West Ada School District Update
September 25, 2020
Hillsdale Herons
Soccer Coach Recognized Nationally
Technology Maintenance Every First Thursday
The technology department conducts scheduled maintenance on District technology systems on the first Thursday of each month. Our next scheduled maintenance is Thursday, October 1 beginning at 5 p.m.
During the October maintenance window, we are installing application and operating system updates on District servers. These activities will not interrupt a student's ability to access the District's Microsoft Office 365 environment including Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Teams.
Parents and students should be aware of these interruptions to District technology services:
- PowerSchool will be unavailable between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.
- District wireless networks will be down between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.
If you have any questions, requests for support can be entered into the student technology support form or by calling the Technology Service Desk Monday-Friday from 7:30 a.m-4:30 p.m. at 208-350-5300.
Link to student technology support form: https://survey.k12insight.com/survey.aspx?k=RQsVYRRsQVRUsPsPsP&lang=0&data=
Bringing Grades 1-5 into School Every Day
The plan to phase in full time in-person learning for these grades is as follows:
September 14 – Preschool and kindergarten
September 28 - First and second grades
October 5 - Third grade
October 12 - Fourth grade
October 19 - Fifth grade
If we are moved back into a red category during this process, we would move to full remote learning within 48 hours. Once we move to yellow again, we would pick up where the plan left off.
Health Reminders
As we prepare to bring elementary grades back to full time in-person learning, there are several things of which we want you to remember.
- Masks are mandatory and part of the dress code. If a student forgets to bring one or their facial covering is inappropriate, schools have masks available for their use.
- Students or staff experiencing illness should stay home.
- Socializing outside of school should be limited and the big three – masks, handwashing and distance – should be followed in order to keep those around you healthy.
In elementary grades, the students were put in pods with support from health experts as a mechanism to keep interactions with larger groups low. The idea is that the pod, a small and consistent group (classroom) of people, are careful to limit interactions with those outside the pod. Recess will be less than 15 minutes and there will be staggered lunches. We are also designating areas of the playground by grade level and sanitizing equipment after recesses.
When there is a positive case, West Ada School District collaborates with Central District Health. We are moving forward with a tiered approach when it comes to communicating positive test results:
- Most detailed information to those in close contact with the positive case (which we have been doing since March)
- Generic notification with health screening guidance for others in the school who were likely impacted
- Basic information on case counts for the community for all
We are not at a place where we can release case counts to the community, but we hope to be soon. We are exploring the possibility of reporting numbers through an outside agency or internally via a website dashboard.
The health services department and/or Central District Health will notify close contacts with instructions for staying home and self-monitoring symptoms.
Positive COVID cases, knowledge of an individual who has received a COVID test and is awaiting results, individual who has been instructed to self-isolate or quarantine, or the knowledge of an exposure, will be reported to the health services department with consideration of the following:
- Confidentiality with ADA and HIPAA will be maintained
- Staff member contacts school nurse, school nurse will follow health services process for handling of communicable diseases
- Health services department staff will not provide independent decisions, advise on quarantining, provide medical advice or communication regarding COVID
Students that exhibit symptoms at school will be sent to health services office for further assessment and to minimize spread. Existing health services protocols will be strictly adhered to. Some of these items include:
- Temperature taken
- Handwashing before, during and at the conclusion of individual visits
- Cleaning and disinfecting between every student utilizing District approved products
- Placing a clean disposable mask on students who are actively coughing and sneezing
- Try to physically distance students within office
- If unable to physically distance, one student will be seen in the health office at a time
- Students will be sent home with new onset or worsening of existing COVID-like symptoms
Our Fall Reopening Plan/Learning in 2020-2021 has more details about health and safety as well as in the building safety plans on individual school websites.
Link to Learning in 2020-2021: https://www.westada.org/Learning2020
Social Emotional Learning, Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health of Students
Data and resources regarding student mental health were presented to the Board of Trustees on Tuesday evening by the student support services department. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the number or severity of stressors in the lives of students. Prevention and intervention programs are used in addressing these challenges.
All adults can help children by:
- Realizing children mirror the emotional responses of adults around them
- Monitoring the types and quantity of information consumed
- Deciding what is necessary, helpful or healthy to share with a child
- Acknowledging students may be experiencing physical or emotional discomfort from uncertainty
- Creating strategies to deal with these discomforts and reassuring children they are safe
District Data Now Available in Customizable Searches
Enrollment and advanced opportunity data are now available in the “About Us” section of the District website. You can customize the information you want by school and compare it to overall numbers. Look forward to more data sets over the course of the semester.
Link to District Data: https://www.westada.org/site/default.aspx?DomainID=11387