There will be no numeric grades for Jamestown Public Schools students for the third and fourth quarters of the school year as district officials act in anticipation of school buildings being closed for the rest of the 2019-20 school year.

While buildings are closed, learning is expected to continue. Dr. Bret Apthorpe, Jamestown Public Schools superintendent, has shared that message often in the past several weeks, but Tuesday brought the release of the district’s plan to educate students for the rest of the school year. District administrators spent the past two weeks compiling the instructional plan before principals met with staff Tuesday.

“Today our principals are sharing that plan with their faculty and their families,” Apthorpe said. “The message is that buildings are closed but school is open and that the teachers and students can expect regular interactions together through the balance of the school year. Part of our planning includes the reloading of resources and materials. So how do we provide resources to our teachers and families for the rest of the school year and do it in a way that’s safe and coordinated. That was part of our plan. Each building has detailed plans on how to do that.”

The district’s Continuing Education Plan released Tuesday indicates that children in kindergarten through fourth grades will be graded on five levels: exceptional, successful, progressing, needs improvement and not graded. Holding elementary school students back a grade is to be used as a last resort and must be considered by a committee using a decision-making process based in part on educational data and interventions. Elementary school students will not receive a third-quarter report card. Fourth quarter grades will be finalized by June 19 and final report cards printed and mailed by June 26.

In middle and high schools, students will be graded using the state’s four-level system, with students in performance levels 2, 3 and 4 being deemed satisfactory, students in level 1 deemed unsatisfactory and students also able to receive an incomplete. Final course grades will be used to determine if a student passes or fails, which means the majority of the teacher’s decision will be based on work from Sept. 5 through March 13, though students whose grades in the first half of the school year weren’t meeting course expectations and whose work at home hasn’t met grade-level expectations could fail courses. Second trimester grades for middle school students will be finalized by April 30 and available through the Parent Portal. There will be no third trimester grades, with final course grades recorded only as pass or fail. Final grades will be recorded by teachers no later than June 12, with failing grades verified by administrators to verify that the grade is consistent with grading criteria and supported by evidence, with the administrator able to require a teacher to change the grade to pass or incomplete. All grades will be finalized by June 23.

High school work issued from March 16 through April 3 will be marked satisfactory, unsatisfactory or incomplete. Third quarter report cards won’t be printed. Fourth quarter grades will be similarly marked satisfactory, unsatisfactory or incomplete, with students graded on a pass or fail basis for the year. Much like middle schools, failing grades will be reviewed by administrators, with final report cards printed and mailed by July 1.

“We’ve been out five or six weeks,” Apthorpe said. “Where is your child? Are they doing OK or are they not doing OK? Historically, you could get into our Parent Portal and log on and see, ‘Here’s my kids’ assignments.’ That hasn’t been the case for the last five or six weeks. Part of our plan involves allowing parents to see where their child is in terms of passing, failing or incomplete. That’s an important communication piece. You don’t want to be out of school 12 weeks and then tell a kid they failed and have the parents never know. If someone hasn’t been doing well we need to do our due diligence and allow the parents access to see how their son or daughter is doing, especially now when we need that partnership at home so much.”

Elementary school teachers will prepare packets to be sent home to students from today through May 1, with schools communicating with parents about how to pick those materials up from the school. Middle and high school teachers will continue teaching through Google Classroom, Zoom, Castle Learning or other sites that are being used. There is also a process for high school students who need paper copies of work to be distributed.

School nurses will stay connected with students who regularly receive medical help at school through phone calls, the Remind app and the Jamestown High School School-Based Health Center will continue to see students on an as-needed basis. School counselors will continue working with students, largely through phone calls or online methods. Special education services will be provided through Zoom, email and the Remind app.

The complete JPS Continuing Instruction Plan is available at www.jpsny.org/continuinginstruction.