Alpine Union School District

Halloween is always fun no matter what the age!

October 26, 2020 Dear AUSD Families: As we enter week six of our hybrid learning model I wanted to provide some important updates. First, I want to sincerely thank all of our staff, parents, and families for their support and effort these past weeks. As one of the first public school districts in the county to reopen schools, we were chartering a new and uncertain path. We built our reopening plan on strong health and safety protocols, and the belief that our students would be best served by learning in person at school with their teachers. I am extremely grateful and appreciative of all the hard work and collaboration that has made our reopening of schools both safe and a model for other districts. Additionally, I am pleased to share that on Tuesday, October 20th, the Board of Trustees approved the installation of indoor air filtration systems in all of our classrooms and buildings. These new systems will be similar to what you find in hospitals and medical settings. I am proud to share that we are among the first school districts in the state to install these units. A HUGE thanks to our Board of Trustees for ensuring that Alpine Union continues to place the health and safety of our students and staff front and center, while also setting an example for how to effectively and safely reopen schools and plan for the future. A Superintendent’s Advisory Task Force has also been working to develop plans for our Phase Three reopening. At our Board of Trustees meeting on November 10th, the Board will discuss the Task Force recommendations and a target date for a full return to in-person learning. A month ago we implemented COVID-19 testing for all AUSD staff. Every two weeks free drive through COVID-19 testing and flu shots are available at JMMS. The testing plan has been expanded, and all community members, students, and families are welcome to receive a free flu shot or a COVID-19 test during our test days. I hope you and your family members will take advantage of this free service. Dates are posted on our website and social media. Last, we have expanded our Grab and Go meals, and are offering meal pick up on Mondays during the day from 11:00 a.m.- 12:30 p.m. and in the evening from 5:00 p.m.- 6:30 p.m. Meals are available free of charge for any school-age child under the age of 18. Please help spread the word so that we can continue to support our Alpine families and community members. As always, thank you for your continued support. We are all in this together, and we can only get through it together. Stay safe and healthy, Dr. Rich Newman Proudest Superintendent on Earth

FREE Grab and Go Meal Bags are happening at JMMS today, 10/26 at 11:00 am to 12:30 pm and 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm. All children 18 and under are FREE, no application or sign-up needed!!

CalFire had a cancellation in their schedule and will return to JMMS on Thursday, October 22 for free COVID-19 tests and flu shots @ JMMS from 9:00 - 12:30.

Free drive-through COVID-19 test and flu shots are available at JMMS today from 8:00-2:00. All adults and children are welcome. Stay safe and healthy!

Dear AUSD Families: We were notified today that an individual at Boulder Oaks has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. Due to privacy laws, information regarding this individual's identity cannot be released. This individual is currently not on campus per public health guidelines. The school will remain open for in-person learning. We have cleaned and disinfected appropriately following all health protocols. We understand that this information is concerning. Staff members and students who may have come into close contact with the individual will be contacted directly by San Diego County Public Health and the school office with further instructions. We are working with public health to continue to monitor the situation, and we are strictly following all public health guidelines. As a reminder, we ask that you monitor your student for any signs of illness each day such as cough, shortness of breath, runny nose, and fever at home before coming to school. Anyone with a fever of 100°F or more should not go to a school site. Those experiencing symptoms including a persistent cough, shortness of breath, or runny nose should not attend school or ESS, even if no fever is present. All students are required to wear a face covering, and student temperatures will continue to be taken upon entering classes and buildings. Thank you for your cooperation and support. Sincerely, Dr. Rich Newman Superintendent Alpine Union School District

We will be distributing free Grab and Go Meal Bags today, Monday 10/12 from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm in the JMMS parking lot. The meals are FREE to all children 18 and under!

CalFire will be at JMMS today (Wednesday) for free drive through COVID-19 testing from 8:00 - 2:00. No flu shots will be provided today. All staff and community members are welcome!

