It has been 34 school days since I’ve stood in front of my students. We had just finished a 3 week-long unit on The Reconstruction, trying to answer the question “Was the Era of Reconstruction steps towards democracy and freedom or continued oppression and punishment?” We had read 20+ primary sources, watched documentary clips, and read analyses of the period by historians Eric Foner and WEB Du Bois. And Friday, March 13, we were finally going to lay it all out there and debate the answer to the question. 

In This Issue...

• Reflections from Suzanne Herko, Student Agency Coordinator
• RESOURCE: Distance Learning "Week at a Glance" Schedules
• LINK: Everything You Can Do with the Smithsonian Learning Lab
• VIDEO: How to Use Newsela for Remote Teaching
• LINK:  Please Do a Bad Job Putting Your Course Online
• VIDEO: Mindfulness Classes for Kids and Families

In This Issue...

• Reflections from Mary Plant-Thomas, AP Bio Teacher
• Avoiding the Dreaded Zoom Trolls
• LINK: Resources from the Center on Online Learning and Students with Disabilities
• VIDEO: How to Teach Remotely with a Google Slides HyperDocs Part II
• Resource: Distance Learning Check-In Guide

In This Issue...

• Reflections from Therese Arsenault, Math/Science Instructional Leader
• Everything You Need to Get Your Distance Classroom Up and Running
• Physical Education: Going the Distance While Social Distancing
• VIDEO: How to Teach Remotely with a Google Slides HyperDocs
• IFSEL’s Social Emotional Learning Tips for Distance Learning
• You Deserve A Night at the Opera

It has been an eventful week for us at Gateway Public Schools, as it has certainly been for most of you as well. Monday marked our first day back from Spring Break and the first day of our formal Distance Learning program, and with it the joy of “seeing” students again coupled with the anxiety of piloting a whole new way of teaching and learning for our community. Then Tuesday brought news that San Francisco would be joining the rest of the state and Bay Area in keeping campuses closed for the rest of the school year, meaning we are officially all-in on distance learning for the long haul. While this wasn’t entirely a surprise – in fact, it was the contingency staff were already planning for – the thought of our halls remaining silent for the rest of the year is, well, a bummer.