by Lural Ramirez | Mar 31, 2020
Futuro Verde has been pleased with the roll-out of our online learning program in response to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. Our teachers have taken on the new challenge with enthusiasm and love- eager to continue to support students and provide stability and consistency in a time of such global uncertainty. But it is our families and our students who have left us absolutely blown away by their adaptability, support and commitment to their children’s learning! Together we truly are stronger and we will get through this difficult time and back to regular school operations as soon as is possible!
FAQs regarding Futuro Verde Online Learning:
My child is new to English or Spanish (or both) or has a learning support need. How is Futuro Verde addressing those needs in online programming?
All Futuro Verde teachers are with us and online- including our language support specialist and our special education teacher. Both specialists have created innovative and helpful structures to support student in their classes, to provide individual support and to continue to help teachers as they work to differentiate learning online and make it accessible to students of all abilities.If your child needs further support please contact our specialists directly:
Anika Hodel, Language Specialist: anika@futuro-verde.org
Alannah Anglin, Special Education Teacher: alannah@futuro-verde.org
I am worried about my child’s well-being during this difficult time. Does the school still offer psychological support and counseling during online programming?
Absolutely! Times like these are moments when we all need emotional support and our school psychologist, Massiel Arroyo, is here to help our students, families and staff!
Supports include:
- Mindfulness classes with intentional emotional supports for ALL students
- A Futuro Verde Facebook group especially for families needing emotional support. Parenting, supporting learning at home and managing stress related to the impact of this pandemic on us as individuals, as a family and in our work or businesses is so very important at this time and Massiel is here to support parents too!
- Personal contact coordinated by Massiel and done with the support of our administrative and leadership team to check-in on families regularly and make sure our community stays well as a group and as individuals and that everyone receives the support they need.
I appreciate Futuro Verde’s efforts to implement online learning, but we miss regular school days. When will school start again?
We will get back to regular school days as soon as the public health emergency has passed and the Costa Rican government gives us the green light to go back to normal life! We can’t wait for this to happen and look forward to seeing our students very soon!
Does Futuro Verde have a plan to sustain online learning over time if the pandemic and social distancing efforts must continue beyond the original return date of April 13th?
Absolutely! Our COVID-19 protocol includes scaffolded implementation over time and teachers are prepared to deal with attendance, assessment and long-term scheduling of online learning, if needed. But, we are all hoping for a quick return to school as soon as safety permits us to be back together again! For more details on our policies for attendance, assessment and long-term scheduling, please review our website.
How will student grading be affected during online learning? Will my child still be able to graduate and get credit for the part of the school year they spend online?
Yes, your child will continue to receive instruction, be assessed by teachers and receive due credit for their learning and growth and development! That is the biggest benefit of keeping your child in a temporary online learning program during a global emergency like the one we are currently living. Even when the world feels turned upside down, your child will continue to progress in their studies and keep their options for the future wide open! Given the challenges of online learning, Futuro Verde has developed an online grading policy that generously takes into account the challenges online learning can present and is ensured to appropriately support our students for success!
by Karol Madrigal | Mar 30, 2020
In the face of a crisis like the one we are currently experiencing worldwide, it is of utmost importance to our citizens that the national institutions of leadership take the necessary actions to overcome the emergency. A timely government response can make all the difference, not only in the real impact of the crisis, but also in the responsible attitude of the population.
In the case of Costa Rica, the government’s decisions were made quickly. Even as we go through this experience, in a way, this response has strengthened the credibility of state institutions for the people of Costa Rica. Examples of these government-driven operations range from setting up a specialized health care center for patients with the virus, to closing the borders, to producing and distributing antiseptic solution, and prohibiting vehicle traffic at night. All of these measures have contributed to the public’s perception of a kind of shield, which can only be achieved through good leadership.
However, the concern and desire to overcome the current situation is not only a concern for the national authorities. On a more local level, the student government of Futuro Verde is aware of how this difficult context is developing and, due to its commitment to the student community, continues to meet in order to discuss ways to provide support to the students when they return to the institution. Additionally, they seek to ensure that a hygiene protocol is maintained to help protect, as much as possible, the health and general well-being of their fellow students.
What other action could more accurately reflect the way that our school prepares students for citizenship, than the genuine concern that our students are showing for their peers during a difficult time like this? Great work, Futuro Verde student government!
by Angie Briceño | Mar 29, 2020
Futuro Verde has an amazing and unique bilingual program. As the language specialist at our school, I get to work with students in all stages of development of both Spanish and English, from pre-K to 12th grade. In addition to receiving instruction in both languages throughout the day, language development has several layers here at Futuro Verde. The base layer that all students receive is a course in which they study multilingual and multicultural themes. This course, called Comparative Language Study at the elementary level and World Languages for our middle-schoolers, also helps students develop important language-learning strategies such as identifying cognates (words that sound or look the same in two or more languages), or using prefixes to infer meaning. The second layer of our language development program involves supporting specific groups of students who could benefit from extra instruction in either Spanish or English.
So what do both components of our bilingual program look like during online learning?
Delivering language support virtually can be a challenge, but we are finding ways to help language learners at all levels! Our Comparative Language Study course continues with online mini-lessons that I record myself teaching (for the younger grades) and assign independent work for (in the case of upper elementary). I have also been working with CREW teachers and other specialist teachers to have instructions for all assignments translated so that students and families understand how to complete each task. Additionally, we have provided video supports and modified assignments as added help for certain grade levels and assignments, not only to explain instructions more thoroughly or to guide students in completing certain tasks, but also to adapt the assignments to the needs of language learners. Videos are key here, so that we can convey meaning and content through gestures, images, objects, etc.
