West Ada School District Update
December 10, 2020
COVID-19 Task Force, Healthcare Advisors Audit School Operations
Board Hears Presentation on Revised Pandemic Operating Plan
The Board of Trustees heard a presentation on the revised pandemic operating plan at their meeting earlier this week. The proposed plan consolidates and clarifies guidance offered by medical and government authorities throughout this year.
Assistant Superintendent Bret Heller and Dr. David Pate (representing a group of healthcare advisors) shared with Trustees the revised pandemic plan. This plan is meant for staff, students and parents as they navigate staying healthy in a physical learning environment.
Trustees are meeting December 15 at 6 p.m. for a special meeting to decide upon action for the revised pandemic plan. Due to COVID-19 social distancing restrictions, the number of people who can physically attend the meeting is limited. Stage 2 order restricts gatherings to less than ten persons. West Ada will provide overflow room for attendees. The board meeting will be broadcast live at this location: https://www.westada.org/Page/35419 We urge patrons to utilize this link so we can comply with the Governor’s guidelines.
To Submit Written Comments: https://www.westada.org/RemotePublicComment If your comments are in response to an agenda item for a specific meeting date, it is recommended that comments be received 24-hours in advance of the applicable meeting to allow routing and possible board member review prior to the meeting. Even if a comment is not received 24 hours in advance, all messages will be shared with the Board and included in public record.
In-Person: No verbal public comments or questions will be accepted during the December 15 meeting as previous board meetings have already allowed public testimony on the discussion item.
Administrative Changes
129 Students Graduate Early!
Congratulations to 129 students who are graduating early. These students put in tremendous effort to fulfil their graduation requirements ahead of schedule.
- One year early: 12
- One semester early: 54
- Second quarter early: 56
- Third quarter early: 7
Breakfast and Lunch Combo Meals Available During Winter Break
One Idaho – Safe at Home for the Holidays
Upcoming Technology Maintenance Activities
On Monday, December 21 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., maintenance will be conducted on both PowerSchool and Content Keeper (the District’s content filtering system).
- PowerSchool will be unavailable as system patches and updates are installed.
- Content Keeper maintenance will cause brief interruptions to Internet access on staff and student devices during maintenance activities. Access to all Internet based services and applications such as Teams, OneDrive (including all files stored in the cloud), and the web versions of E-Mail, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc., will be impacted during this time.
The upcoming changes to Content Keeper will improve the technology department's ability to upgrade and maintain the system, reducing the impact of future maintenance activities. We have scheduled this maintenance early in the Winter Break to minimize the impact to our staff and students.
iPad OS Update Available
The District has completed testing of iPadOS 14 and will make the latest version available for District iPads. Students with a District iPad at home can update on their own as early as Monday, December 21 or wait for the update to be pushed to all District devices during our January Maintenance Night, on January 7.
To successfully receive the automated update on January 7, iPads will need to be charged, turned on, and connected to the internet. iPad updates generally take 10-15 minutes to download and another 15-25 minutes to install. If you choose to manually install the update, be aware of this timeline, and choose a time that the device is not needed for schoolwork.
Manual updates can be installed by following these steps:
- Plug your device into power and ensure you are connected to the internet
- Go to Settings > General, then tap Software Update.
- Tap Download and Install.
- To “Update Now”, tap Install.
- To “Install Later”, choose Install Tonight or Remind Me Later. If choosing to “Install Later”, make sure the device remains plugged in and turned on. The iPad will be updated overnight.