Education Insider
Anacortes School District News & Events - 1/21/22
Second chance for Skyward Updates
The Skyward Family Access "Student Information Update" is back open! If you didn't take the opportunity to complete it in the fall, we ask that you please do so now during this "second-chance" open period. In addition to basic demographic information, this is where important health, housing & attendance forms are gathered in order to better serve the students in our district. Please login to your Skyward Family Access account and select the Annual Student Information Update alert link !. (If you don't see the ! in your account, you don't need to take action.)
*Accounts that aren't updated run the risk of causing various errors related to your student's enrollment.*
Questions? Please contact your student(s) school office: http://www.asd103.org/contact_us
Impact Aid - Surveys Open
Impact Aid is a federal funding program that helps make up for lost tax revenue to local districts due to non-taxable federal property within our boundaries. Eligible families include those with a parent/guardian who is active duty, or civilians who work on certain federal property, including tribal lands.
Impact Aid FAQ
Letter from Naval Commander
Please fill out a survey form, even if you don't think you qualify:
Impact Aid Survey Form - Forms are open now in Skyward Family Access
Limits on body-worn cameras for SRO
School resource officer will apply policy and discretion when activating body-worn camera
As a result of new Washington state legislation passed in 2021, all Anacortes Police Department officers have been issued body-worn cameras (BWC), including the School Resource Officer (SRO). In partnership with the school district, the Anacortes Police Department has determined that the SRO’s BWC will only be manually activated on school property when a situation and/or policy warrants it. Circumstances that would require activation of the SRO’s BWC could include custodial arrests, physical or verbal confrontations or the use of force, domestic violence incidents, dispatched calls involving weapons, and the collection of drugs or money as evidence. The SRO’s BWC will not constantly be recording while on district property.
“APD understands the need for police transparency, documentation of evidence, as well as the right to privacy of students and staff,” said Police Chief Dave Floyd. “Our proactive and positive relationship with the district, as well as the SRO’s training and professional judgment, allow us to balance those needs.”
The district also follows its own video surveillance policy (6610) that dictates when, where, and how surveillance cameras are used on district property, as well as who has access to view the footage. BWCs are used to record specific, pertinent police interactions.
“Student and staff privacy is of utmost importance to us,” said Superintendent Justin Irish. “And while rare, we also know that sometimes circumstances dictate law enforcement intervention. I appreciate the discretion that the SRO will have in activating their body-worn camera.”
Questions? Contact Superintendent Justin Irish (jirish@asd103.org or 360-503-1211) or Police Chief Dave Floyd (floydd@cityofanacortes.org or 360-293-4684)
Curriculum adoptions process
Signs of Suicide (SOS) preventative program
Many students are already receiving services through our partnership with the hospital, and we acknowledge that mental health needs have increased since COVID. Generally, COVID has been a hardship on all mental health providers, and this month due to the surge in cases, all providers are significantly impacted. Given this, we are taking a collective and initial approach to prevention the best we can.
The Anacortes School Board approved two resolutions on November 18, 2021, placing two ballot measures before voters for the February 8, 2022 election.
Both measures are replacement levies, taking the place of expiring levies approved by voters in 2018.
The two combined, estimated rate of $1.28 per $1,000 valuation is 32 cents lower than previously approved rates in 2018.
Both levies fund services for students that are not provided by Washington State.
More information can be found on our website: http://www.asd103.org/2022_election
COVID Test-to-Stay Program
We are implementing an optional Test-to-Stay program at the high school on Monday, January 24, 2022. The Test-to-Stay Program is recommended by the Washington State Department of Health as a mitigation measure to keep more students in school, in person.
The Test-to-Stay Program as noted in the attached Q & A document, “is a protocol in the
Washington Department of Health guidance for K-12 schools. Test-to-Stay provides
on-site rapid testing for students and staff who are exposed to COVID-19 and are either
unvaccinated or are not fully vaccinated (including boosters when eligible). If they have
no symptoms and continue to test negative for COVID-19, they can attend class during
their modified quarantine period.”
As described above, this program is available to students who are unvaccinated, including not fully vaccinated, asymptomatic, and have been identified as a close contact, and have a parental consent form on file. Without the Test-to-Stay program, these students have to quarantine at home and miss school, most of whom test negative.
Test-to-Stay is not mandatory. It is a choice for students, with parental consent, who would otherwise have to quarantine at home and miss school per DOH requirements.
While we are starting with high school students identified in the DOH guidance, we will continually reassess the program to determine when to expand it to others, including staff and students who have symptoms. Our ability to offer and expand our Test-to-Stay Program will depend on the availability of testing supplies and staffing.
Below are links to a couple of essential resources regarding the Test-to-Stay Program.
Test-to-Stay consent and self-registration - parental consent is required for students to participate in the Test-to-Stay Program. Return consent forms to Dianne Szerlong at Anacortes High School: dszerlong@asd103.org, or 1600 20th Street.
In both documents, there is a link to register for SimpleReport. SimpleReport is a platform required by DOH to process and manage test results. It also is a convenient way for families to be notified of their student's results.
If you have questions about the Test-to-Stay Program, contact COVID Coordinator Dianne Szerlong at 360-503-1217 or email at dszerlong@asd103.org.
Our COVID dashboard of positive cases reported among our staff and students is posted here: https://sites.google.com/asd103.org/anacorteslearns/covid-dashboard
Thank you for continuing to follow health and safety protocols.
Chromebook updates
- Jan 28: K-12 Half Day (students only); 6-12 End of Semester
- Feb 21: No School; Presidents Day
- Feb 28: K-5 Half Day (students only): Conference Planning
An updated school calendar is on our website. May 31, which was reserved for a snow day, will now be a regular school day.