Holland Central School District 

School Closure Update-Academic expectations for HS/MS 

 4/17/20 

Holland MS/HS students and parent(s)/guardian(s): 

We are writing to inform you of student academic expectations, effective Monday April 20th for the remainder of the closure, however long it continues.  We also wanted to provide additional information for other areas of interest.   

Enhancements in academic expectations for students 

First-- MS and HS students will now have weekly required assignments for each class that will be electronically submitted.  These assignments will continue to be assigned via the online methods the teachers have been using since the start of the closure.  Students will have the ability to make-up and re-do/revise work to improve them.  If internet access is an issue, please contact the main office as soon as possible to address your needs. 

Second--Students will be expected to check-in with each of their teachers directly each week.  This can take the form of participating in their Zoom videoconference office hours, sending an email, talking on the phone, etc.  If a student feels they are on track for that class, an email to the teacher will count as the check-in, unless the teacher replies that they desire to communicate with that student more directly via Zoom, the phone, etc. that week.  The student will receive acknowledgement for this contact of Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory each week (Unsatisfactory for not doing it or not following up via Zoom/phone if requested by the teacher). 

Feedback for weekly assignments  

Considering the fact that this learning situation is unique to say the least, rating of these assignments will be different than normal.  Each weekly assignment will be rated on a four-tiered scale (note: students may also re-do assignments to improve their rating): 

• AE (Above Expectations) 
• ME (Meets Expectations) 
• BE (Below Expectations) 
• INC (Incomplete)  

3rd and 4th marking period grades and final averages for the year 

At this time, we are still awaiting further guidance from the State Education Department and/or Governor Cuomo about students receiving academic credit/final grades during this closure, so we are not releasing a finalized plan for how the 3rd marking period will close out, how the 4th marking period will be scored, and how the final averages for the year will be calculated.  Please be aware that the required work moving forward will factor into those determinations. 

Parent communication about student grades/participation 

To streamline communication to parents about student progress, we will resume using eschool and the parent portal to post information on the two weekly requirements for each class—one for the assignment and one for if the student checked in or not.  As we switch to the above feedback system rather than grades out of 100, we will post a video later next week on how to access those grades and understand what you see on the screen.  

Check-in phone calls to students/parents 

We remain concerned about the well-being of your student.  As such, regular check-in phone calls will continue, but will focus more on how the student is doing social-emotionally rather than mainly academics.  While we recognize these calls can be frustrating to some parents, we feel strongly about these check-ins as this closure lengthens...we are finding students (as well as adults) are beginning to feel the effects of social isolation more deeply.   

Students taking classes that have Regents Exams 

For students taking courses that end with a Regents Exam, be aware that the Regents Exams have been cancelled for this June and that students will receive an exemption credit for that exam, provided they do the requested work during the closure at a satisfactory level.  Questions regarding these Regents exemptions, including for students who were planning to re-take an exam, can be directed to the Guidance Office. 

AP Classes and Concurrent Enrollment through ECC 

For students taking AP courses and concurrent enrollment courses through ECC, grading will continue.  Talk to your teacher about questions regarding grading and year-end tests.  

MS “specials” for the 4th quarter 

While the 4th quarter has begun on the calendar, students will remain in their 3rd quarter “specials” (music, art, tech, FACS, health) for the remainder of the closure.  We did not feel it was a good idea to have students changing classes/teachers amidst the closure. 

Problems with technology and other issues 

If there are questions/concerns regarding this adjustment, don’t hesitate to reach out to your building principal.  In particular, if you have problems with accessing online content, please be sure to reach out so we can address your needs.  If a short-term technology problem occurs or your student experiences an illness of more than two days that impacts work completion, please contact the main office to report the situation. 

Thank you for your understanding and continued assistance with keeping your student engaged with online learning through this challenging time.  As this closure has gone on, we have increased academic expectations in phases.  Initially, we focused on review work for the first two weeks to give families time to make the large shifts this closure has required for all areas of life.  At that point, we then asked teachers to move forward with new content, enhancing our instructional capacity.  Now, following last week’s guidance from the State Education Department, students will be required to submit weekly work for feedback.  This satisfies what is requested of us to justify giving the Regents Exam exemptions, as well as to certify students for course credit and Seniors for graduation.  We know this has been a difficult process for everyone and have hoped to balance understanding that with the need to move forward. 

Stay safe and stay positive, 

Bryan Ford – Holland MS Principal 

Carl Guidotti – Holland HS Principal