How school district’s eLearning plan works
Editor’s note: This news release was sent out March 16. Some changes in the plan might have been made since the newspaper went to press March 23.
The Darlington County School District (DCSD) has released its eLearning and remote learning plan to continue instruction while district schools are closed.
Through the DCSD program, students will be able to keep learning, even when face-to-face options are unavailable. The district also announced how parents could pick up devices still at school, as well as introduced teacher office hours and a new technology helpline.
Beginning no later than Wednesday, March 18, all DCSD students will have assigned online or paper classwork every day.
The type of work will depend on the grade of the student.
Students will be required to complete and submit all assignments as well as communicate with their teachers every day. All teachers – including special education teachers — will be expected to make contact with students, track virtual attendance and be available to students during virtual office hours.
Students who do not have Internet access will be able to complete the eLesson(s) on their device and then upload their work when they have access to the Internet.
Students in grades 3-12 who did not have their device at home were to pick up their device at their school Tuesday, March 17.
Parents of students in grades K-2 were to make plans to pick up their assignment packets at their child’s school Tuesday, March 17.
Parents were told to check with their child’s school to find out exact pickup times and procedures.
Parents and students were also able to pick up personal items from the schools at that time. It was called imperative that parents pick up the devices and/or packets from the schools so students can continue their learning and not lose valuable instruction or days.
Because schools will be closed through at least March 31, students are urged to complete their lessons every day and stay up to date with their classwork.
Students who do not complete the eLessons while out of school or within five school days of classes resuming will be marked absent.
eLearning/Remote Learning schedule:
Pre-school (PK) – 2nd grade students: PK-2 students will work through an activity packet with checklists. Some schools are sending home iPads to facilitate additional learning. Please check with your child’s school for more information.
Elementary school students, grades 3-5 — Students will have 50-minute lessons from each subject: ELA, Math, Science and Social Studies.
Middle school students, grades 6-8 — Students will have one-hour lessons from their core teachers (ELA, Math, Science and Social Studies).
High school students, grades 6-12 — Each teacher will post a one-hour lesson, per day, for each class they teach.
Teachers – including special education teachers – will have virtual office hours every day, beginning Wednesday, March 18. During these hours, teachers will be accessible through a posted line of communication. Teachers will reach out to students to share that line of communication with them.
Teachers of elementary school students: 9 a.m.-10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.-3 p.m.
Middle and high school students: 10:30 a.m.–12 p.m. and 3 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
The Darlington County School District Office of Technology has created a Technology helpline at 843-398-6200. Students and parents can call the helpline if they have technical issues and teachers may call for instructional assistance. The line will be manned during working hours.
The district’s eLearning plan is available online at www.darlington.k12.sc.us.
