Moving to online learning is new for all of us including parents, students, and teachers.  Your child's school and your child's teachers will be doing their best to support you during this time, so please reach out with questions or if you need help. To help you get started with online learning here are some key preparation steps:

Make sure your child's technology is ready for online learning (see below)

• Log-in to your child's computer and make sure you have the correct password
• Learn about our online learning programs starting with Google Classroom and Google Hangouts/Meet

Make a schedule to support learning and healthy breaks

• Make a school schedule.
• Most kids are used to having a schedule for the school day, so recreating something similar at home can ease the transition to a different learning environment.

Time for learning by grade level.

• The general rule of thumb for time on learning tasks for students working at home is roughly 10 minutes per grade level per task while spreading the time throughout the day.  See elementary, middle, and high school learning for more information specific to your child's grade level.

Do your best, don't stress, and Ask for help

• Let your child know this is new and that they do not have to be perfect and that it is ok to ask for help
• Reach out to your child's teacher with questions or concerns

Build in breaks.

• Traditional school programs incorporate some sort of recess or outdoor time, and a work from home schedule should be no different. Outside time and fresh air has huge physical and mental health benefits.

Downtime is your friend.

• Downtime, or time for kids to work on projects quietly and independently, is just as important as active time outside. Kids need time to "disconnect" every day — from each other, from parents, from technology and from the outside world.

Colorado Digital Learning Solutions (CDLS), a 501(c)3 non-profit, has been chosed by our state to provide digital coursework and remote instruction for Colorado students that choose to not attend in-person learning. CDLS strives to build a sound, self-sustaining supplemental model for students and schools in Colorado. Review their Orientation Slideshow to learn the fundamentals of a CDLS class.

CDLS will provide expanded supplemental course offerings for middle and high school to support credit retrieval, credit advancement, and curriculum enhancement options for Colorado students. Courses are supported by a successful, research-based student support model that includes collaboration among highly qualified and state-certified online teachers, school-based site coordinators, and a strong CDLS leadership team.

A few things to know about CDLS:

• CDLS courses are NOT self-paced. You’ll be working off a week-to-week schedule that your online teacher posts. You'll need to complete activities by the end of the week listed in the schedule. Failure to do so may result in losing points. Check your syllabus or online course 'pages' on specifics about due dates.
• If you miss a due date, your online instructor may record a 'zero' for that assignment or activity. The reason for this is so that your local school site coordinator will know what assignments or activities are missing.  You usually can still complete the missing assignments, so be sure to work with your online instructor to submit them.
• CDLS online courses are NOT easier than face-to-face courses. You will need to complete similar activities and take tests like you would in a classroom. PLUS you will need to manage your time to be sure you complete the online activities on time. You wouldn’t see a teacher every day who will remind you when things are due. However, you will have a site coordinator that will be available at your school to support you.
• CDLS courses are NOT less time intensive than a course you take at your school. So you will not spend less time taking CDLS online courses, however you’ll be organizing your time differently!

MCSD RE-1 and Colorado Digital Learning Solutions has partnered to provide elementary, middle, and high school students with a full and complete remote-learning experience.

• Elementary students will be taught by our very own RE-1 teachers, and will use CDLS's high-quality structure.
• Middle school and high school students will use CDLS curriculums and instructors, with additional tutoring support coming from our teachers. Seniors will be guided through the graduation process in the usual process.
• Any students with IEPs will be supported by our special education department, as usual.
• Our tribal students that choose remote learning will be supported in person by RE-1 tutors on a limited individual and small-group basis.
• English language learners will be supported in their online-learning experience by the district.

Accessing student’s district email for CDLS and other communications

You will need your student email to check important messages, log in to your chromebook, access your cdls account, etc.

Username

Your student email account is accessible through Gmail. In order to sign in to Gmail you will need your student's username and password. Usernames are configured as follows:

• USERNAME: FirstName.LastName@cortezstudents.org
• remember to use the exact first and last name that you used to register in school, which is how they appear in your official PowerSchool account
• A student named Jane Roe would use the username = jane.roe@cortezstudents.org

PASSWORD

In order to determine your password, first see that each school has its own password convention:

• Battle Rock Charter School – brcs
• Kemper Elementary School - kemp
• Kiva Charter School - kiva
• Lewis-Arriola Elementary School - laes
• Manaugh Elementary School - man
• Mesa Elementary School - mesa
• Montezuma-Cortez High School - mchs
• Montezuma-Cortez Middle School - cms
• Pleasant View Elementary School - pv
• Southwest Open School – swos

Student Passwords are constructed as follows:

SchoolcodeXXXXXXX, where the X’s are the student id number in PowerSchool

Thus student Jane Roe at Kemper Elementary School: jane.roe@cortezstudents.org would use the password kemp1234567

If you have difficulties, contact your school or contact help@cortez.k12.co.us and the Technology Department will assist you.

