Baldwin Wired 2.0

List of 11 items.

• Guidelines and Best Practices for Students When Learning at Home

  • Always put forth your best effort and follow Baldwin’s core values.
  • Adhere to Baldwin’s acceptable use policy for technology, per our LS/MS/US handbooks.
  • Lower School students must adhere to the classroom-established norms for integrity.
  • Middle and Upper School students must adhere to Baldwin honor codes.
  • Adhere to Baldwin Wired 2.0 norms and rules established by each teacher.
  • Just as in school, do not interrupt a teacher or classmate while they are speaking.
  • Please wear your uniform each day to help formalize your learning experience.
  • Set up a quiet learning area that will limit distractions.
  • Have any materials you may need during lessons easily accessible.
  • Make sure your tablet or laptop and any other learning devices are charged and ready each day.
  • Keep track of your assignments, making special note of meeting times with your teachers/classmates.
  • No phones or other distractions should be used during instructional time. Turn off alerts and disconnect from social media.
  • If you are having trouble completing work, attending classes or are having difficulty understanding a new concept, reach out to your teacher as soon as possible.
  • *** Students in Grades 4 through 12 should have a daily practice of checking Baldwin Gmail. Families should likewise stay on top of email so as not to miss important class or activity announcements.

• Online Learning Tools

  Since the start of the school year, faculty have been purposefully familiarizing both in-person and online learners with the digital tools they will use when we begin Baldwin Wired 2.0, in order to ensure all our students are prepared to pivot to this learning scenario if necessary.
  
  Our main platform for posting assignments and information for Grades 3 through 12 will continue to be Google Classroom, while Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 2 will use Seesaw. Zoom will still be used for all classes and meetings. As has been the practice, classes will not be recorded, in order to maintain the privacy of our community members.

• Setting Our Students Up for Success

  At the end of our first semester, all Divisions plan to pivot to Baldwin Wired 2.0 for two weeks immediately after Winter Break. In order to prepare our girls and families for this transition, teachers and advisors will orient all students to Wired 2.0 schedules, norms and expectations in the weeks ahead. This will help students know what to anticipate as we pivot to a fully online program together. In addition, we will offer opportunities for families to ask questions about the learning tools and other aspects of Baldwin Wired 2.0, to ensure you are prepared to support the at-home learning experience for your daughters.

• Lower School Overview

  The Lower School’s Baldwin Wired 2.0 plan prioritizes synchronous learning and incorporates opportunities each day for peer-connections and community building. This plan reflects feedback we received from faculty, staff and parents at the end of the 2019-20 school year, together with research around best practices and innovations in the area of online instruction, and uses strategies and learning tools specifically designed to meet the needs of our youngest students.
  
  As depicted in the below sample schedule, Baldwin Wired 2.0 closely follows our 2020-21 in-person daily and weekly class schedule for Lower School students. During all learning scenarios, our girls continue to enjoy the benefits of longer learning blocks with fewer transitions, a key strategy to reduce unnecessary cognitive load during the unusual learning scenarios students face this school year. In addition, the Baldwin Wired 2.0 schedule keeps our new Morning Meeting routine, which has been a very effective way to focus the girls for the day ahead, establish classroom norms for all students, and build a strong classroom community.
  
  During Baldwin Wired 2.0 scheduled class time, teachers will balance large-group instruction and discussion with opportunities for small-group collaboration and moments of independent work. This helps our girls best engage with the content of each class, practice critical skills of collaboration and communication, and work independently to build important learning skills.
  
  Recess and lunch will likewise be protected as intentional and crucial “screen breaks,” although we may schedule occasional activities such as a virtual “lunch bunch” to allow the girls to connect and socialize outside of classes. In addition, students will participate in one synchronous Physical Education (PE) class per week, via Zoom, supplemented with independent movement activities led by teachers throughout the day, to keep the girls energized and engaged in their learning.
  
