Weiser News: From Weiser School District # 431

By: 
Wade Wilson

August 11, 2020

 

Dear Parents and Guardians,

 

Last night the Board of Trustees for the Weiser School District made some very difficult decisions as to how schools will open this fall.  Trustees accepted and considered input gathered through surveys that were distributed to parents and staff, considered community and administrator input, and evaluated information from the Southwest District Health Department and other sources.  The reopening plan for the district may be found on our website at www.weiserschools.org.  Additionally, each building will post their unique reopening plan on the district’s website on Wednesday, August 12th.

 

Important details of the fall reopening include:

 

  • The first day of school will be Thursday, August 20th.

 

  • The district will start the school year using Level 2 Delivery of Services as outlined in the district’s reopening plan.  Students will participate in learning activities 5 days a week.

 

  • Students will attend school using the outlined A/B Schedule.  Students assigned to the A Schedule will typically attend school in-person on Mondays and Tuesdays, and will participate in at-home learning on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.  Students assigned to the B Schedule will typically participate in at-home learning on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, and will attend school in-person on Thursdays and Fridays.

 

  • Students whose last name begins with a letter A – K will be assigned an A Schedule.  Students whose last name begins with a letter L – Z will be assigned a B Schedule.  (School administrators will consider schedule change requests made by parents when necessary.)

 

  • Schools will have measures established that will promote physical distancing whenever feasible for students and staff.  Students and staff will be required to wear face coverings (masks) when physical distancing cannot be maintained, which may include, but is not limited to: riding on a bus, changing classes, waiting in a line, etc.

 

  • We are promoting reduced ridership on buses whenever possible.  We highly recommend that parents consider transporting their children to and from school, or encouraging them to walk whenever possible.  Many students who live in town have been allowed to ride buses in the past, even when they live close to school.  In order to decrease close and sustained contact between students on buses, students are encouraged to walk or ride with a sibling or parent to and from school whenever possible.

 

  • Extra-curricular activities will continue as long as the Weiser School District is NOT forced to move to Level 3 Delivery of Services.

 

  • School nutrition services WILL continue to be provided regardless of the Level of Delivery of Services that the district is using at any given time.  As per Federal requirements, WSD students who are scheduled for at-home learning will need to obtain their meals at the school in which they are enrolled and during the posted times.

 

Please note, in order to provide all students the opportunity to attend school during the opening week, the following adjustment has been made to the A/B Schedule:

  • Thursday, August 20th – A Schedule Day – August 20th will be the first day of school for students assigned to the A Schedule and those students will attend school in person.  

  • Friday, August 21st – B Schedule Day – August 21st will be the first day of school for students assigned to the B Schedule and those students will attend school in person.

 

In an effort to alleviate concerns and meet the needs of families we are working to offer a fully online school option to students this year, while COVID-19 is prevalent.  The program offered at each school will vary and the details will be made available to students by the school in which the student is enrolled.  Each school will reach out to those who have registered for their online school in the coming days.

 

Please understand that school will start slowly for students during the first few days as teachers work to frontload the essential information that students and families need in order to access information and successfully navigate through the established A/B schedule.  Things will be different for now, and we ask that you exercise patience and understanding as we begin this year in a manner that is vastly different than any school opening in our history.  We know there will be obstacles, but we also know that by working together we can take on anything.  

 

In an effort to ensure that students have access to curriculum all year, the district is purchasing additional technology and will have the ability to provide every student in need a device to use for the year.  We are also looking at ways to assist students who have less than adequate or no current internet access from home – all in an effort to insure students have access to their curriculum regardless of their learning environment.  

 

The decision to begin school this year using Level 2 Delivery was not taken lightly and not without controversy.  We fully understand the impact such a decision will have for many families in our community.  We also understand the varying positions people have based on their individual views and circumstances.  Although we know that it is impossible to bring these positions together, we remain committed to objectively considering all information that is at our disposal, knowing that our decisions will impact our students, staff, and community.

 

Each of our schools will implement precautions during the day that are intended to help mitigate the transmission of COVID-19 within the school community.  Our goal is to maintain control of opportunities for transmission in an effort to keep our schools open to students and staff.  Keeping our schools open to students will take a community effort.  We ask that everyone do their part to help reduce the possible spread of COVID-19.  Perhaps our greatest responsibility is to commit to staying home, or keeping kids home, whenever we are ill or show any symptoms of coronavirus.

 

We hope to provide every student and staff member with a mask that they can use whenever necessary while they are at school.  I want to offer my thanks to those in Weiser who pitched in by donating time and materials.  We are still a few hundred short, but we are getting there.

 

We are looking for some help in our schools.  We are looking to hire a few people (students, parents, or community members) to help clean desks and frequently touched surfaces each day in our schools.  Applications may be picked up at the Weiser School District Office.

 

Additionally, we are looking for a few volunteers who may be willing to serve on a district “Hot Shot” team that would be deployed in response to any COVID-19 conditions that appear in our schools.  Our goal is to have a team that will be ready to jump in and clean and sanitize classrooms or other areas following a positive case of COVID-19 in a school.  The team would help us get rooms back in use as quickly as possible.  If interested, please call the Weiser School District Office at 208-414-0616.

 

Although we are beginning the 2020-21 school year using Level 2 Delivery, the Board of Trustees will continue to monitor local conditions and is committed to re-evaluating the situation early in the month of September.

 

Respectfully,

 

Wade Wilson, Superintendent

 

Signal American

18 E. Idaho St.
Weiser, ID 83672
PH: (208) 549-1717
FAX: (208) 549-1718
 

Connect with Us