VIRTUAL DAYS (Applies to students Pre K-12)
You might have noticed some Virtual Days listed on the 2020-21 School Calendar. The updated School Calendar at a Glance which was released over the summer includes Virtual Days on the following dates.
October 2
November 23 - 24
January 4
February 26
April 2
These Virtual Days will be observed districtwide. The days were added in response to the governor delaying the first day of school. The original 2020-21 School Calendar had these days listed as No School Days because they were either built-in make-up days (traditionally used to make up for inclement weather days) or holidays (e.g. Nov. 23 - 24). The district converted these No School Days to Virtual Days to minimize the impact of changing the calendar so close to the school year.
On Virtual Days, all students (onsite and virtual) will receive assignments they can do from home. There will be no LIVE instruction on campus or through Canvas. There will be no requirement for students to log into Canvas at a certain time on these days. However, the students will be expected to complete the assignments by the due dates in order to be counted present. On these Virtual Days the campuses will be closed.
STUDENT DIGITAL DAYS (Applies to students in grades 6 - 12)
The Sheridan School District has added three Student Digital Days for the fall semester for grades 6 - 12. Sheridan High School, Sheridan Middle School, and East End Middle School will observe Student Digital Days on the following dates.
September 23
October 14
October 28
These days will work much like the Virtual Days, but the days will only apply to students at the secondary level. On these Student Digital Days, students will not attend school onsite. Instead, they will complete virtual assignments from home. Attendance will be counted based on the completion of assignments. Teachers will be onsite during Student Digital Days and will communicate specific participation expectations with students. Our campuses will remain open for teachers and staff.
Why are student Digital Days being added to the school calendar this year?
In the event we have to move from onsite learning to virtual learning, Student Digital Days will serve as a training tool for students, educators, and parents. Parents and students will be able to get a glimpse of what digital delivery should look like. Another purpose of these days is continued teacher learning. Our educators will continue to learn and practice features of the Canvas Learning Management Systems as well as blended and digital management techniques. The pandemic has brought about many challenges and changes to the school year. Faculty and staff are learning new technology and new ways of teaching. The Student Digital Days will give staff more time to devote to learning and improving these systems as well as more time to serve our virtual students. Our goal is to create a better virtual learning experience for both our virtual and onsite students.
Why is the district not adding Student Digital Days to the school calendar for grades Pre K - 5?
We are not adding Student Digital Days to the school calendar for the elementary and intermediate grade levels due to our families’ child care concerns at these grade levels. It is also more feasible at these grade levels to work in time during the school day for teachers to learn and practice features of the Canvas learning system since students aren’t changing classes seven periods out of the day. The district will provide support staff to teachers at the elementary/intermediate campuses throughout the semester to assist them with duties and allow them more time to devote to professional development and assisting virtual students during the school day.