Norms (the working “rules”) for these chats: - All chats are for students, not parents. So while we know parents may be in the room or even in view, they are not to participate in the chat. We understand that students with certain needs may need redirection by parents, but try to let the teacher direct the students. - Imagine doing your job while on display this way. Try to see the immense pressure this puts on our staff. At the same time, enjoy them. They are brilliant and dedicated. - All video chats are recorded for the protection of all parties involved. - Chats are recorded so they can also be viewed by the class (and only the class--i.e. They cannot be opened by people outside of the class) in case your student cannot be present at the time of the live chat, story hour or other experience. - Special education and specialized service providers have provided recorded resources to be used at any time. They are designed to support all types of learners, not replace services. - All calls will begin with student video and audio muted, teachers will then ask students (or with younger students--the parents) to turn on the video function so a class-like situation will be simulated. For parents who have not given video permission for students, we will need you to email your principal with this permission. Chats are recorded for teacher safety and will be eliminated eventually, they are saved in secure FERPA compliant spaces and used only for the class itself; they cannot be viewed by anyone else. - Please be aware that you are video chatting into people’s homes and the teachers’ homes. Appropriate dress, drinks, behavior, decoration, etc. should be considered for all participants. - Also, make sure the view behind yrou child during video chat is what you want seen by the class at large. - Consider if you have enough light to video where you are--stay away from a sunny window--it will make your screen blocked out. - If a Google Meet session goes terribly wrong for some reason, the teacher will end the session. By “wrong” we mean that a student may have done something inappropriate or the teacher sees something wrong that necessitates closure or there is some issue on the teachers’ end (a family member in need, a technical difficulty).