To Our Elementary SKPS Families:

As required by the Oregon Department of Education, on April 13th we will provide distance learning for all students in Salem-Keizer Public Schools. The primary medium for this learning is the internet, with instruction provided both during face-to-face interactions with the teacher and with planned activities and assignments that take place independently by the student. At the elementary level, family participation and support are needed for your student to access their distance education.

Google Meets will be used for face-to-face instruction. Students will receive invitations or links from their classroom teacher to participate. These links and invitations will be shared in advance via Seesaw or Google Classroom.

During a Meet, your student(s) face and name will be displayed on screen. If you do not want your student to be seen by other students, please turn off the camera on your device. This is completed by clicking the video camera icon on the Meet screen.

We recognize that some students may not be able to participate in a scheduled synchronous Meet session. To support these students, teachers may record a Meet for distribution to students not in attendance. If you do not want your student to be recorded for later viewing by other students, please turn off the camera on your device. This is completed by clicking the video camera icon on the Meet screen.

Learning in a synchronous online environment requires that teachers and families think about a few things in advance. Before your student participates in a scheduled synchronous event, consider the following.

  • Is your student in a location with a solid Wi-Fi signal?
  • Is your student in a location free from distractions?
  • Does your student have what they need for their learning (e.g. paper, pencil, eyeglasses, water bottle, etc.)?
  • Turn your back to your student’s screen and look at what others will see during the synchronous event. Is there anything you need to move?
  • If you are supporting your student during the synchronous event, you may also be seen by other students and other parents supporting their student. If you do not want to be seen during the event or recorded for later viewing, please turn off the camera on your device.

To protect student privacy, videos that are recorded for targeted distribution will not be posted on a public webpage. These videos will be stored on a district-hosted site and a view-only link will be shared within Seesaw or Google Classroom or sent only to those families that are unable to participate in a synchronous event. These videos will be permanently deleted after 14 days.

Most teacher-initiated content will be delivered in an online learning format; however, we do have options for families that are unable to participate. For those families that are unable to participate in online learning, we will continue to provide an approximation of this learning via paper packet distribution at our Grab-n-Go locations.

If you have any questions about distance learning, Google Meets, or about Seesaw or Google Classroom, please e-mail your student’s classroom teacher.

Thank you.