LAUNCH PLAN FALL 2020
Because Bay understands that life doesn’t come with a syllabus, we instill students with the courage and good humor necessary to flourish in an unpredictable world.
—FROM THE BAY SCHOOL PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT
LAUNCH PLAN FALL 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS Guiding Principles 1 Moving from Remote to In-Person Learning 3 Fall 2020 Remote Weekly Schedule 4 Fall 2020 Low-Density Weekly Schedule 5 2020-2021 Academic Calendar 6 Schedule Highlights 8 Our Mutual Commitment 12
LAUNCH PLAN FALL 2020
Guiding Principles Our schedule for the distance learning model was determined as a result of significant research, discussions, and surveys among stakeholders, including teachers, staff, students, and parents. Our faculty’s experience and learnings from the spring term were invaluable in this process. In addition to health and safety, we sought to address concerns about instructional time, students’ emotional health, equity, and the personal bonds that characterize the Bay community. Know that we are listening and ready to respond to feedback. We kept at the center of our discussions the following principles:
Health and safety
The safety and well-being of our entire community—students, their families, our staffulty—is paramount. We will continue to work under the guidance of local, state, and federal public health recommendations, while assessing our own readiness to return to in-person learning.
Bay’s educational program
In searching for the best adaptation to the “normal” Bay experience, we have considered myriad schedule models, focusing on the following features: • Instructional hours that maintain academic rigor and align with a regular school term while providing the spaciousness that gives teachers pedagogical flexibility and time to build connections with students • Sustainability and equity in the experiences of students and teachers • Alignment with The Bay School mission, philosophy, and precepts • Ability to smoothly pivot between in-building, low-density in-building, and distance learning • Schedule consistency
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Guiding Principles Cont. Community and connection
These are central to the educational experience at Bay. Distance learning provides challenges and opportunities for all of us to reimagine how we stay connected. The new fall schedule allows us to: • Re-establish community traditions and routines like Morning Meeting, advisory, and club meetings • Continue to connect learning to what is going on in the world • Provide ample opportunity for student-teacher engagement
The Bay School’s mission and precepts are at the heart of all we do. The schedules on the following pages represent our best efforts to reshape Bay’s unique program for the exigencies of this moment.
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Moving from Remote to In-Person Learning We all want to see a return to in-person learning for our students once it’s safe to do so. Our decision to reopen will be grounded in the mandates and guidance of state and local authorities, including the SF Department of Public Health. From there, we will assess our internal readiness to safely reopen Bay’s facilities. This includes our capacity to mitigate risk on campus as well as our constituents’ comfort with returning to in-person teaching and learning. It is likely that, at least initially, The Bay School’s return to campus will use a low-density model (of in-person classes rotating with distance learning) so that we can continue to safeguard the well-being of our students and staffulty. We have prepared safety protocols, including but not limited to: • New sanitation practices • Daily health intakes • Response and communication if a community member has COVID-19 symptoms or has tested positive • Patterns and timing of movement in the building To support a low-density format, we have upgraded our facility with new furniture, building modifications, classroom technology, and more. Further, The Bay School’s location provides many opportunities for outdoor classes, and we are working to “expand” our campus into the Presidio. Prior to any reopening, we will share the details of all we are doing to ensure a safe return to school. The full wellness of the students you entrust to us remains our priority.
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Fall 2020 Distance Learning Weekly Schedule
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2020-2021 Academic Calendar september
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2020-2021 Academic Calendar february 2021 SU MO TU WE TH FR
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Immersive 1 Immersive 2 Graduation
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Highlights: Academics and Student Life The Bay School was designed around the very idea of responsiveness—to student needs, to cultural shifts, even to unknowns like pandemics—while providing a foundation that inspires our students to engage deeply with their learning. This foundation has positioned us to create a model that works for the current situation while preserving the uniqueness of the Bay program. Below, we draw your attention to particular features of our plans for the fall.
Morning Meeting is back!
Morning Meeting has a dedicated place in the schedule. We feel strongly that with distance learning in place, we need more ways to be together as a community. Further, the discussions, sharing, community announcements, and mindfulness practice that take place during Morning Meeting build important bonds and help us to truly see each other.
Synchronous classes—with flexibility
The cornerstone of the education offered by The Bay School is interaction. Students interact with teachers and each other in collaborative groups, with texts, with projects, and in Socratic seminars. We believe deeply that this is where learning and growth occur. Although distance learning can present a challenge to building interaction, our schedule employs synchronous classes to give students and teachers the space to interact in creative ways. Three days a week, classes are 2.5 hours long. These blocks are designed to give teachers more flexibility in how they conduct their classes, allowing them to rely less on Zoom, giving students more time to work away from screens, and providing everyone with the additional 1:1 and small group time that we’ve learned is necessary during distance learning. Our faculty’s experience with creating Immersives (with daily classes of 6 hours or more) gave them a head start on how to creatively and effectively use long blocks.
Clubs, Olympics, and virtual social gatherings
We reserve long blocks at the end of Thursdays and Fridays for classwide community building, all-school gatherings, and fun competitions, as well as for individual clubs, affinity groups, and student leadership groups. This provides a way for students to decompress and have fun after
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Highlights Cont. a full academic week, and it will provide opportunities to gather in person when we are able to move to a low-density learning model. The School Life Committee (SLC) will launch a new year of the Bay Olympics, hosting an ongoing series of athletic, artistic, and academic endeavors for students to take part in; these will take place remotely at first and on campus after conditions improve. The Student Life Office and SLC will also host online social spaces, like the “virtual hallway,” and online gatherings like movie and game nights.
