Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Ami Plan topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District presents AMI plan that would use packet-based elementary lessons and district Chromebooks for secondary students
Summary
The ISTD administration presented an Alternative Methods of Instruction plan citing Missouri Revised Statutes Section 171.33; the plan ties attendance to completed AMI work, will use quarterly packets for elementary students and Chromebooks for secondary students, and assumes up to five AMI days.
District staff presented an Alternative Methods of Instruction (AMI) plan to the school board, saying the plan is intended to maintain instructional continuity on days lost to inclement weather while complying with Missouri law.
The presentation explained that the authority to request AMI days is provided by Missouri Revised Statutes Section 171.33 and that qualifying AMI programs must ensure students are actively engaged and that teachers are available to support instruction. "The objective of the presentation is [to] walk you through the AMI plan that we're submitting to the state," a presenter said.
Under the proposed plan, elementary instruction on AMI days would be packet-based: teachers would prepare quarterly packets distributed at parent-teacher conferences and made available online. Elementary students could participate synchronously (when technology is available) or complete packet work asynchronously and turn it in the following in-person school day. Secondary students would use their class Canvas pages and district-issued Chromebooks to access synchronous or asynchronous lessons.
Attendance and state funding: presenters said attendance for AMI days would be recorded when students complete and submit AMI lessons on the AMI day or on the next in-person day. A board member asked what happens if a student is sick on both the AMI day and the next in-person day; the presenters said the student would submit work when they return.
Device access and logistics: presenters told the board that secondary students' Chromebooks would be sent home when inclement weather is likely so students can access lessons; the district acknowledged that Chromebooks are not currently sent home with some middle-school students and said it would prepare home-room lessons and instructions to make device handoff feasible when a closure is anticipated.
Limits and timeline: presenters said Missouri generally allows five AMI days (the state extended allowance to a sixth day this year) and said the district had drafted time expectations comparable to surrounding districts (30 minutes for elementary content blocks; 20-minute blocks for secondary courses).
Communication: the district plans to communicate AMI expectations via its website, email, newsletters, ParentSquare and at back-to-school nights and conferences. Presenters said teachers would hold scheduled office hours on AMI days.
What happens next: the district expects to submit the AMI plan to the state by the stated deadline and to use the summer and early fall to refine teacher expectations and operational details with staff. The board moved the AMI presentation to the end of the meeting for final discussion in open session and will vote on the plan during its open meeting as scheduled.
