Quarantine Learning Plan
Purpose
During COVID-19 we expect all families to follow our strict campus access policy. This may require perfectly healthy children to quarantine, away from class, for periods of up to 14 days.
In order to promote the health of our entire community, it is important that students and families have confidence that learning will not be excessively impacted by the need to quarantine. This means having a clear plan for support during their time at home.
The Quarantine Learning Plan is designed to ensure that students maintain adequate progress in their learning AND provide support for their well-being during their time in quarantine.
Entering and Exiting the Quarantine Learning Plan
As parents report student absences, the office will ask parents to clarify the purpose of the absence. If the purpose is declared as quarantine, then this student will be entered into the quarantine learning plan and the code ‘Q’ will be used for attendance (similar to a sports trip, the student would be counted as present, but off-campus).
The Quarantine Learning Plan is a short term measure explicitly for students who would otherwise be attending school. Please note that this is not online learning and it is not designed for families seeking long-term absence for other reasons. We ask that all students attend campus based learning unless in quarantine, or absent for other reasonable reasons as in any normal school year.
Any family stranded overseas and unable to get to campus is advised to contact the school. In the case that your arrival in Japan is imminent, the quarantine plan may be an option. If not, your child’s interests may be better served by local options.
The Quarantine Learning Plan Essentials
The Quarantine Learning Plan will look different in the ELC/Lower Primary than it does with older students since the ways that teachers implement this will be different. However, the essential core tenets of the plan remain the same as follows:
- Work assignments expected/required of all students (and which can reasonably be completed at home, given the subject and the age of the student) will be posted on Google Classroom for quarantined students to complete and submit.
- Support/Feedback for these work assignments will be provided (for example via a Google Meet or email).
- A ‘check-in’ with each quarantined student (and/or parent for younger children) conducted during the class time of that student, or at any other convenient time during school hours will be held via a Google Meet as follows:
- At least weekly for each subject teacher in Secondary
- At least weekly for the homeroom teacher in Primary
- A weekly email to the parent will be sent from each subject teacher in the Secondary and each homeroom teacher in the Primary. This is to ensure that the student is doing OK and to request parental support, as necessary, during the following week of quarantine.
- Special activities or events such as assemblies, important meetings, guest speakers, etc. will be streamed on Google Meet or recorded and posted for students to access as much as possible.
- The Associate Principal will check in with each quarantined student to ensure their learning and wellbeing is on track. There will be a ‘start-up orientation, at the beginning of a Quarantine Learning Plan to make sure the student (or parent in the case of younger children) is comfortable and ready for their time in quarantine. The second will be a check-in 4-6 school days later to ensure learning and well-being are both on track.
- The Homeroom Teacher will do a quick weekly well-being check-in of students in Secondary via Google Meet.
- Student Services Staff will become engaged with quarantined students as necessary. For students already on a support plan, this plan will continue as much as possible during quarantine, using G Suite to communicate. Students who experience the need for support during their time in quarantine (e.g. a child requires access to counseling) will have this support provided via Google Meet.
In addition, the below are the types of strategies which teachers may use as much as and when possible:
- Video and post (or stream through Google Meet) any parts of the lessons that would be useful to the student.
- Bring quarantined students into the learning ‘live’ when possible. For example, if students are working in groups, quarantined students may have opportunities to join in group discussions via Google Meet.
- Quarantined students may be able to join in morning meetings, classroom discussions or other activities where/when Google Meet participation is deemed possible by the teacher.
- ELC students may require a modified program to be implemented from home at which point the teacher will work with parents to determine what works best for the student in regards to workload.
- It is understood that not all of these strategies will be possible at every age, in every course, or in every lesson. Teachers will have the best ideas for including their students in the learning and in the social fabric of the class.The Quarantined Learning Plan simply aims to provide a continuation of learning to the best ability of the teachers, students, and parents through whatever strategies are most appropriate.
Workload & Sustainability for Staff and Students
Teachers are dedicated professionals who want to go the extra mile for their students and thus, will consider carefully what can be realistically accomplished in a Quarantined Learning Plan situation. Especially in Secondary, where multiple staff are working simultaneously on the Quarantined Learning Plan, teachers will be aware of workload pressures on students. Teachers will try to balance workload for quarantined students and for themselves to ensure well-being for all involved.
Safeguarding
All normal safeguarding protocols apply to quarantined students and the Quarantined Learning Plan process.
In particular, since there may be only one quarantined student in any given class, teachers will ensure they are in a space where they are not alone or invite a colleague into the meet when engaging quarantined students in a Google Meet. Teachers and students will also adhere to the school policy that the camera must always be on.
Thank you for your help in supporting the learning and well-being of our quarantined students as they stay home responsibly keeping us all healthy and safe!