A tool has been added to Gradebook in myNHA where the
designated homeroom teacher should enter data on a weekly basis. Two fields-‘Teacher
Connection’, and ‘Student Participation’ – are to be completed for each student
each week.
Documentation of this activity will be useful for several
audiences. First, for teachers and admin–schools will be able to see which
families are not participating in learning activities and be able to reach out
proactively to engage them. Second, for NHA as a system of schools–NHA will be
able to analyze the usefulness of our current home learning strategy and
continue to make adjustments and improvements as necessary. Third, for our
authorizing bodies–NHA can assure states and authorizers that our intended
learning activity with scholars is happening with fidelity.
The tool is intended to be simple, straightforward, and not
time-consuming – and at the same time provide valuable and timely information
on the status of remote learning.
Below are some common questions and answers related to this
data tracking tool. Thank you for helping us all track activity and
continuously improve our practice.
1. Is the
use of this tool required?
a. Yes.
2. I am a
specials teacher. Am I supposed to fill this out?
a. No,
not directly. Only the homeroom teacher will have access to this tool. But
similar to planning weekly lessons for students, you should be collaborating
with the homeroom teacher so that the homeroom teacher has full insight into
student participation in learning activities.
3. What
do you mean by “teacher connection?”
a. Teacher
connection is defined as any action the teacher takes to reach out to the
student or parent regarding that student’s learning. Examples would be an
email, a phone call, a text message, a connection via Google classroom, or
similar items. The column allows for three possible entries – blank,
meaning that the teacher was not able to initiate any connection to the
student; attempted, meaning that the teacher initiated a contact but
received no response; or successful, meaning that the teacher received a
response to their outreach. The required weekly email from teachers to families
outlining the scope of work for the week does not count in this column of
teacher connection. For reference, hovering your mouse over the blue circle in
the column title will show the column definition.
4. “What
do you mean by “student participation?”
a. Any
evidence the teacher has that the student engaged with the learning material
can be counted as student participation. Examples can include student work
viewed through Google classroom, a student/family-generated photo of a
completed worksheet, verbal confirmation on a phone call that a student
completed work, and similar items. For reference, hovering your mouse over the
blue circle in the column title will show the column definition.
5. When
should this be completed?
a. Data
will need to be entered into the tool weekly. Ideally, that would be completed
by Friday afternoon each week. Data can be entered at any point during the week
as long as it is finalized by the end of the week. Staff
will have to go back and track Student Participation and Teacher Connection
beginning the week of April 13.
6. I
don’t see this tool in my gradebook. I am team-teaching with another staff
member.
a. In the
case of two teachers in a class, only one person has been assigned to the tool
to track progress. Although the
myNHA team has been working to ensure team teachers are represented in myNHA
equally for common in-person school situations
(same access, both names display in course lists, on report cards,
etc.), they were intentional to only give one teacher access to track remote
learning due to the requirement of only having one teacher responsible for
communicating with families and tracking this information.
7. Am I supposed to be entering grades
for students during this closure period?
a. No