Dear AUSD families, We are almost two and a half weeks into our return to face-to-face learning and I wanted to provide a few updates. First, I am pleased to share that the opening of our hybrid learning model has gone exceptionally well. Overall, our teachers and students have been adjusting very well to the new procedures and protocols, while also adapting to a new model of instruction. The one constant that has provided us a healthy, safe, and smooth opening is the united effort of our school staff to keep our students, families, and community safe. To prepare for phase three, which is a return to face-to-face learning four days a week, we are monitoring the following to ensure our district’s preparedness: the effectiveness of our current schedules and strategy; the number of students who are opting for each learning model; community rates of COVID spread; staffing scenarios; and, most importantly, the strength of our health and safety protocols. In the near future, our Board will make a determination on the date for our phase three return to face-to-face learning. There has never been a bigger moment to examine our education system and improve our practices to further close opportunity gaps and support the unique needs of our students. As part of our continual improvement process, we are launching Operation Home Court Advantage, which is focused on directing all of our District’s human, financial, and knowledge resources to mitigate the learning loss that has occurred as a result of the school closures and distance learning. In short, we are focusing on a well-rounded approach to providing increased services and safety measures. Here are some recent changes we have made to our schools: Added over 2,000 new K - 8th grade digital and audiobooks to our Sora Digital Library, including Spanish titles in every grade. Increased student digital curriculum options, including adding science and social studies content for our students using IXL in grades three and above. Added additional tutoring options at each of our schools with Tutors4sd.org. Increased our special education staff to provide additional support in speech, occupational therapy, and other special education services. Updated the social studies curriculum for our middle school students. Piloting a new digital science curriculum that would span K-8 and offer both English and Spanish instruction. Increased our social and emotional outreach to students. Updated our technology infrastructure and hardware, including new Chromebooks, docucams, and digital learning tools. Provided hotspots to our families who have unreliable or no internet access. Hired additional custodial staff at all schools, including the use of an outside cleaning firm to train and assist our custodial staff in best practices to clean our schools. Equipped every school with at least two electrostatic cleaners. Scheduled drive through COVID-19 testing at JMMS for all staff twice a month. Provided Grab and Go meals for all students 18 years old and younger. We are in the process of implementing the following supports to our schools: Hiring additional teachers for every school to support our teachers and students and increase our ability to provide personalized attention to our students. Creating a unique one of a kind tutoring program for our students by channeling the expertise of all of our support staff to design an 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM tutoring program. Updating our air filtration and ventilation systems at all schools. Launching new training for our staff to support their development as teachers. Launching a new option on our COVID-19 webpage to provide complete transparency and an accurate picture of COVID-19 cases associated with our schools. As you can tell, our staff are working incredibly hard to lead in a very challenging new environment. I am proud of the innovative and student-centered approach our District is taking. These are dynamic times, therefore we want to be upfront that some changes to our learning model may occur as we continue to adapt and update our strategy and support for our students. As always, we thank you for your continued support. Sincerely, Dr. Newman Proudest Superintendent of Earth

Free drive-through COVID-19 testing will be available at JMMS from 8:00-12:00 tomorrow, Wednesday, October 7, 2020 for all staff and community members. Free drive-through flu shots will also be available from 1:00-3:00.

The Alpine Union School District has become one of the first local school districts to begin mandatory testing for all staff members. https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/alpine-schools-begin-drive-thru-covid-19-testing-for-staff-members?fbclid=IwAR1yv6V5qCicQXB2xigFLyG4U1eNO-4QOYEgV4qRmTQQEmZ_wwm-8CKTWXQ

A HUGE thanks to our famous Alpine community artist, Jorge Estrada, for painting the welcome back banners and Claudia and the Alpine Taco Shop for graciously funding the banners. Each campus has a one of a kind original banner welcoming our staff and students back to campus.

HUGE thanks to CalFire for helping implement COVID-19 testing for all district staff. @CAL_FIRE @SanDiegoCOE #Alpine

Day two of face-to-face learning. Our students once again connecting with friends and other students and using our wonderful outdoor spaces for learning. #LearningTogether #Proud OfOurDistrict

So excited to have our students back on campus for face-to-face learning. Thank you staff for being here for our students! So grateful to to our #AlpineUnion staff! @SanDiegoCOE #HeroesWorkHere

Just a reminder that we will be distributing Grab and Go Meal Bags today, Monday 9/21 from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm. We will have meals for students that are participating in our Distant Learning AND our Hybrid Schedule. The meals are FREE to all children 18 and under!! If you have any questions, please email our Child Nutrition Services Director at kmassey@alpineschools.net

Dear AUSD Families, You may have heard the news that the County of San Diego may be moved on Tuesday to the lowest tier of the state reopening system and wonder what it means for Alpine Union. Because our waiver to reopen campuses was approved by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), we will be allowed to stay open if the county moves to the lowest tier on Tuesday. As we open on Monday it is imperative that everyone follow the protocols that we have designed. Over the last several months we have developed and adjusted our safe schools reopening plan to ensure that we adapt to the changing conditions. Additionally, I am pleased to share that we are one of the first school districts in the county to have implemented COVID-19 surveillance testing for all of our employees. We ask that you monitor your student for any signs of illness each day such as cough, shortness of breath, runny nose and fever at home before coming to school. Anyone with a fever of 100°F or more should not go to a school site. Those experiencing symptoms including persistent cough, shortness of breath, or runny nose should not attend school, even if no fever is present. All students will be required to wear a face covering, and student temperatures will be taken upon entering classes and buildings. Lastly, I ask for your patience and grace as we begin this new chapter of learning. Our staff have worked incredibly hard to make this opening as seamless as possible. Everything we do on Monday will be different from years past. We will all be learning together while we balance the need to reduce the spread of the coronavirus with the desire to get students into more productive learning environments. We look forward to seeing our students once again back on campus. Stay well and healthy, Dr. Newman Proudest Superintendent on Earth

