March 20, 2020
Dear Students and Parents/Guardians,
As you are aware, La Porte ISD suspended on-site classes through at least April 10, 2020. At the end of this time, LPISD administration will reassess the situation to determine next steps.
During this suspension period, LPHS students will engage in an outreach learning program. Starting March 25, 2020, students will be asked to participate in online classes. Teachers will post lessons and assignments for students on Microsoft Teams. All of our students have Microsoft Teams in their Office 365 suite of applications. It is critical that students participate in this program.
Microsoft Teams
Students will participate in asynchronous learning, which means students will engage in lessons independently via Microsoft Teams and will complete work at their own pace, within a clearly identified timeframe, using discussion boards and other methods for peer and teacher interaction and engagement. Each student will complete the lessons that teachers provide for their classes and submit their work by the due date for grading and feedback. Typical late work policies apply. You may expect that your student will have work for each class and that there will be some type of assignments or check for understanding to be turned in to the teacher each week. Teachers will work to plan workloads to engage students between 2 ½ and 3 hours per class per week. Lesson plans will be posted by teachers on the LPHS website for student and parents to view.
Attendance
Because there is no way to take attendance when students are engaged in this type of learning, a student’s submission of assigned work will be used for attendance purposes. It is the parent’s responsibility to notify the child’s principal if a child becomes ill and cannot complete his/her class work so they can inform the student’s teachers.
Teacher Availability
All teachers will be available to students for assistance from 8:00am to 12:00 pm and will be intermittently monitoring communications from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm every weekday. Teachers have been asked to notify students of their “office hours” and to respond to student communication within these time frames or as soon as possible. If students have questions, need tutorials, or need to speak with teachers, it is best to initiate contact via email, Microsoft Teams or the Remind App since teachers will not be in their classrooms to return phone calls.
Parent and Student Responsibilities
Student responsibilities for outreach learning:
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Regularly monitor lesson plans posted by your teachers on the LPHS website
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Log in to Microsoft Teams and school email every day for assignments and communications from teachers and the school
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Read and understand teacher feedback on graded assignments
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Submit assignments and checks for understanding on-time for learning and attendance purposes
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Communicate with teachers when they have questions or need assistance or tutorials
Parent responsibilities for remote learning:
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Ensure their child is completing assignments in Microsoft Teams
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Monitor their student’s progress in their classes
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Help students establish a routine that keeps them organized and ready for learning
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Provide an adequate work/study space for students to continue their learning
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Communicate with teachers if the student is experiencing difficulties with classwork
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Communicate with their student’s Academic Counselor or Principal after initial contact with teachers if difficulties are not resolved
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Contact the child’s principal regarding a student’s or family member’s illness
Routine/Schedule
It is important to establish and maintain a consistent routine for the duration of remote learning. A routine not only ensures that students set aside time each day for their classwork but also aids in the transition back to school when that time comes. For this reason, we recommend to parents the following schedule for students.
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8:00-8:30
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Period 1
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8:35-9:05
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Period 2
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9:10-9:40
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Period 3
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9:45-10:15
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Period 4
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10:20-10:50
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Period 5
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10:55-11:25
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Period 7
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11:30-12:00
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Period 8
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Academic periods are designed to give students a period of uninterrupted time to focus on specific class work or projects. Breaks between periods may be used to send emails to teachers, as well as provide time to relax. Regardless of the schedule that parents implement with their child, students should have approximately 3.5-4 hours of uninterrupted time throughout their day to focus on their academic studies.
Dual Enrollment and ACE Classes
For students enrolled in Dual Enrollment and ACE classes through San Jacinto College, please refer to specific communications from SJC regarding assignments and requirements. SJC has its own methods of continuing classes, and students must follow their guidelines to receive credit for those courses.
Edgenuity Credit Recovery
For students currently enrolled in online classes for initial credit or credit recovery, they will continue their course work as usual. There is no change in the course requirements because the course content is delivered online. The teacher will continue to monitor progress of students in these courses.
Meals
Due to the circumstances that have resulted in school closure LPISD will provide grab and go breakfast and lunches for all children aged 18 and under. Meals may be picked up at the following locations and times while normal school operations are suspended.
When
Monday through Friday
Breakfast – 7:30-9:00 AM
Lunch – 11:00 AM-12:30 PM
Where
Baker 6th Grade Campus (Enter the Campus from Underwood)
College Park Elementary (Enter the Campus from Luella)
La Porte High School (Enter the Senior Parking Lot from Fairmont)
Who to contact?
If you have questions or concerns in the following areas, please contact:
Principal: Carlin D. Grammer, grammerc@lpisd.org
Secretary to the Principal – Martha Merritt, merrittm@lpisd.org
Academics:
Associate Principal—Thad Mitchell, mitchellt@lpisd.org
Secretary to the Associate Principal – Gina Brunson, brunsong@lpisd.org
Asst. Principals
Jesse Loudermilk (A-Gi), loudermilkj@lpisd.org
Juleeanna Lee (Go-M), leej@lpisd.org
Nekeba George (N-Z), georgen@lpisd.org
Principal Secretaries –
Imelda Cornett, cornett@lpisd.org
Rebecca Chaplin, chaplinr@lpisd.org
Head Academic Counselor—Jasmine Hypolite, hypolitej@lpisd.org
Registrar—Julia Carter, carterj@lpisd.org
Attendance:
Alisha Melton – meltona@lpisd.org
Stephanie Gore – gores@lpisd.org
Business Office:
Student Accounts—Joann Ayala, ayalaj@lpisd.org
Thank you for your understanding and for working with all of us as we make this transition as smooth as possible for all involved.
Sincerely,
Carlin D. Grammer, M.Ed.
La Porte High School Principal
