Short-Term IS

Short-Term Independent Study Information

Fishing Economics. Taking photos of a white board discussion is a great way to document learning away from school.

Overview
Short-term independent study is a way for your five-day student to receive school attendance credit even when they are not physically present in school. Participating in short-term independent study has MANY BENEFITS for your family and the school:

Most importantly, your student continues learning!
When your student returns, they are less likely to be behind in their schoolwork, and may have fun projects to share with their class and teacher.
Your student may get more value out of their time away from school - for example, journaling about a trip can help them remember it.
Your family is less likely to be flagged for truancy issues.
The school retains valuable funds.

Your student can receive short-term independent study credit for as little as 1 missed day of school, or up to 3 weeks (15 days). If your student will need to be absent longer than three weeks, you should speak to Registrar Chyna Darby about enrolling in long-term independent study.

You can use short-term independent study for any type of absence. For example:

Your student is too sick (or potentially contagious) to attend school, but feeling well enough to do school work.
There is a family emergency that prevents you from getting your student to school.
Your family has a necessary trip out of town during the school year. (We strongly encourage all families to schedule vacations during school holidays, however, we do understand that sometimes the unexpected happens.)
Your student has an appointment that makes it challenging or impossible for your student to attend any part of the school day.
There is a school closure.

Instructions for Five-Day Families
STEP 1 - NOTIFY THE OFFICE AND TEACHER: Email [email protected] and your student's teacher with the following information:

the dates you expect your student to miss school
the reason for the absence(s)
your intention to participate in independent study

STEP 2 - STUDENT DOES SCHOOLWORK: Each day they are out, your student must do at least one activity from each of these four skill areas: Math, Reading, Writing, and Additional Activities. Work should be appropriate to your student’s grade level or skills.

Use the Short-Term Independent Study Instructions (Spanish version) to get ideas about schoolwork to have your student do.
You can also obtain specific recommendations and materials from your teacher. If the absence will be more than a few days, this is an important step, especially for math.
On Wednesdays and Fridays, your student is encouraged to attend Jennifer Konicke’s Zoom lessons for independent study students. TK-2nd grade is 8:30-9:00 a.m. 3rd-6th grade is 9:00-9:30 a.m. Email [email protected] for details and the Zoom link.

STEP 3 - RETURN SCHOOL WORK AND FORM TO THE TEACHER: On the day your child returns to school, have them bring these items. If they are submitted more than 2 days late, your student will not get attendance credit for the work they did.

One piece of work per skill area 1, 2 (this can be a reading log), 3, and 4 per day absent.
If possible, the Work Submission Form, signed and completed with the student’s reading books and pages noted, along with notes about other work completed. (It's easiest if you can complete and submit this form along with the work samples. However, if you don't have this form handy, you can get one from the school office, or the teacher can help the student complete it. It's always better to submit the work without the form on time, than to not submit the work at all or submit it late.)

Instructions for Long-Term Independent Study Families
Long-term IS families whose student will be absent for less than a week should do STEP 1 - CONTACT THE OFFICE and STEP 2 - STUDENT DOES SCHOOLWORK. If your student will be absent for one week or more, or if your teacher requests it, you should also do STEP 3 - RETURN WORK AND FORM TO THE TEACHER.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do we need a computer? No. Pick up a paper copy of the Short-Term IS Instructions from the office or read it on your phone. For many of the activities, all you need is some paper and a pencil. If possible, it will help if you can ask your teacher for worksheets, especially for math, in advance. And you may want to bring home some school library books or books from the little free library. But you and your student can figure it out without any of these things. Just have them read, write, do some math, and do some PE, art, or other academic activities, and you're good!
Does short-term IS help the school? Yes! When you complete the requirements and get credit for short-term IS, the school gets more funding, which is very valuable in this time of budget cuts. This is an easy way to raise money for the school.
Can my older student do all this on their own without my help? Probably. It depends a bit on your student, but many of the suggestions in the packet are things older students can do independently. Whenever possible, we encourage your student to take responsibility for their school work. However, it is very helpful when parents to check in with their student to make sure the schoolwork is getting done and that it gets submitted to the teacher promptly when your student returns to school.
If I have other ideas about school work I want my child to do, is that okay? Probably. We still want to see reading, writing, math, and other work for each school day. School work should be at an appropriate level for your child, so that they are growing and learning and practicing valuable skills. We can't give credit for religious material unless it is in the context of a writing assignment or studying world religions as a social studies or history topic.
I can't print the Work Submission Form. What should I do? You have three choices. Option 1. Complete the form electronically and email it to the teacher. Option 2. Complete the form when your child returns to school. Option 3. Turn the work in without a form. For the last two options, keep a reading log on any piece of paper. When your student returns to school, have them bring their completed work samples and reading log to school. They can pick up a copy of the work submission form from the office and complete it then, or their teacher can help them complete it. It's always better to submit the work without the form than not to submit the work at all, or submit it late.
Can I take pictures of my student's work and email it to my teacher? Yes. But please be sure to explain what dates the work samples are for. Ideally, please submit the Work Submission Form by email to your teacher at the same time, but that's not required.
My kid did cool stuff (like made an obstacle course, created a sculpture, interviewed their grandparent, practiced drumming, etc.) but it isn't something that's easy to turn in on paper. What should I do? When possible, take pictures of the student doing the activity, or of the thing the student created. You can also take notes about conversations or activities your student did. If they attended classes, you can turn in descriptions of the classes attended. If they play an instrument, you can submit sheet music or song lists played or practiced. Etc.
We forgot to turn in the work within three school days of our student returning. Can they still get credit? No. Your student still learned, which is great! But for attendance credit, we need the work turned in within three days of returning to school. If it's easier, next time you can email pictures of the work to the teacher.
My student missed most of a day, but attended school part of it. Do we need to do short-term IS? No. If your student attended any part of a school day, they are not considered absent, and do not need to complete short-term IS. However, we still encourage you to support them in doing schoolwork that day.

Be sure to use the Little Free Library, the school library, your classroom library, and the Santa Cruz Public Library System to get lots of fun books to read while your student is away from school!