Fulton BOE Discusses Continuity Of Learning Plan

FULTON – The Fulton City School District Board of Education held a three hour long meeting last night, May 12, where the board discussed the continuity of learning during the pandemic. 

Director of Instructional Support Services Daniel Carroll gave a presentation to the board regarding the continuity of learning. The schools shut down on March 16 and the plan was initially for a two week closure, which has had to evolve. Carroll said the state has certain requirements, all of which the district has met. 

The district’s first goal was to make sure students had access to online learning, then interactive instruction online and learn what works and what does not work. 

The most recent phased approach to continuity of learning is: 

“Now that schools will remain closed for this academic year, PK-12 teachers will continue to include new content lessons, using digital and on-line learning platforms. Administration, IT department and teachers will monitor effectiveness and participation. Support will continue to be provided to teachers and students based upon their ongoing needs for supporting students’ achievement of learning outcomes in an on-line environment,” according to the continuity plan.

Carroll said the district wanted to go beyond the required state education components and add more “Fultonized” components as well, including addressing social-emotional needs.

According to the continuity plan, the following have been implemented:

• Social-emotional learning instruction in grades PK-6 as component of our “Learning at Home” resources, using Second Step curriculum. 
• Weekly virtual meetings of each building’s student support team (principal, school-home liaison, counselors, psychologists, nurses, school-based agency partners, school administrators) to review reports regarding student engagement in remote learning, concerns expressed by teachers and/or parents and to identify students who need additional support. 
• At least weekly monitoring through phone calls or virtual meetings between members of the student support teams and students who are in need of additional support. This includes those students who received student support team services prior to school closure. 
• School-based mental health services via tele-therapy for those students who were served in FCSD’s school-based clinics prior to school closure and those who have been newly referred. This is a partnership with Oswego Health Behavioral Services. 
• Targeted outreach to McKinney-Vento eligible and unaccompanied youth via telephone and virtual meetings by the McKinney-Vento mentor/tutor. Targeted outreach to students is also happening via phone and virtual meetings by FCSD’s teen health educator and teen dating/domestic violence prevention student advocate. These services are offered through a partnership with Oswego County Opportunities, Inc. 
• Referrals to community-based services provided by members of the student support teams and FCSD’s community school resource coordinator. FCSD community school collaborative partners include the Oswego County Departments of Social Services, Health and Probation, Catholic Charities, Farnham Family Services, Fulton YMCA, Cornell Cooperative Extension. Oswego Health, Child Advocacy Center of Oswego County, SUNY Oswego, Cayuga Community College, OnPoint, Blessings in a Backpack (Prince of Peace Church) and Oswego County Opportunities, among others to meet the needs of our students, families and staff. 
• Restorative and self-care practice virtual meetings have been offered to all employees and are facilitated by FCSD’s behavior intervention specialist. New teachers are provided mentors, who are continuing to meet with their new teacher colleagues virtually. New teachers (fewer than 3 years in the district) are also provided the opportunity to participate in a new teacher study group, which has continued to meet virtually since school buildings have been closed. 
• Weekly communication (letters, email, social media and website posting, videos) to families and staff provide information about social-emotional wellness resources and supports available through school and in the community. 
• Social welfare checks conducted by FCSD’s school resource officer when no member of the staff has been able to reach the student or family for extended periods. 

Every district in Oswego County came together to create a credit guidance flowchart to determine if a student in the secondary level should pass or fail.

“I’m concerned for students that genuinely might be trying but their incomplete really is not due to their lack of effort,” BOE member David Cordone said.

In response, Carroll said that was one of the motivations behind the flowchart.

“In State Ed’s guidance, there is no reference to work completion, to effort, to completion of assignments – it has to do entirely with achievement of learning outcomes,” Carroll said. “We committed to giving students the opportunity to demonstrate those in any way, whether that’s through a phone conversation… any type of way really.”

Superintendent Brian Pulvino said the district has come a long way in a short period of time in regards to evolving plans for the district during the pandemic. 

“Back in December we didn’t think we’d be here; that’s for sure,” Pulvino said. “Here we are in May and there’s a lot of things we need to get accomplished and buttoned up through the end of the [academic] year… The continuity plan really serves as a road map… It’s just a great measuring point of where we’ve been, where we are and then it’ll be interesting to see where we’re going in the coming weeks and months.”

To view the full meeting, the video is here. The continuity plan can be viewed here. The resolutions and other related documents from the meeting can be found here. There will be another BOE meeting Tuesday, May 26 at 6:30 p.m. and will be live streamed on the FCSD Communications YouTube channel.

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