Academic Planning Overview

Yes, this school year our parents will have two instructional options: 

• Face to Face where we will serve students in the classroom with health protocols in place.
• Virtual where students will have an online educational experience with a combination of live and recorded instruction totaling six hours of school each day

All students participating in Virtual Learning will be expected to participate in both synchronous (live instruction) and asynchronous (independent/ self-paced) learning each day. More information and an example schedule can be found in the Virtual Learning section. 

Face-to-Face class hours will follow the normal bell schedule.

Due to the scheduling complexities inherent in these two options, parents will be asked to make a commitment for at least one full 9-week grading period for elementary and 6-week grading period for secondary students. Special circumstances that affect a family will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the campus principal. Please note that if a student switches between Face to Face Learning and Virtual Learning, then that student may not have the same teacher(s) or course schedule, as teachers may or may not be teaching both a Virtual and a Face to Face class. Students may not be guaranteed to be assigned to their home campus based on staffing and grade level/course seat availability.

Synchronous learning is learning in which two or more individuals are engaging in learning at the same time (for example, a live teacher-led lesson using a videoconference tool). Asynchronous learning occurs at different times, without real-time interaction. Students learn from instruction that is not being delivered live.

All Midlothian ISD students will be taught by certified Midlothian ISD teachers. If a Virtual Learning student switches to Face-to-Face, they may not have the same teachers, as teachers may or may not be teaching both a virtual and face-to-face class. Virtual courses will be taught by certified Midlothian ISD teachers but not necessarily a teacher from your student’s home campus.
 

No, according to TEA guidance, the grading policies for Virtual Learning must be consistent with the district’s grading guidelines for Face-to-Face instruction and  assignments. 

TEA guidance requires Midlothian ISD to provide the same grading guidelines for virtual instruction as on-campus learning, so Virtual Learning students will have the same reassessment abilities as students in a Face-to-Face environment.

Midlothian ISD is waiting on specific guidance from governing entities regarding transcripts. Unless we receive different guidance, there will be no difference noted in the transcript.

The Midlothian ISD School Board approved a district calendar that reflects extra days at the end of the year to serve as make-up days should campuses need to close due to COVID.

According to the TEA website, the STAAR testing calendar has been updated and reflects testing dates during the 2020-21 school year.

According to TEA guidance, truancy and attendance policies are required to continue to be in place, no matter the setting of the students. Midlothian ISD will continue the current policies and is proud to offer online instruction that will meet the continued needs of the students.

Midlothian ISD has trained teachers through the summer in M*Powered Summer Academy as well as back to school training and additional ongoing training during the school year to ensure all instruction, virtual and face-to-face, will be engaging and rigorous for all students.

Through Virtual Learning, our teachers will be tracking students' progress daily through live instruction, as well as through our learning management systems (Seesaw and Canvas). Parents will be invited to be an observer in the learning management system to see all teacher feedback to their child's work. All assessments will be mirrored in the virtual learning as in face-to-face instruction.

To support all students, our curriculum has been aligned with the standards from the year before so teachers are prepared to support students as needed. Pre-assessments will be given before each unit as well to be able to address where students are with the upcoming unit.

Midlothian ISD is actively planning how to address the needs of Special Populations and Specialized Learning. These students are important to Midlothian ISD and the district is carefully considering how to meet each student's unique needs. More information will be coming soon.

Grading for all Virtual Learning courses will follow the same district grading policy as the courses in the Face-to-Face model. Midlothian ISD Virtual Learning courses that earn high school credit will count in GPA calculation and class rank according to EIC (Local) Policy.

The District is investigating ways to ensure test security in a virtual environment. Stay tuned for more information.

Dual credit course offerings will continue to be offered through our partner college campuses.

At the high school level, students who choose to enroll in Virtual Learning will be allowed to take dual credit courses at the appropriate MISD or college campus. These courses will follow the bell schedule at the students’ home campus and may require some face-to-face sessions..
 

Yes, elementary students will have specials, whether face-to-face or virtual. Either learning option will have one of these each day, if not more. 

On Monday, July 20th the board will meet and adopt guidelines and guidance for re-entry. The ECSE program, formerly known as PPCD, and PreK will follow these guidelines.   We will be meeting with ECSE teachers to determine what this will look like in their classrooms. 

TEA guidelines state that “on-campus instruction must be offered for all grades served by the campus every day for every student whose parents want them to access on-campus instruction for each day a campus is providing instruction given its instructional calendar” so the alternating schedule is not an option at this time.