  During Baldwin Wired 2.0, all Lower School students will continue to use the learning platforms and digital tools they have become familiar with this year.
  

  • Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 2 will continue to use Seesaw as their primary mode for communicating assignments and feedback.
  • Grades 3 through 5 will continue to use Google Classroom.

   represents a sample weekly plan for a Lower School student during Baldwin Wired 2.0. The exact schedule for each class will vary, depending on daily times for specials classes. We will continue the three-week specials rotations throughout the 2020-21 school year, including during Baldwin Wired 2.0.

• Middle and Upper School Overview

  The Middle and Upper School Baldwin Wired 2.0 plan was developed to provide all students a schedule of synchronous classes that allows them to engage with their teachers each day, while taking care to provide small breaks to guard against the “Zoom fatigue” that can be counterproductive to students’ academic engagement.
  
  Updates to the schedule since last spring reflect feedback we heard that stressed the importance of daily synchronous classes and to provide flexible time during each class period that creates space for one-on-one discussions with teachers, peer collaboration and small group work, plus assessments, labs and other independent learning activities. Our also preserves valuable community-building time and gives students time to socialize outside of class every day, in order to support our girls’ healthy social and emotional development.
  
  Each day begins with a morning homeroom session to bring the girls together, allow their teachers to check-in with them directly, and ensure each student is ready for a productive day of learning. From there, the following model has been developed to structure each school day.
  
  Students will continue to have access to all of the resources that are integral to their Baldwin academic experience, including weekly office hours to meet with faculty, research support from our library, and assistance from our learning support team.
  
  During Baldwin Wired 2.0, Middle and Upper School Physical Education (PE) will continue via our online platforms, in both synchronous and asynchronous formats, to ensure that we keep our students physically active and engaged. Our plans for Baldwin Athletics (i.e., our sports teams) during periods of Baldwin Wired 2.0 will be based on the advice of public health officials and medical experts; more information will be provided to student-athletes and their families as the health and safety plans and logistics for this part of our programming are confirmed for early January.

• Attendance

  Regular attendance policies remain in place when students are learning from home. Teachers will take attendance for each class. If your daughter will have a partial- or full-day absence, please contact your Division’s administrative assistant to let them know. As always, we will partner with you to support your daughter if she will need to be absent from school.

• Assessment

  Classes will continue to use graded assessments including papers, quizzes, tests and projects, in order to provide ongoing feedback to students about their learning and their progress in both content mastery and skill development. All students are expected to adhere to the same expectations of integrity that are in place for in-person school, per the Middle and Upper School Honor Codes and the Lower School Academic Honesty sections of the Student Handbook. Grades for these assessments will be included in the final grade for the quarter, semester, or year as they would during an in-person learning scenario.

• Communication

  Regular communication between students, families, faculty, and staff will be essential to our success during Baldwin Wired 2.0. The School will continue to send e-newsletters with updates and important information, and our website will remain an essential source for the latest information. Faculty will post updates about classes in Seesaw for Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 2 and will use Google Classroom for Grades 3 through 5; those online sources should be the first stop for questions about your daughter’s classes or coursework.

• Community Events

  During Baldwin Wired 2.0, special community events and school traditions will continue – from assemblies, advising and class meetings to special moments for an entire division or the entire school. These are important ways for our girls to stay connected to each other, even when we are physically separated.
  
  Clubs, student groups and student leadership opportunities like Student Senate, Athletic Association and Arts League will likewise continue, with dedicated time in the schedule for students to meet and lead projects for our community.

• Sample Schedules

  
  

• Getting Help

  For questions related to classroom content and the classroom experience, please contact your daughter’s teachers via their Baldwin Gmail address, as you would during in-person school. Similarly, for questions about student life, clubs, and other elements of the Middle or Upper School experience during Baldwin Wired 2.0, your daughter’s advisors and deans remain the primary point of contact. If you have questions about the online tools used for Baldwin Wired 2.0, please contact our Tech Team.