West Ada School District Update
February 10, 2021
1. Calendar Items of Note
2. Return Set for March for Middle and High School Students to be Back on Campus Full Time
3. Deadline for Transferring to Virtual School House
4. Centennial Students Prove Themselves to be Skilled Competitors in Speaking Events
5. Job Openings
6. Vote for IFAA Students' Artwork in National Happy Hands Contest
Calendar Items of Note
February 15: Presidents’ Day – No School
March 8-19: Track Break for Modified Calendar Schools
March 22-26: Spring Break
March 29: Earliest that Middle and High School Students Back on Campus Full Time (See story below for more information.)
April 9: No School for Grades K-8 Following Traditional Calendar
April 13: Grades 9, 10 and 12 Remote Learning day; Grade 11 attend school for SAT
Return Set for March for Middle and High School Students to be Back on Campus Full Time
West Ada School District is moving forward with bringing middle and high school students back on campus full time no earlier than March 29 (please note the 29th is a remote Monday). The primary criteria centers around staff reaching peak immunity after receiving the vaccine and that at each school the student/staff percent positive is below 2% for two consecutive weeks. The student/staff percent positive for each school is calculated by looking at each school’s student/staff positive case counts divided by total student/staff enrollment.
The timeline for the vaccine to reach peak effectiveness was emphasized by the committees who drafted the criteria. There are 28 days between the first and second dose of the vaccine, and another two weeks following the second dose before a person reaches peak immune response. The committees (one for middle and one for high school) were made up of district and building administration, teachers, school nurses, trustees, parents and health professionals.
Date considerations made by the committees:
Late January: School staff choosing to be vaccinated began receiving first dose.
Early March: Second doses received by most school staff choosing to receive vaccine.
Late March: Two weeks following last dose is when those vaccinated reach peak immune response.
Late March: Spring break.
March 29: Earliest date middle and high schools would attend school in-person full-time (March 30 is the earliest first in person day, since March 29 is a remote Monday).
“With the necessary two-weeks after dose number two to achieve peak immune response, the earliest West Ada School District could return to school, based on the criterion of opportunity to receive vaccine protection, would be March 29 after spring break,” Bret Heller, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning explained. “This gives us time to watch the effectiveness of the vaccine in our community and react appropriately.”
West Ada School District continues monitoring infection rates in schools and moving individual campuses, classrooms or programs to remote learning as necessary. The pandemic operating plan continues to guide decision making, with adjustments made as new information becomes available from health authorities.
Returning to Full Time Learning Means:
All middle schools will need to meet the criteria and return to daily in-person learning at the same time.
All high schools will need to meet the criteria and return to daily in-person learning at the same time.
Monday will continue to function as a remote learning day, in-person learning will occur on Tuesday-Friday.
The mask requirement will remain in-place at minimum through the end of the 2020-21 school year.
Continued focus on mitigating measures - hand hygiene, sanitizing and continuing to facilitate as much physical distancing as possible.
Six-feet of physical distancing will not occur when all students are back in the building.
Teachers at middle school and high school expected to deliver fully synchronous learning to students on quarantine/isolation.
If any middle school or high school needs to transition to full remote learning due to positive cases, clusters, or outbreaks in the two weeks prior to fourth quarter, then school district administration will evaluate whether the situation necessitates a delay to returning to full, in-person learning.
“When you think about last March when we were handing out packets, we have come a long way,” shared Heller. “One of the questions we keep asking is how do we do things differently so to do things as safely as we can.”
Deadline for Transferring to Virtual School House
If you are considering a transfer to Virtual School House for quarter four of the 2020-2021 school year, please fill out the online form below. After the request window closes on March 5 you will receive information from VSH about the next steps for transferring.
This form is NOT intended for students currently enrolled in VSH.
For seniors considering a transfer to VSH for quarter four, please note you are requesting a complete transfer to VSH. This means you would graduate and walk with students in VSH in June 2021. Additionally, your high school diploma would be from VSH.
You can learn more about VSH and the fourth quarter classes on the VSH website.
Centennial Students Prove Themselves to be Skilled Competitors in Speaking Events
Centennial High School freshman Anja Morgan competed at the Boise Valley District FFA Creed Speaking contest this past Wednesday and placed third. Claire Shelton, a senior, competed in the Boise Valley District FFA Prepared Public Speaking contest, where she placed third, and the Extemporaneous Speaking contest, where she placed first, and will advance to the state level this spring.
The speech and debate team competed at the 2021 Warhawk Invitational last weekend. Freshmen Lincoln Douglas and debater Abbey Takeuchi represented the Patriots and finished the tournament with a 3-1 record. Takeuchi had wins over Rigby, Mountain Home, and Century high schools. This is an incredibly impressive accomplishment as Takeuchi competed in the varsity division and her only loss was to a senior. Takeuchi finished the day ranked 14th out of 49 competitors. Up next is the Idaho "Gem of the Mountain " district qualifying tournament for National Speech and Debate Association nationals.
Job Openings
Follow your student’s school calendar, receive low-premium health insurance, participate in PERSI retirement and more by working at the West Ada School District. We are currently hiring full-time, part-time and substitute positions. Cascade Student Transportation is also hiring school bus drivers.