [20:07] um that's where we're talking about how [20:09] well the district is run uh we're one of [20:12] only three [20:14] school districts in the state to receive [20:16] the highest credit rating [20:19] 90 percent of parents say down to public [20:21] schools are [20:22] as good or better than three [20:25] years ago and 82 percent said they would [20:27] be quote proud to recommend the edina [20:30] public schools and more than 80 percent [20:32] of the parents in our district would [20:35] give teachers principals administration [20:37] and the school board [20:39] positive [20:40] performance ratings [20:43] and let's talk about [20:45] a couple of other things in our district [20:47] let's talk about equity [20:49] in edina public schools all learners [20:51] will have access to the rigorous and [20:53] challenging learning opportunities and [20:55] those lead to measurable growth and high [20:58] achievement without predictable links to [21:00] race culture or ethnicity [21:03] at edina public schools we believe that [21:05] we must promote healthy school [21:06] environments [21:07] establish high expectations for all [21:09] learners and erase any barriers that [21:12] impede progress towards success [21:17] um as i proceed to the to the next slide [21:19] i left the same slide up there i also [21:21] want to acknowledge that a great deal of [21:23] the strength to be done in public [21:25] schools comes from the community [21:27] and maybe some of the attendees of this [21:28] session are parts of that community [21:31] the edina the city of edina's residence [21:34] continually shows overwhelming support [21:36] for the school district in the surveys [21:38] and as voting taxpayers [21:41] i've said that our schools are highly [21:44] ranked um and we provide academic [21:46] excellence i can at least say in my [21:48] experience as a teacher sometimes i [21:50] wasn't sure that that was because i was [21:52] doing anything special but rather [21:55] because of the [21:57] students who were sent to me and the [21:59] clear education that they were receiving [22:02] from their families [22:04] as well [22:05] um [22:06] let's talk about some frequently asked [22:08] questions because we are almost out of [22:10] time [22:11] um david i think you're the best one to [22:13] answer this um in your experience how [22:15] much time were students directly [22:17] connected to the screen [22:19] right that's the that's uh [22:21] when i meet with the parents right away [22:23] in the beginning of the school year [22:24] that's typically the question that that [22:26] they ask okay your child will not be on [22:29] the computer all day long for eight [22:31] hours [22:33] teacher will be but the students [22:35] typically will not um [22:37] since we work in small groups for the [22:40] majority of the time [22:42] the students will be [22:45] engaging live with an adult [22:48] it could be anywhere from [22:51] let's just say three three and a half [22:53] hours with an adult they will also use [22:55] their screen [22:57] at some points to do that remember we [22:59] talked about the asynchronous activity [23:02] so the schoology assignments so pulling [23:05] it up listening to a video or engaging [23:08] with the screen but then other times [23:10] we'll just shut the screen and and read [23:12] a book or work on their spelling or [23:15] other workbook type deals [23:18] excellent thank you very much [23:20] um can you talk a little bit about [23:22] what's expected of the parents or [23:23] guardians for our online students [23:26] so [23:28] some parents thought that they had to [23:29] sit exactly [23:31] next to their child and no absolutely [23:34] not no uh we're trying to build your the [23:37] students um [23:40] self-advocacy and their their own skills [23:43] and so no just [23:45] just be a mom be a dad [23:47] be a grandma that's all we need um [23:50] make sure that you know help them [23:52] remember to plug their device in before [23:56] help them make sure that [23:59] they have all their supplies nearby [24:03] let's see a nice the the environment was [24:06] is helpful if they can have a [24:08] quiet [24:09] room or a quiet desk or somewhere that [24:12] they can [24:12] they say this is my school spot that's [24:15] helpful as well very good thank you um [24:18] just being a little bit mindful of the [24:19] time let me take some of these [24:21] um do we have to live in the state of [24:23] minnesota [24:25] sort of [24:26] um in this program is free of charge for [24:29] residents of the state of minnesota [24:31] you'd be enrolling in our program [24:33] instead of whatever other elementary [24:36] school and you have a right to a free [24:38] public education [24:40] that says the state of minnesota will [24:41] not pay for your education if you are [24:43] not a minnesota resident [24:45] so um if you are looking to participate [24:49] but are not a resident of minnesota [24:51] there would be tuition um and for any [24:54] for that small number of people who [24:55] might be in that bucket i would just ask [24:58] you to reach [24:59] out to me [25:00] for extracurricular opportunities um [25:04] yes [25:06] you would be eligible and this is less [25:08] of a case at the elementary level but [25:10] you would be a [25:12] member of the dyna public schools [25:14] communities so students of all ages [25:17] qualify to participate in whatever [25:19] sports or activities that our in-person [25:22] students do [25:25] and then special education um again [25:29] we're running a little bit short on time [25:31] because david had so much wisdom and [25:34] insight to provide [25:36] but yes of course we provide special [25:38] education services for our students [25:42] and when it comes to virtual pathway as [25:44] it is for anybody in special education [25:47] it varies from student to student [25:50] special education while all education [25:52] should be individualized special [25:54] education is a place where it is [25:56] especially so [25:58] and so what i would suggest is if you [26:00] have questions about what the experience [26:02] would be and the services provided for [26:05] your child in particular please reach [26:07] out to me [26:09] and when can i enroll my student in [26:11] edina's virtual pathway [26:13] you can at any time the sooner the [26:16] better um but we certainly appreciate it [26:19] um that you know school starts at the [26:21] end of august so um [26:23] it's about time to make that decision [26:25] and if you have questions [26:27] about if you need information in order [26:29] to make that decision [26:30] please reach out [26:32] that link that we posted the bit dot l y [26:35] slash evp dash july that's one way that [26:38] you can do it [26:39] you can also just send me an email or [26:42] give me a call [26:43] and all of this information is available [26:46] at the edina public schools website [26:49] we're going to need to wrap this up so [26:50] that we can be present and ready for our [26:53] edina high school presentation at which [26:56] point i will probably accidentally make [26:58] references to elementary but i digress [27:00] that's why david is the teacher and i'm [27:02] not david thank you so much for being [27:04] here tonight thank you this was fun [27:07] and to the families and students who are [27:09] watching thank you so much for being [27:11] here tonight i look forward to your [27:13] questions and we look forward hopefully [27:14] to seeing some of you and the students [27:16] um in the [27:19] question future do you want to answer it [27:20] real quick absolutely uh how much in [27:22] advance the assignments are given on [27:24] schoology for third grade students [27:27] that's an excellent point excellent [27:29] point uh so i will put [27:31] my my typical routine is to put [27:34] everything up on monday [27:38] usually over the weekend so usually by [27:40] sunday maybe saturday [27:42] all the next week's assignments will be [27:44] up and current [27:46] so you'll get a week [27:49] very good thank you and thank you to all [27:51] of you have wonderful evenings everyone