Accurate as of August 31, 2021

In the event of an extended school closure, students receive instruction while at home through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous digital delivery methods. Nassau BOCES' continuity of student learning plans take into consideration the Guidance from the United States Department of Education's Readiness and Emergency Management in Schools Technical Assistance Center:

• Designing for Unique Needs of All Students
• Supporting System Orientation/Preparation
• Ensuring Equitable Accessibility
• Preparing for Short- and Long-Term School Closures

Daily Remote Schedule

Nassau BOCES believes an effective remote schedule needs high quality synchronous and asynchronous instruction from teachers, who can guide learning and keep students on task. This is achieved by:

• Breaking learning into smaller chunks.
• Being clear about expectations for online participation.
• Providing immediate (or at least frequent) feedback through online knowledge checks, comments on collaborative documents and chat to keep students motivated and moving forward.
• Including virtual meetings, live chats and/or video tutorials to maintain a human connection.
• Including and designing Independent Learning-Asynchronous.
• Designing learning experiences that do not require a lot of support from parents/guardians who might already be overwhelmed.

Here is an example of an Elementary Special Education daily remote schedule:

Here is an example of an elementary Career & Technical Education daily remote schedule:

Synchronous vs. Asynchronous Learning

• Synchronous remote classes are real-time classes and use live video chat sessions. Students can attend a live class online, participate in interactive discussions, and work on assignments and tasks after the session. The assignments can be submitted through a learning management system (or through email). If some students cannot participate in synchronous sessions for any reason, the teacher may use a system that allows for recording each synchronous session so that students who miss it may replay it at another time.
• Asynchronous remote learning sessions occur at various times. Students will log into a course/learning management system, read or watch a pre-recorded mini-lecture, and participate in activities based on their own schedule.
• When applicable, a teacher may combine the above two options to deliver their instruction. For example, in a learning unit, the teacher can arrange a few synchronous sessions to teach and discuss challenging content and handle other learning activities (reading, assignments) in an asynchronous manner.
• The decision on how much synchronous, asynchronous or combination of remote instruction a class provides will be based on specific needs for each specific course or program.

Learning Management System

As indicated in the sample remote schedule, Nassau BOCES' Special Education programs utilize various learning management systems to provide online asynchronous learning opportunities. Teachers ensure the learning management system's online content is delivering instruction that is differentiated to meet the students' needs according to the goals identified in their Individualized Education Program and/or subject area. Here are a few of the learning management systems currently used:

• Compass Learning
• IXL
• Khan Academy
• Freckle
• BoomCards
• Unique
• Read180
• Learning A-Z
• Lexia
• BrainPop
• HMH
• Edmark
• NearPod
• NewsELA

In effort to support our students as well as parents/guardians in navigating the various learning management systems, we are providing ClassLink, which is a single sign-on platform that indexes all synchronous and asynchronous applications to facilitate ease of access to instructional content for students. ClassLink is accessible from any device and gives students access to everything they need to learn, anywhere, with just one password.

Teacher Aides

Nassau BOCES' Special Education as well as Career & Technical Education programs, when appropriate, use teacher aides in general to assist the classroom teacher in such non-teaching duties as managing records, materials, and equipment; attending to the physical needs of children; and supervising all students. During remote learning, teacher aides will provide the following supports:

• Monitor student(s) during instructional period
• Assist student(s) with virtual learning supports
• Monitor students' assignment completion
• Assist student(s) with emotional/ behavioral skills identified in IEP (i.e., interpersonal relationship, following rules and expectations, etc.)
• Assist student(s) with social skills (i.e., interaction with others, pursuing areas of interest, etc.)
• Assist student(s) with transitional support (i.e., time management of instruction, related services, lunch, recess, etc.)
• Assist teacher with implementing lesson plans aligned to meet IEP goals
• Prepare various teaching aides to support the teacher's lesson plan.
• Communicate with teacher about academic, emotional/behavioral, and/or social matters
• Participate in meeting(s) with administration & educational team (i.e., faculty meetings when appropriate, Individual Education Plan, etc.)
• Participate in professional development training/courses
• Teacher Aides will be expected to complete a daily activity log for the duration of their scheduled workday

Some students in our Special Education programs are assigned a one-to-one teacher aide as determined by the Committee of Special Education. The general roles and responsibilities of the teacher aide is to provide their assigned student with health/personal care, behavior and instruction support. During remote learning, one-to-one teacher aides will provide the similar supports identified above for their assigned student with a focus on constant verbal and/or physical prompting to stay on task and follow directions.

Instructional Packets

Teachers prepare in advance instructional packets for distribution to students aligned with the skill level of age groups and abilities, including students with disabilities and English Language Learners, to the greatest extent possible. The following are examples of reference materials, curriculum, and assignments prepared for distribution to students:

• Textbooks, trade books and magazines
• Photocopies of text, pictures, and other media
• Printed transcripts of guided lessons
• Photocopies of activity pages, graphic organizers, and skill-building sheets
• Lists of hands-on activities students can engage in at home

Teachers may take two different approaches when developing packets, according to how much advanced notice they have before a school closure or prolonged student absence:

• Generic packets that can be used at any point in the school year that promote student learning according to grade-level and subject-specific standards, or
• Unit-specific packets that are based on the planned curriculum, and integrate with the lessons that students are currently learning in class, and/or
• Customized packets aligned to the Individualized Education Plan

Tele-Practice

The United States Department of Education during the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged the use of teletherapy and teleintervention as a means to continue to meet the needs of students with disabilities, including English Language Learners with disabilities. Nassau BOCES related service staff (i.e., physical, occupational, and speech therapists) will use tele-practice as an option for provision of related services, including bilingual related services, to the extent possible and consistent with privacy interests. Note, during the time period the school district is closed pursuant to NYS Governor Executive Order, school districts are not required to amend students' IEPs if continuing the provision of related services via tele-practice is part of a school closure recommendation. According to NYSED, during the period of the emergency the existing approved set of Medicaid-reimbursable SSHSP services will be reimbursed under current rates when delivered through the following means:

• Two-way audio/video communication;
• Video, including technology commonly available on smartphones and other devices; and/or
• Telephonic communication to the extent the service can reasonably be delivered over the phone.