Dear AUSD Families, We are excited to share that next Monday we will begin phase two of our reopening schools plan with students returning to our campuses for face-to-face learning. At each school site, one cohort of students have been assigned to attend school for face-to-face learning on Mondays and Tuesdays, and another cohort of students will attend school on Thursdays and Fridays. Distance learning will continue to occur online the days in which students are not on campus. Those students in a complete distance learning environment will also continue their learning online. CONNECTION Since schools closed on Friday, March 13, 2020 we have continued to be concerned about the social and emotional well-being of all of our students. We also realize that with the uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic, parents may opt to move back and forth between face-to-face and distance learning during the year. In fact, one of the biggest concerns we have heard from families is the fear of losing their connection to their school and teacher this year if they choose to have their child participate in face-to-face or distance learning. We have intentionally designed our hybrid learning model around building and maintaining relationships and connections by having students remain in a class that is stable and consistent throughout the year and not have students switch back and forth between a different distance learning and face-to-face teacher. Each class will comprise both face-to-face and distance learning students. Since approximately 84% of our parents have chosen to have their child return to face-to face learning there is not a large number of students who prefer only distance learning. GRAB AND GO MEALS We will continue to provide free Grab and Go meals for all children 18 and under at JMMS each Monday. LUNCH Each school will continue to provide bagged or boxed lunches for students. We ask that you use our online portal to prepay for lunches, which is located on our website. BUSSING We will continue to provide bussing for students to school albeit will be slightly reduced this year. Similar to most districts, the Board has approved a transportation zone that would provide home to school transportation for students who live 1 ½ miles or more from school. All students will be required to wear face coverings on the bus and will be socially distanced as much as possible. Registration for bussing can be accessed via our district website. FACE COVERINGS When we return to school for face-to-face learning, all students will be required to wear a face covering (face mask or shield). Students may remove their face coverings during lunch, PE, and recess but will be required to have them on while in the classroom, even when sitting behind the plastic desk dividers. Only students that meet one of the exemptions outlined in the California Department of Public Health Guidelines and have the required medical documentation will be exempt. Previously, we shared that face coverings would only be required for students in grades three and above. We made the change requiring all students to wear face coverings for the following safety concerns. First, we set a goal of opening our schools for face-to-face learning and want to ensure we do everything in our power to keep our schools open and operating. Many of our staff have also shared concerns about contracting COVID-19 and want to be able to feel safe and comfortable so that they can focus on teaching and learning. Classroom schedules have also been designed to ensure students are not wearing a face covering for longer than two hours at a time without a break. WELLNESS We ask that you monitor your student for any signs of illness each day such as cough, shortness of breath, runny nose and fever at home before coming to school. Anyone with a fever of 100°F or more should not go to a school site. Those experiencing symptoms including persistent cough, shortness of breath, or runny nose should not attend school, even if no fever is present. We know next week will be filled with excitement and nervousness. We look forward to this next phase in reopening our schools, and as always, appreciate your continued support. Lastly, if you have additional questions, please feel free to reach out to your child’s principal. Stay well, Dr. Newman Proudest Superintendent on Earth

We remember and honoring the victims of the #September11 attack. #UnitedWeStand

Dear AUSD Families, We are continuing to monitor the Valley Fire situation very closely. Given the active nature of the fire, San Diego County Sheriff Gore and the Office of Emergency Services, are encouraging all of us to be prepared to evacuate with very little notice. The fire has tripled in the last four days, and Santa Ana winds are expected to impact our community beginning this evening. We realize that many of our students, families, and staff have been impacted by the Valley Fire. We are here to help and assist in any way possible. Please reach out to us if we can be of any assistance. Joan MacQueen remains an active temporary relocation center for community members and their pets. All District personnel, other than essential staff, will be working from home for the remainder of the week. Distance Learning will continue but our staff are mindful of what our students need at this time, and will be available to provide the support necessary. Lastly, I want to take a moment to remind each of you to review your evacuation plan, be prepared, stay informed and sign up for updates at www.readysandiego.org. We will get through this together united as one community. Stay safe, Dr. Newman Proudest Superintendent on Earth