Life Learning Academy’s COVID-19 Response

On Friday March 13, 2020, SFUSD announced district-wide school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At LLA, teachers and administrative staff had already begun developing the LLA@Home Distance Learning Program to be implemented starting the following Monday. We focused on five goals:

• Academic Programming: Provide a simple, clear and engaging program for students to complete the 2019-20 school year and academic progress towards graduation.
• Communication: Maintain strong lines of communication with students and LLA staff.
• Food Equity and the Digital Divide: Provide the necessary technology, materials, and training for students to utilize the Google Classroom platform and instructional tools.
• Social-Emotional Learning: Provide direct support to students through regular contact with the LLA Student Support Team to bolster their academic work and to address any life challenges they face during the shelter-in-place orders.
• Collaboration: Support teacher teams to design, implement, and improve the LLA@Home program through daily communication, regular collaboration, resource sharing, outcome and participation indicators, and feedback.

The LLA@Home Program, developed in collaboration between teachers, support staff, and administration, included the following key components and structures.

• A daily academic program which utilized teacher-created demonstrations, instructions, and support through Youtube videos, synchronous and asynchronous Zoom meetings, and high interest assignments. 
• Teri and the Student Support Team maintained direct communication with individual students (i.e. Zoom, phone calls) and created regular school-wide video messages to replicate our “Morning Meeting” structure, wherein all staff and students come together at the start of each day.
• Every student without access to a computer or the internet was delivered an LLA laptop and “mifi” hotspot.
• All coursework was broken down into a series of steps designed to support students wherever they were in the process, and not to overwhelm them if they engaged late.
• Our chef developed a weekly meal kit delivery program that included all of the ingredients needed to prepare a healthy and delicious meal for students and their families, along with an instructional video with step-by-step instructions for preparing, plating, and serving the meal.
• Our physical fitness teacher provided weekly video lessons which included home workout instructions and weekly physical fitness challenges.
• Our science teacher sent home seeds, soil, and planters to grow at home.

For our families, stay informed regarding new SFUSD updates, the CDC regarding COVID-19, and Food Banks in your area. Although we are proud of the LLA@Home Distance Learning Program, we are eager to safely gather in the schoolhouse again as soon as possible.