Tutorial
Another core component of Bay’s culture, this segment is still offered 3 times per week. Tutorial is the time we provide for students to meet 1:1 with their teachers (and we have modified our 1:1 video policies to enrich these sessions). This is in addition to the time for teacherstudent engagement created by the longer class blocks.
Second advisory block
We’ve added a second advisory meeting in each week, with the goal of advisors meeting not only with their group, but also individually with each advisee at least once a month. Our goal is to maintain the supportive relationships central to The Bay School’s approach to learning.
Ability to pivot
Our experience in the spring showed that consistency in the schedule is essential for students and teachers. For students, consistency provides needed stability during the challenges of the pandemic. For faculty, consistency enhances the ability to plan for classes and deliver the best instruction. The distance learning schedule can be maintained for low-density attendance when we are able to return to campus. In that case, the 2.5-hour blocks will facilitate time for small student cohorts and create minimal transition times (lowering exposure in hallways and reducing the number of times classrooms need to be cleaned).
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Highlights Cont. Grading and assessment
We will return to school with our usual letter grade system in place, though teachers are developing their courses to focus more on formative assessment (nongraded feedback), with fewer traditional assessments (like tests). The shift to formative assessment is supported by the longer blocks and tutorial time that allow for 1:1 and small group feedback sessions.
Welcoming our 9th graders and new students
We understand how daunting it may feel to begin at a new school, let alone during such an atypical time. Please be assured that we are committed to getting to know all of our new students and helping them establish meaningful connections and find their place at Bay. In addition to grade-level orientations in August, weekly group advisory meetings and the biweekly 1:1 advisor meetings block will help our new community members find their footing and get to know their advisors. All 9th graders also take a seminar, taught once a week during flex block, in which they’ll develop relationships with their classmates and members of the Student Life Office, learn about supports and resources available to them at Bay, and discover their essential role in contributing to our community and upholding Bay’s culture. With the help of student feedback, we will plan social gatherings specifically for new students to engage with peers who have similar interests and shared affinities. And we’ll help new students find their place in our clubs and activities or even start their own. There will also be a series of opportunities for parents to meet their class dean and other families new to Bay. New families, stay tuned for events hosted by the Bay Family Association (BFA) and the Advancement office.
Flex
Flex is integral to the Bay schedule. The flex period occurs twice a week, and students can use this time to complete homework during the school day, take their co-curricular classes, engage the college counseling team, and meet with advisors, class deans, learning services, and counselors.
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Counseling services
In addition to the class deans, our school counselors will be available during school hours to meet 1:1 with students, consult with parents and guardians, and provide resources for all Bay families. They may be reached at counseling@bayschoolsf.org. Visit our website for more information.
A SPECIAL ROLE FOR THE CLASS OF 2021
We recognize that our seniors are about to begin their final year at Bay in a way that is far from what they had envisioned. We are committed to celebrating them throughout the year, online and in person. We also recognize the fundamental role they will play in helping us keep Bay’s spirit and culture alive during distance learning. Beginning with orientation, we will actively engage them in taking leadership roles in our community—sponsoring activities, delivering Morning Meeting talks, and working to uphold Bay’s mission and traditions. These acts of giving back will also contribute to their personal well-being and happiness as they navigate a challenging time.
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Our Mutual Commitment A Bay education is an exercise in mutual respect between staffulty, students, and families. While these may be unusual times, we are approaching the school year with an eye toward maintaining important structures—conducting synchronous classes carefully redesigned to accommodate distance learning. Here we outline our efforts and our expectations.
Professional development and faculty preparation
Our faculty have spent the summer completing intense professional development in order to learn new technologies and methods for teaching largely online. All faculty members engaged in courses specific to online teaching in one of three areas: project-based learning; social-emotional learning; or diversity, equity, and inclusion. We then asked them to apply what they learned—building on their experience creating Immersives— to redesigning their courses for the new schedule. In August, we will come together as staffulty for in-house professional development to continue to build internal capacity. This work will put a range of tools and techniques in our pocket, allowing us to remain flexible and effective regardless of teaching format.
Bay’s expectations of students
One of the lessons of high school is taking responsibility for one’s education. As mentioned, we will be conducting synchronous classes. This means that we expect students will “show up,” just as they would for any class, or be marked absent. And, as discussed in the Highlights section, we will start this school year with our normal A-F grading system in place. While we always hope that students will feel comfortable approaching teachers, advisors, and counselors to discuss areas where they are struggling, we are also aware that doing so isn’t easy for everyone. The infrastructure created by our Academic and Student Life teams will help our faculty to be attuned to student needs; they will be prepared with resources to offer to classes, individuals, and families. Whether a student is experiencing Zoom fatigue or feelings of isolation, we are committed to our role of caring for their well-being. A hallmark of a Bay education is the opportunities that are fostered and curated for students to learn with and from their peers. Whether in person or in distance learning, in small groups or a full class, we are confident that Bay’s students will continue to show up and bring their best as both scholars and community members.
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