Franklin Regional preps to start online instruction on Monday

Franklin Regional officials are preparing for students to resume class as much as possible amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“Throughout the shutdown, teams of Franklin Regional administrators, teachers, and support staff have been meeting remotely to create a Continuity of Education Plan that involves online learning for all students,” Superintendent Gennaro Piraino wrote in a letter to district parents posted to the FR website on Tuesday evening.

District staff will undergo online professional development training from Wednesday through Friday, with non-traditional instruction starting Monday, March 30 by way of Google Classroom, the Zoom.us video conferencing website and other online learning tools.

Students will not physically report to school but will receive attendance credit if they engage in and complete teacher-directed learning activities.

“The District expects that all students will complete their learning activities and assignments as if they were in school. Because we are counting Continuity of Education Plan days toward our days of instruction, students should expect to engage in rigorous work,” Piraino wrote. “However, teachers recognize and will account for the fact that many parents are working remotely and are not able to provide constant support for their children’s educational programming.”

Families were asked to respond to a survey about technology availability at home, and are asked to contact their building’s principal if they have not received the survey.

An online tutorial will be available for parents and students to assist in logging into Google Education and using other digital education tools. For more, see FRSD.k12.org.

“Please know that we are taking direction from the Pennsylvania Department of Education and their directives may change due to the fluidity of the crisis,” Piraino wrote.