Hello Upper Adams School District Family Members!

I hope this communication finds you and your family safe and healthy in 2022!

The winter season is upon us, and colder weather events can potentially delay or cancel school.

Upper Adams School District (UASD) has many options that allow our teachers to provide instruction to our students either in-person or remotely, with minimal disruption to our board-approved District Academic Calendar.

I wanted to share information with you about these options, and also why we may choose between them as weather-related emergencies occur throughout a school year.

Traditional Snow Day (Built-In Weather Emergency/Snow Days)

Our 2021-2022 Board-approved District Academic Calendar includes four (4) built-in snow/weather make-up days that can be used if we need to close our schools or district due to snow or other weather emergency conditions.

• These are traditional “snow days,” and no remote or virtual instruction, or academic activities, are provided for students to complete at home.
• If these days are used, we are required to make them up to ensure our students receive the state-mandated number or instructional hours.
• Our make-up days are already scheduled in our board-approved District Academic Calendar and will include in-person instruction for students.
• If we have more than four (4) of these weather emergency/snow days, we would need to add make-up days to the end of our academic calendar equal to the number of days missed. We are required to provide our students with a state-mandated number of instructional hours each academic year.

Flexible Instructional Day (FID) (State and Board Approved):

In 2020, the PA Department of Education and the UASD School Board approved the use of Flexible Instruction Days (FIDs) for UASD. This means that when situations like winter weather or a building emergency require a district to close, instruction can be provided to students at home rather than in the classroom. The state will count this as a full day of school and we will not have to make it up during the school year. UASD has been approved to use FIDs if needed through the end of the 2022-2023 school year.

• FIDs require at-home instruction/academic activities to be provided for students, and pre-planning allows UASD faculty, students and families time to prepare for at-home learning to occur.
• Pre-planning activities include ensuring our students have access to the resources and materials needed to complete their assignments while at home.
• Preparation for a FID is critical to its success, and UASD has determined that FIDs will not be used unless the school community can plan in advance – between 24 and 48 hours – for the anticipated closure.
• UASD has used one (1) FID this school year, on February 4, 2022. That means UASD has the option to use four (4) days throughout the remainder of this school year.

How Do We Determine Which Type of Day To Use

When weather forecasts or conditions require UASD to close our schools to in-person instruction, we will generally follow this guidance to determine what kind of day we will use:

• Traditional Snow Day: If the weather emergency/conditions occur without an opportunity to prepare for at-home instruction, we will use a Traditional Snow Day. No instruction will be provided. The make-up days are built into the board-approved District Academic Calendar, and in-person instruction is provided on the scheduled calendar make-up days. Sometimes we may want students to experience and enjoy a traditional snow day.

• Flexible Instruction Day: If we have adequate time to prepare for a Flexible Instructional Day (24-48 hours warning of a possible weather emergency), we will use a FID. Our schools will be closed to in-person instruction, but our students will have academic activities to complete at home that day. The day will not need to be made up, and the District Academic Calendar will not change.

How Will UASD Notify Families & Staff

UASD uses a variety of methods, including automated phone notifications, to ensure our families, students and staff are informed of any changes to our school operations or schedule due to weather conditions.

We also will post the information on the following sites:

• UASD Website

https://www.upperadams.org/

• UASD Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/Upper-Adams-School-District-133377216674447/

• UASD Twitter Page

Please know that each weather-related emergency situation is treated as an independent event. Student and staff safety is our highest priority, and our school closure decisions are made with that in mind.

Thank you for your continued support of UASD.

Sincerely,

Wesley T. Doll

Wesley T. Doll, Ed.D.

Superintendent

The public can view the meetings of the Board of Directors via YouTube. The YouTube link can be found on the district website at www.upperadams.org at the bottom right of the homepage under the Quick Link Section.

If you have questions about the meetings or if you would like to be placed on a future agenda to speak to the board during public comment, please contact the following email address: Questions4Board@upperadams.org by 4:00 p.m. on the Monday prior to a board meeting.

Hello and Greetings from the Technology Department at Upper Adams. Here are some facts you might find interesting about Technology available in the District.

Laptops: Every Student in Grades 4th through 12th has a laptop computer assigned to them and every Faculty, Staff and Administrator have laptops also. Over 1,700 laptops in the district.

iPads: Every Student in Grades Kindergarten through 3rd Grade has access to an iPad. Throughout the district there are almost 800 iPads.

AppleTV’s: There are 110 AppleTV’s throughout the District. These are great tools for allowing students to wirelessly connect and share their work with their class on a projector unit!

Wireless Access is available in every classroom and most common areas (Café, Auditorium..) throughout the district. Wireless access was first rolled out on the HS/MS Campus beginning in 2008 and in approximately 2012 was expanded to every building in the district.

Home Internet Access

Internet Access at home can be a challenge. Upper Adams is blessed with gorgeous scenery but with our rural landscape there are few high-speed internet options. If you haven’t already tried, you might contact the following asking about high-speed Internet options:

Comcast - 1-800-Xfinity

CenturyLink - Existing Customers - 800-244-1111

New Service Customers - 877-862-9343

Starlink Internet Access (limited availability) for more information go to their website at https://www.starlink.com/

For the past two school years, Upper Adams School District has been able to offer free breakfast and lunch for our students district-wide under the guidance of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Meal waivers are anticipated to expire on June 30, 2022.

The District would like to notify parents/guardians that free meal options may not be available for the 2022-2023, unless qualifications are met under the Free/Reduced meal application process. The 2022/2023 Free/Reduced Meal applications will not be available until after July 1, 2022.

If this guidance or waiver is changed or extended, the District will provide additional communication and want to prepare parents/guardians that payment may be expected for school lunches during the 2022/2023 academic year.

Substitutes Needed!

Did you know that you can be a substitute teacher if you have a Bachelor's degree?

Do you enjoy working with children, and want to be able to choose the days you want to work?

Would you like to be a substitute instructional assistant, a substitute nurse, or substitute secretary?

To learn more about all substitute positions (support staff and teacher) that are available at Upper Adams, click the following link or share the link with someone you know that may be interested: https://www.upperadams.org/Page/2144 . To apply directly for:

• Teacher Substitute positions: Click here to go to the Educational Staffing Services (ESS) applicant portal.
• Long-term Substitute position openings: There are several long-term substitute teacher openings for 2021-2022. Click here (if considered for a position, you will be required to submit a full application to Educational Staffing Services (ESS)).
• Paraprofessional Support Substitute positions (nurse, instructional assistant, secretary): Click here to go to the Educational Staffing Services (ESS) applicant portal.