What to Expect When School Starts

  • PUSD students have been in distance learning since the start of the 2020-2021 school year. 

    Students will be expected to login in and start their school day at the regular start time (schools will provide schedules). All students are on remote learning at the start of the school year until public health authorities clear us to return to hybrid in-person learning.

    See the School Opening Guide

New or Different in 2020-21 Remote Learning

  • New!

    • Students are using the Canvas Learning Management System which appear on their Clever Dashboard. Canvas contains the course(s) that students will need for learning activities. Students can log into Canvas from any device when logged into a Chrome browser.
    • Webex video conferencing replaces Google Meet 

    The School Day 

    • Mondays, which were shortened days for students in the past, are now a full school day of synchronous and asynchronous activities.
    • Students will be expected to login in and start their school day at the designated start time.
    • Students will receive live synchronous (real-time) instruction. This year teachers will focus on personalized instruction and feedback instead of having students complete a checklist of assigned tasks.
    • Students will have more live interaction with classmates via "rooms" in Webex where students can work in pairs or small groups. Students can see and interact with their classmates.
    • Attendance will be taken through various methods (may include completion of a daily assignment on Canvas, email, Google Form, or a visual check-in): 
      • Every day in Transitional Kindergarten-5th grade
      • In every period in grades 6-12
    • Grading: PUSD is resuming its regular Grading Policy for the 2020-21 school year, which follows the A-F scale for all grade levels.

The School Day

  • The remote learning school day consists of:

    • Synchronous Learning Time, or real-time instruction when the teacher meets with the class online via Google Meet or Webex.
    • Personalized Learning Time, when students work independently, in small groups or 1:1 with the teacher (as assigned by the teacher).  Personalized Learning Time can include checking weekly/daily lessons, goals, assignments, working in groups and on projects.

    Office Hours

    • Elementary: This is a designated time for students or parents to connect with the teacher for support and frequently asked questions. Teachers may ask students to meet one on one or in small groups during this time if needed.
    • Secondary: This is a designated time for students to connect with teachers for questions, especially on days that they do not engage with synchronous instruction in that class.

    School Day Schedule
    Students are expected to attend school Monday through Friday. In accordance with new legislation, start times for the student day are adjusted for 2020-21. 

    • Elementary School: 8:00 a.m. to 12:55 p.m.
    • Middle School: 8:15 a.m. - 1:55 p.m. 
    • High School: 8:30 a.m. - 2:10 p.m. 

    Instructional minutes: 

    • Elementary - During remote learning, students will receive 240 instructional minutes daily. During hybrid learning when in-person is possible, the student day will be extended to 325 instructional minutes (i.e., traditional full-day).
    • Secondary - During both remote and hybrid learning, students will receive 120 instructional minutes of instruction on Mondays and 300 instructional minutes Tuesday - Friday.

Changes in the 2020-21 Calendar

  • Changes in the 2020-2021 School Calendar
    To provide additional time for professional development devoted to distance learning and teaching, the following changes apply:

    • August 20 and August 21, 2020, are pupil-free days for Professional Development. Classes will not be in session for students. 
    • October 16, 2020 is now a student instructional day
    • March 26, 2021, is now a student instructional day

Daily Schedules

  • Sample Elementary, Middle & High School Sample Schedules
    Please note this these are sample schedules created for Phase 1 & 2 (remote)

    • Schools will provide schedules for each campus, based on the samples below
    • Students are not yet cohorted

    During Phase 3 (hybrid) students will be able to return in-person with the following:

    • Same start/end times for students and teachers as Phase 1 & 2
    • Students will attend in-person in smaller cohorts

     

Student Academic Support

  • Support for Every Secondary (grade 6-12) School Student:
    PUSD has partnered with Paper (formerly known as “GradeSlam”) to provide every secondary student access to a skilled tutor. Paper is a digital application that will provide live tutor and writing support to all 6th-12th grade students. Students can access 24/7 support via a digital application and teachers will be provided data on the “frequently asked” needs of students. This app will be found on students’ Clever