Family Role Details

The term “learning coach” is used to describe an adult who has the dedicated time and motivation to ensure that the eCADEMY K8 student is successful in the at-home learning environment.  The Learning Coach can be a parent, grandparent, or another caregiver. While the teacher role will be to deliver content and assess understanding, the Learning Coach will need to support their student with organization strategies, help them access online content and assist with submission of work as needed.  Learning Coaches know their student the best and are critical in communicating with the teacher to ensure student success.  Students will most likely find success when there is open communication and collaboration between the learning coach and teacher. The following provides a snapshot of some successful learning coach strategies.

(approximately 4 hours / day)

• Review the Week-at-a-glance
• Ensure students are prepared to learn, have appropriate materials and technology  
• Ensure student attendance for live or synchronous learning and provide technical/behavioral support as needed.
• Have conversations about the concepts being taught. (Students learn best when they can talk about concepts shortly after they have been introduced.)
• Assist with interactive tools and games. 
• Oversee assignment completion and submission. (It is not necessary to grade or correct before submission.)
• Help facilitate hands-on learning that may be in the course. 
• Check for understanding of assignments. (Help students communicate questions to their teacher.)
• Help keep the student on schedule and on pace.  
• Ensure all components of the course are being done with fidelity. (ie. Videos are watched in their entirety, documents are not submitted without content…)
• Students will be required to complete some tasks independently and should be allowed to do so without adult intervention. - this productive struggle helps to drive instruction provided by the teacher. 
• (Parent/guardian) Communicate with the teacher as needed.
• (Parent/guardian) Attend conferences when requested to ensure student progress
• (Parent/guardian) Ensure that the school has an updated phone number and email on file.

(approximately 3 hours / day) 

• Review the Week-at-a-glance
• Ensure students are prepared to learn, have appropriate materials and technology
• Ensure student attendance for live or synchronous learning and provide technical/behavioral support as needed.
• Have conversations about the concepts being taught. (Students learn best when they can talk about concepts shortly after they have been introduced.) 
• Assist with interactive tools and games. 
• Oversee assignment completion and submission. (It is not necessary to grade or correct before submission.) 
• Help facilitate hands-on learning that may be in the course. 
• Check for understanding of assignments. (Help students communicate questions to their teacher.)  
• Help keep the student on schedule and on pace.  
• Ensure all components of the course are being done with fidelity. (ie. Videos are watched in their entirety, documents are not submitted without content…) 
• Students will be required to complete some tasks independently - this productive struggle helps to drive instruction provided by the teacher. 
• (Parent/guardian) Communicate with the teacher as needed.
• (Parent/guardian) Attend conferences when requested to ensure student progress
• (Parent/guardian) Ensure that the school has an updated phone number and email on file.

(approximately 2 hours / day) 

• Review the Week-at-a-glance
• Ensure students are prepared to learn, have appropriate materials and technology
• Ensure student attendance for live or synchronous learning and provide technical/behavioral support as needed.
• Have conversations about the concepts being taught. (Students learn best when they can talk about concepts shortly after they have been introduced.) 
• Assist with interactive tools and games. 
• Oversee assignment completion and submission. (It is not necessary to grade or correct before submission.)  
• Help facilitate hands-on learning that may be in the course. 
• Check for understanding of assignments. (Help students communicate questions to their teacher.)  
• Keep the student on schedule and on pace.  
• Ensure all components of the course are being done with fidelity. (ie. Videos are watched in their entirety, documents are not submitted without content…) 
• Students will be required to complete some tasks independently - this productive struggle helps to drive instruction provided by the teacher. 
• (Parent/guardian) Communicate with the teacher as needed.
• (Parent/guardian) Attend conferences when requested to ensure student progress
• (Parent/guardian) Ensure that the school has an updated phone number and email on file.

Successful learners benefit from a dedicated learning space! 

Learning spaces should not be limited to a desk and a chair. It is essential to create a learning space that provides opportunities for students to move as needed. The key is to set up space or spaces where the student is free from distractions and able to focus on completing tasks. 
Below are some suggestions for setting up a learning space: 

• Make sure the desk and chair allow the student to sit upright at the computer. Include headphones if the student is working in a common space or around other children. It is not recommended that students use their beds as a learning space. 
• Provide students with flexible seating options (such as standing, laying on the floor, sitting on an office chair (that spins or moves) or bean bag when not engaging in writing tasks) 
• Provide students with access to materials such as crayons, pencils, markers, paper, scissors, glue, etc) as they are needed for assignments. Students will also need school provided materials such as work books or instruments.  
• Ensure the learning space has good lighting. 
• Allow students to personalize their learning spaces.  
• Learning spaces should be within proximity of learning coaches. 

*OPTIONAL: Create wall space to post a word wall, a world map, and other items that may be frequently referenced. Learning spaces do not have to be confined to one small area or room.  Family reading nooks can be a great place to engage in independent reading. A refrigerator makes a great wall space. Add magnetic strips to the back of word wall cards to put on the refrigerator.

Students are highly encouraged to have their camera and microphones on, as requested by the teacher.  If the student is unable to have their camera on for any reason, please contact that teacher directly and have a private conversation.  Students are expected to be responsive in both whole group and small group settings. This helps teachers access learning and monitor engagement.