Back to School Updates for Parents
Information and Tips for Success
PEBT benefit application deadline extended to September 16th
Because COVID-19 closed our school last spring, your children are eligible for food assistance, called Pandemic EBT (P-EBT): Emergency School Meals Program.
P-EBT provides families with funds to make up for some of the cost of meals while school was closed. This benefit is for Washington children in grades K-12 who receive free or reduced-price school meals. For the Yakima School District, that is ALL students regardless of income. Students qualify for up to $399/each.
These benefits will be on an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card which is used like a debit card to buy groceries. If you do not already receive benefits, you will need to apply on or after September 11 (was June 30). If you receive food assistance benefits already, the money should have appeared on your EBT on June 30.
YSD is a state leader in students being issued benefits (70% of YSD students had been issued benefits as of 8--30-20). If you have not yet applied, please do. ALL YSD STUDENTS regardless of income are eligible.
Go to WashingtonConnections.org and apply. ALL 2019-20 (last year) YSD students are eligible.
Free Weekly Breakfasts and Lunches Children age 1-18
For your convenience, meals may be picked up on Wednesdays from 11 AM - 1 PM or 5:30 PM - 7 PM.
School facilities are not open to non-employees. Please do not linger on school grounds when picking up meals.
Free meals are available to all children age 1-18. YSD students are asked to bring their ID card. Middle and High School Students also have mobile IDs when they login to their Skyward account.
Families must wear face coverings to pick up meals.
Click here for a list of meal pick up sites.
New! Our menus are now online. Check them out here!
Free At Home School Supplies For ALL YSD Students
Thanks to community partners like the United Way, local radio stations, and others, free school supply kits for home learning are on order and will be delivered to your schools the week of September 14. They will be distributed during meal distribution. Parents of Yakima School District students do not need to buy school supplies for this semester.
Training For Families
We have created some training for families to assist in supporting your students at home. It is like a parent training Bootcamp to get you up to speed on your student's learning.
For elementary, students will utilize Google Classroom as their learning platform. For secondary (middle and high school), students will utilize Canvas.
Screencastify is another platform where you might feel you need some support.
You can access the list of training courses here.
Critical: Update Your Email Address at Your Student's School
Embracing the new digital culture means new learning and communication platforms. Although some of them can text you (like the Remind app) or send you push-notifications (like our mobile app), many platforms work best when parents have an email address on file at school and commit to checking that email address regularly. Contact your school via
www.YSD7.org/LetsTalk Peachjar Digital Flyers
Remember all of those paper flyers and notifications that students would bring home in their backpacks each week? They are going digital!
Parents will have the opportunity to view flyers on their email, through a reminder from the Remind App, on the YSD mobile app, or on their student's school website. Please look for these notices and scroll through the flyers to see which ones interest you. Flyers will be from school, the district, and community partners.
Grading and Attendance REQUIRED
Different from Spring, the state of Washington requires schools to report student attendance during remote learning. Teachers will take attendance and will regularly grade student work.
Contact Us
Please be patient as call volumes are high as we start school. The best way to get in line with your question is through our Let's Talk platform. It actually times us and sends us reminders if you have been waiting too long so that we can provide you with the best service possible.
www.YSD7.org/letstalk