Parents, please feel free to reach out if your child is having difficulty understanding their assignments at anika@futuro-verde.org.
Online Special Education Support
by Alannah Anglin
Futuro Verde is lucky to have a multicultural and multilingual student population. The Support Team focuses on serving the population in a multidisciplinary manner, guiding and supporting students from preschool through twelfth grade through three different but related approaches: social, emotional and academic. Since our learning has taken a temporary turn towards virtual learning, the team has taken on the task of continuing to support students, working together with both teachers and parents. We have taken the following initiatives:
Create set schedules for online learning, seeking to bring balance, well-being, family cohesion and academic structure to homes.
Proposed Online Learning Schedule for PreK – 2nd grade
Proposed Online Learning Schedule for 3rd – 6th grade
Create virtual support ¨chats¨ in Seesaw or Hangouts, where we seek to maintain immediate communication with students and parents or guardians who wish to do so; providing guidance and answering any questions about the assigned activities.
Keep in touch with parents about their children’s progress, making sure to provide the support required by the students to facilitate the understanding and performance of the activities.
We have continued to give the Writing and Reading Workshops, taking into account the needs and objectives of each individual student.
by Alejandro Ramírez | Mar 28, 2020
More to the point, this is to say that the pandemia has affected us in all aspects of our lives. The sports program has been no exception. However, I am hopeful that when we return to normal classes we will return to our normally programmed events planned. These events consist of the school wide Chess Tournament and Swimming event. Both events will be reprogrammed once we return to normal classes.
Meanwhile the Physical Education Department works to be creative and to help our students maintain a balance in their lives. Through the implementation of online classes we have been able to follow normal Physical Education schedules sent to each student with concepts, routines, activities, games and exercises to do at home. Like all unexpected situations, teaching virtually in Physical Eduction has been a big challenge. Nevertheless, we believe in the importance of students disconnecting from screens and exercising to maintain a en emotional balance and be physically active in their lives. We encourage your patience and understanding while we grow and innovate during this new modality of teaching.
We thank families for all the support that you are providing to your children. We invite you to get involved in these activities assigned to the students and to contact us if you have any doubt, suggestion or question..
by Angie Briceño | Mar 27, 2020
As of today we have been in online learning for a few weeks now, which as everyone knows is necessary due to the difficult situation the world is currently in. However, we want to take this moment to congratulate all teachers, parents, but especially students who have maintained such an excellent attitude through this transition. None of this would be possible without the positive and energetic attitude that students have shown in response to this emergency.
Futuro Verde was able to quickly mobilize all of this online learning thanks to the constant training that teachers and administrative staff have received. We’ve had the opportunity to be part of an organization called Principal’s Training Center (PTC), an international organization that specializes in training, coaching, and sharing tools and guidelines with schools around the globe. Thanks to this connection we have been able to respond quickly to an emergency like this one. We have experienced a supportive environment where we receive resources that are being implemented in other schools in Costa Rica and around the world.
The resources and guidelines that we have implemented are adapted for online learning; that is, we have adequate rubrics and assignments, and have implemented tools so that the educational process of the students is not affected. Teachers are adopting and using these tools. Both parents and teachers will be receiving technology tips that will help continue this process. We invite both students and parents to take the initiative and use these tools to connect with classroom teachers.
Despite the difficulty we have encountered in switching to online learning, it brings certain benefits that will stay with our students for a lifetime: the development of skills such as self-discipline, patience, effort, and time management.
by Lural Ramirez | Mar 26, 2020
At Futuro Verde there are six formal grade reporting periods. These grading periods are divided into three trimesters with a formal report card at the end of each trimester and a midterm report sent home 6 to 7 weeks into each trimester. All grade reports are completed collaboratively by all teachers who work with each student and they are intended to inform parents of their child’s progress academically as well as to comment on progress in skills related to social-emotional development and self-management. This year, midterm reports were emailed to parents as the date for parent receipt of midterms coincided with our transition to an online learning program model as a part of our COVID-19 protocol.
As a parent, it is best to use midterm reports in the following ways:
- Understand how your child is evolving and progressing academically. What academic areas are strengths for your child? Is your child struggling in any way academically?
- Understand the specifics related to your child’s social-emotional development. Is your child relating well to others? Are they demonstrating pro-social behaviors with peers and adults?
- Is your child organized, independent in their study habits and able to self-manage? This will often show up as a comment in regards to turning in assignments or as a general comment from teachers.
What should you do with what the midterm tells you?
- If your child is struggling academically please schedule a meeting as soon as possible with the subject teacher, CREW teacher or the academic or assistant director. Now is the time to act and to intervene to help your child get back on track!
Even though we are in an online learning program right now, you can still schedule a Zoom or Skype meeting with school staff. To do so, simply email the teacher or administrator you would like to speak with.
- If your child is having any social or emotional struggles, please request a meeting with the school psychologist, Massiel, in order to make a plan for support and intervention. Social-emotional development and care is essential to development and learning and must be prioritized if your child has needs in this area.
Again, even though we are in an online learning program right now, you can still schedule a Zoom or Skype meeting with Massiel. To do so, simply email her to set up a time to talk.
- If you are seeing that your child is not progressing along recommended developmental processes related to independence and self-management, please make sure to identify this need and address it. Our goal as parents are to support our children in becoming independent and functional citizens who are positive contributors to society. This development happens little by little over the years and delays in development should be addressed immediately in order to help children be successful at all ages and stages.
As we are in the midst of online learning as we speak, it is ever more clear that it takes a village to raise a child and the triangular support system of school, parents and student must work in close unison for optimal development and growth over time! Thank you for supporting your child while they complete their social distancing and school work from home and thank you for consistently working in conjunction with our school to help your child reach his/her fullest potential!
