Mountain Brook City Schools to begin eLearning on April 6

When Mountain Brook schools transition to online learning on Monday, students will have flexibility in when they work on instructional material recorded and posted online by their teachers, schools superintendent Dicky Barlow told students and parents in a letter posted today.

All six city schools have been closed to students, staff and faculty since March 16 under a state emergency order that suspended all educational activity and requirements through today. State officials recently cleared schools to resume instruction next week but said the students must learn at home.

Mountain Brook students will be given two hours to three hours of schoolwork each day, but can do that on their own schedule, Barlow said in his letter. Assignments are due a week after they are posted.

The academic work includes assignments in reading, writing, math, science, social studies and physical education. Optional “flex learning” includes music, art, Spanish and other topics, Barlow said in his letter.

Although all seniors who were in good standing academically before the shutdown are now eligible to graduate, Barlow urged them in a separate letter to continue their studies.

“You’ve been asked to stay at home and distance yourselves from others during a season in which you would typically spend most of your time away from home and with your friends,” Barlow wrote in the letter to seniors. “We believe the social aspect of the eLearning format can help you during these two months. While it’s not the same as sitting around with your best friends on a Friday night, it is a structured time that gives you something to focus on alongside your classmates.”

Semester grades will be an average of the third and four nine-week periods, but the final score will not be lower than a student’s grades at the end of the third nine-week period, which ended March 6. Students, however, may work with their teachers to improve their grades.

The state let school systems create their own plans for completing the academic year, which were due today.

First priority in Mountain Brook is completing distribution of the system’s Chromebook laptops. Elementary-school parents had the opportunity to get the computers in mid-March. Each school will let parents know how the others will be distributed.

Barlow expressed sympathy to seniors, who are affected by events that no other graduating class had had to experience since the Mountain Brook school system was established in 1959.

“As soon as we get this online platform in place, the administration, faculty, and community as a whole will consider how to best celebrate your senior year,” Barlow wrote. “Many options are being considered for graduation and other festivities.”