Once your student has been admitted to our online learning platform hosted by Colorado Digital Learning Systems, please follow these next steps:

Step #1 - Accessing the Cortez CDLS Website

• Go to: https://cortez-cdls.agilixbuzz.com (see photo below)
• This is where all instruction will take place. Each student will log in daily to speak with teachers, review materials, work on assignments, and other activities related to course work.
• Each student will need to log in every day! Maintaining the pace of instruction is important to overall success within the program. Daily participation is required!

Step #2 - Student Login

Each student has their own unique login information:

• Username & Password are the same. The password is a combination the first 4 letters of their home school (all lower case) and the number 201 and their student ID number. The student ID is the number that is used in lunch lines as well. Example: mesa2012775.
• Once signed into the system students will be able to access the courses they are signed up for. Currently all students will be signed up for- Grade Level Math, English Language arts, Science and Social Studies.
• Classes will be set up and monitored by teachers.

Chromebook Checkout

Each school will have a schedule for checking out Chromebooks. You will go to the home school you registered with to check out a Chromebook.

For assistance please contact:

• JanElle Hoffman, District Coordinator: 970-564-4820 x 1138 / jhoffman@cortez.k12.co.us
• Julie Carey, Towoac Site Coordinator: 970-564-4821 x 1139 / jcarey@cortez.k12.co.us 
• Chromebook Help: 970-564-4192 x 1136 / chromebookhelp@cortez.k12.co.us

Please use the following instructions to successfully log in to Genius and your CDLS course: 

• Go to our website: www.coloradodls.org
• Click the large green GO TO CLASS arrow (see photo below)
• Enter the following credentials: (shadow box prompt)
  • USERNAME: firstname.lastname (all lower case)
  • PASSWORD:  Use password provided in email from CDLS. If you have forgotten your password please click on “forgot password” and you will receive an email to help you reset your password.

This should take you to the Genius platform. Once here you will:

• Under ACADEMIC SNAPSHOT click the course (in blue/purple) you wish to work in
• Route to the platform where the course work lives
• See instructional video below 

For assistance please contact:

• JanElle Hoffman, District Coordinator: 970-564-4820 x 1138 / jhoffman@cortez.k12.co.us
• Julie Carey, Towoac Site Coordinator: 970-564-4821 x 1139 / jcarey@cortez.k12.co.us 
• Chromebook Help: 970-564-4192 x 1136 / chromebookhelp@cortez.k12.co.us   

Before your student can begin online learning or access any of the online learning programs, your child needs to log in to their Chromebook and connect it to the internet/wi-fi. When logging on for the first time, please use a school wi-fi network. To do this, make sure you log on while on school property. Click the button below to see the steps for completing this.

In order to help with new technical issues that have come up with online learning, RE-1 has established two dedicated “hotline” phone numbers that parents or families can call to receive help. These phone lines will be answered by our online learning district site coordinator and our online learning site coordinator for Ute Mtn. Ute tribal students.

Chromebook related questions, including malfunctioning devices, difficulties logging onto the Chromebook, or Google Account questions, please contact:

• Chromebook Help:  chromebookhelp@cortez.k12.co.us / 970-564-4192 x 1136

 If you need help signing into a specific program like Google Classroom, Google Meet, Lexia, Zearn, or other online programs please contact your child's teacher, FIT teacher, or advisor. 

Google Meet - A program for connecting through video

Our teachers may be using Google Meets to help your student communicate with their teacher and other students.  Many teachers will also be hosting office hours using Google Meets. It's important to learn how to use Google Meet as we get started with this new program and way of learning together.  Please view the video below to learn more about Google Meet.

Your child's teacher(s) will be contacting them via email with an invitation to join their google meets if they are using that program to connect with students.  Note: not all teachers will be using Google Meet.