Teacher Information
Knox County Public Schools has once again been granted approval by the Kentucky Department of Education to implement NTI days in the 2019-2020 academic year. This does not mean that each day is already approved, rather, we may choose to use an NTI day when conditions warrant and submit evidence to KDE for the day to count.
District Expectations and Considerations
All teachers will provide an NTI assignment for their students to complete on NTI days.
The NTI assignment should be connected to the standards that are being taught in the second semester or serve as an assignment to connect prior taught standards with current content. We will not use back to back (consecutive) NTI days when we are closed for a period of time. (Example, if we are closed the first three days of a week, the district may choose to use an NTI day on Monday and Wednesday.)
Please consider these scenarios when preparing NTI assignments:
a.) the household only has one computer or device with Internet access which all children in the household must share;
b.) the paper copy of the assignment went home and is with guardian #1 but the child is staying with guardian #2 during the period NTI is used;
c.) the student is with a relative on the NTI day that is unfamiliar with Google Classroom, i-Ready, etc. Be sure you post clear instructions online so that the relative understands that the child does have an assignment to work on.
Elementary Teachers and Elementary Specials
For self-contained classrooms be sure that you include lessons for all core content areas that mirror a traditional school day. Lessons should be shortened to allow students and families to work together, as needed. For special/rotation classes, decide as a school who will submit a lesson for day 1, day 2, etc. In a typical school day, a student wouldn’t go to the computer lab, art/enrichment, PE, and the library.
Middle and High School Teachers
A lesson should not exceed the amount of time it would take the student to complete it in class. Ideally, the lesson should be somewhat shorter to allow time for the student to do his/her best work while sharing resources or assisting with any siblings in the household.
Special Education Teachers
Teachers of special education need to coordinate with regular classroom teachers to ensure that the assignments are accommodated correctly per each student’s IEP and should document that this is occurring. (For example, either ensuring they are available to read the assignment to the student over the phone or provide means of technology to pre-recorded passage.) If they are a resource teacher and are completing their own NTI units, then they will still need to document how they are meeting the accommodation needs but also upload those.
All Teachers
Students will have five (5) in school days to submit their work from an NTI day. This has not changed from past years. After the five (5) days have passed, we will send out a link to collect evidence.
If sending home packets: Also upload the worksheet and instructions to the site. We gather sample assignments and determine teacher participation by the number of assignments posted online. You may also want to include notes about accommodations (ex: if you do not have your paper copy or a printer you can use notebook paper to answer.)
If using Google classroom: Think of your submission as a lesson plan for a substitute. Explain in your NTI submission that students should log into their Google Classroom and complete the lesson about _______. Include instructions that the student should follow. This will provide evidence of the lesson being prepared and let parents/family members know that a lesson exists.
If posting directly to the NTI website: You are not required to send home packets or use Google classroom. You may continue to provide the entire assignment online through the submission link. Be sure to post the assignment before 9am the day of NTI. (Yes, this means that you can wait until the NTI day to upload work for students so that it is timely and relevant to what is being taught in the classroom!)
Please remember that the school district will officially announce when an NTI day is being used. Do not post information directly to social media, or share “speculation” with students and families, until the district’s notification. Retweet, share, or like the official post on social media.
Begin to Submit NTI Assignments
Begin to Submit NTI Documentation