Spring break is over, and the kids are ready to go back to school.

Just in a different way.

The Coeur d'Alene School District is launching "Remote Learning" today, a blended model of teacher-student interaction focused on engaging students in activities in their homes with feedback from teachers in an environment where learning can happen online as best it can, explained Coeur d'Alene Superintendent Steve Cook.

"Many of you might already be participating in online experiences because of your work. You know that it’s not the same, and we acknowledge that,” Cook said in a video at https://www.smore.com/xs923 posted Thursday. "But I don’t want anybody to think out there that we’re going to try to stand up an online schooling process in two weeks to try to get through the rest of this year."

The "Remote Learning" the school district is facilitating is not online schooling, Cook explained. He said most online schools have had years to establish how they work.

“We don't aspire to do that in our time that we believe that we’re going to be delivering instruction and teaching and learning in this fashion," he said. "We don’t think we can do that, or nor do we think we should. So right now, we want to make sure you understand what it is that we’re trying to accomplish in the next few weeks or months, depending on how long this pandemic lasts."

Each week, teachers will provide tasks and activities for their students and be available to answer questions and provide help.

The emphasis will be on essential standards and skills that students need to learn this spring.

The district will do its best to make sure lessons are reasonable in scope and available to all students.

This is learning that can be done online or off-line. Ideally, it will be a healthy mix of both, but the district doesn't expect students to be in front of a screen all day or buried in homework for hours on end.

Teachers will use assessments to ensure students are learning, but not to assign letter grades.

Multiple courses may blend into one experience, giving students a more meaningful approach to learning.

Not everyone will be working on the same material at the same time, although there will be opportunities to meet virtually.

Today is the day to be prepared:

Are you connected with teachers in Google Classroom? If you need help locating it or logging in, ask your teacher or contact the district at techhelp@cdaschools.org

Create a learning space for each student in your family, as well as a schedule if your students are sharing devices. Try to minimize distractions.

If you have students in need of a device or internet access, let the district know. A form is available at https://www.smore.com/xs923 — this includes students who don’t have regular access to a device at home, or homes with multiple students sharing one device.

Community partners are offering discounts or limited free access to internet service.

Access to Google Classroom or other ways of connecting virtually will vary from family to family. Families looking for another way to connect with teachers are asked to contact the school for assistance. Call the main number, 208-664-8241, and leave a detailed message describing your needs as well as the best way to contact you.

Info: www.cdaschools.org or https://www.smore.com/xs923