Headlines and highlights
School District News
Coeur d'Alene Public Schools — September 3, 2021
From the Superintendent: Let's all help to keep our schools open this year
It is also important that we all do everything we can to keep every school open. One common denominator to the mask and no mask conversation is that EVERYONE would prefer the schools to remain open, and not experience the open and close cycles we have endured this last year.
To help accomplish this goal, please keep your sick children home when they are experiencing any of the known COVID-related symptoms. By working together, we can keep our schools open and continue to see the smiling faces of our students, parents,and staff.
Welcome back to a new and promising school year!
Dr. Shon Hocker, Superintendent, Coeur d'Alene Public Schools
COVID safety guide for return to school
This school year we will do what we can to limit the spread of COVID-19 in our schools. You can help us prevent the spread of disease and keep students in school full time.
Please read and download our 2021-22 COVID safety guide.
Here are simple ways we all can make a difference this year:
- Stay home when you are sick or experiencing symptoms of COVID-19.
- Stay home if you have tested positive for COVID-19, or are awaiting results of a COVID test.
- Stay home if you had close contact with a household member who has COVID, and you are unvaccinated.
- Stay home if you had close contact with a person who has COVID, with or without a mask, and you are unvaccinated.
For details on how long to self-quarantine, and testing options, please visit Panhandle Health District's COVID-19 information page.
Please watch out for students walking and biking to school, and at bus stops
With school starting again Tuesday morning, we will see thousands of students walking and biking to and from school, as well as those who walk to and from their bus stops each day.
Please slow down in school zones and near bus stops. And please watch for those flashing lights on the bus signaling that drivers must stop.
By exercising a little extra care and caution, drivers and pedestrians can co-exist safely in school zones.
Law enforcement will conduct a traffic emphasis the first day of school and continuing through the week. Officers will patrol school zones and address moving violations in these areas. The Coeur d’Alene Fire Department also will be out to help children navigate their way across marked crosswalks.
Let's work together to keep our kids safe as they return to school. Anticipate children using crosswalks and exercise caution on our streets and in our neighborhoods. Thank you!
Scenes from the weeks before school
NExA
Welcome Back
Bryan Elementary
An invitation to improve our Equity Framework
We are now accepting applications from parents, guardians and community stakeholders interested in being part of a group that works to review and improve our Equity Framework.
The goal is to increase understanding of what equity looks like in Coeur d'Alene Public Schools and to expand community voice and values represented in ensuring each student feels valued, respected, and confident they are prepared for their futures.
To apply, please share your information using THIS FORM.
The Equity Framework, adopted by the Board of Trustees in 2020, asserts that:
- Each member of our administrative, teaching and support staff must keep the student experience at school central to our conversations, decisions, and initiatives.
- Each student deserves powerful learning in every subject, at every age, and in every learning environment.
- Each student can attain high levels of learning, regardless of individual differences, gender, ethnicity, language, ability, or socio-economic status.
Timeline:
- We will collect forms from those expressing interest through Monday, September 30, 2021, 11:59 p.m.
- The selection process will be completed by Friday, October 22, 2021.
- The assembled group will work together to create a schedule of up to five 1-hour meetings that best fit the group's availability.
Selection Criteria:
- Stakeholders will be drawn from each of the five School Board zones.
- Stakeholders will be drawn from their direct connections to elementary, middle, and high schools in our district (including as a parent/custodian of a student, volunteer or staff member within the district).
- Stakeholders will be drawn from invested community leaders and partners (including professional and volunteer).
The size of this group will land somewhere between 12 and 18 stakeholders, and we will secure alternates in the event a seat opens up if an original stakeholder can no longer participate.
You can read our Equity Framework here.
Late-start Mondays return this year
We are returning to late-start Mondays this year, beginning September 13. School will begin one hour later on Monday mornings, allowing for teacher and staff collaboration time in our schools. The Board of Trustees voted unanimously at its June 7 meeting to return to Monday morning for collaboration time this year.
School meal menus for September
We are experiencing some disruptions with our online school menu service. If you are unable to view the September menus on our Nutrition Services website or our mobile app, you can find a printable version of the month's menus at the following links:
Download our 2021-22 Family Calendar
Look up bus routes and stops for your home address
Looking for information on school bus routes for the coming school year? You can search for routes and neighborhood bus stops for elementary, middle and high schools using our online guide. Just visit InfoFinder and enter your home address to display the routes and stops near you.
We also invite you to visit our Transportation web page at cdaschools.org/transportation.
You also may call the Transportation Department at (208) 667-3451.
Students must register to ride the bus
You will need to know your student's bus route number and stop location to complete the registration form. To look up the route and stop location for your home address, please use our InfoFinder guide.
All kindergarten students who ride the bus need to have an adult meet them at the bus stop for drop-off each day.
Schools meals to be provided free of charge this year
The federal fee waiver for all school meals has been extended through the coming school year. There will be no charge for breakfast or lunch for any students in 2021-22.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National School Lunch Program is continuing to waive meal fees as the pandemic continues to threaten the food and nutrition security of our most vulnerable. This ensures that all students, regardless of their educational setting, have access to free, healthy meals for in-person learning.
Families do not need to complete a Low Income Eligibility application to receive free meals this year. The fee waiver applies to all enrolled students at all schools.
Questions? You may contact our Nutrition Services staff at cdaschoolsnutrition.com.
Keep up with school news all year
There are several ways to follow news and updates from Coeur d'Alene Public Schools.
MOBILE APP - Download our app for school menus, bus information, school supplies, safety information, breaking news alerts, and much more. Get it in the App Store or on Google Play. Just search for Coeur d'Alene Public Schools.
NEWSLETTERS - Our "Headlines & Highlights" newsletter and other District news is emailed to parents and guardians at your address listed in Skyward Family Access. You also can find our newsletters at cdaschools.org/newsletter.
SOCIAL MEDIA - Coeur d'Alene Public Schools (@cdaschools) is on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
WEBSITES - Visit our District website at cdaschools.org, or visit any of our school websites, which are linked from the top of our District home page.
Stay Connected
Email: info@cdaschools.org
Website: www.cdaschools.org
Location: 1400 N. Northwood Center Court
Phone: (208) 664-8241
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cdaschools
Twitter: @cdaschools