Dear AUSD Families,
I am thrilled that the 2020-2021 school year is finally underway. Our goal of reopening our schools for face-to-face learning is now close to reality.
For the last several months, we have been preparing for the return of our staff and students to campus. We have developed and updated our reopening schools plan with every new public health order. We have purchased pallets of hand sanitizer, face coverings, personal protective equipment, electrostatic cleaners, Chromebooks, new digital books and tools, and much more, all with the goal of reopening our schools with a sound plan in place. We are also finalizing an agreement with the San Diego County Office of Education to provide free hotspots to our families who do not have reliable internet access.
To ensure that we had the option to open our schools, even if San Diego remained on the county watchlist, we submitted an Elementary School waiver. Yesterday, we were notified that the county and state approved our waiver. In fact, we were one of only four public school districts in San Diego county to receive a waiver approval. We have reassigned many of our staff, including bus drivers, instructional aides, and food and nutrition staff, to support our families in our Extended Student Services child care program. We were also the first school district in the state of CA to design and develop a Learning Pod option for our parents. In short, we have been focused on adapting our district to meet the challenges our families face as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While our goal is to open our schools, we want to do it in a way that ensures the health and safety of our staff, students and families. We have designed a gradual re-entry plan that will allow us to begin to open our schools on September 2 with our Preschool Special Day Class being the first to return for face-to-face learning. Our goal is to ensure that all of our planning and procedures have a chance to be put into practice and tested before we bring all students back on campus. On September 21, we will begin our hybrid learning model with all students returning to campus in the A/B Day learning model. More information will be forthcoming regarding days in which students will be attending.
Having our staff and teachers feel safe is critical to our goal of ensuring the opening of our schools is done with care for our entire community. When we return to campus, all students in grades TK-8 will be required to wear a face-covering unless they qualify for one of the exemptions specified in the CDPH face-covering guidelines.
With a gradual re-entry plan, we feel confident that we can monitor the success of our social distancing and sanitation measures, make adjustments as needed and ensure that everyone is as safe as possible.
While there is much work that has gone into our reopening plan, there is much work ahead. I have asked our staff to assume positive intentions in all our actions and to create a working and learning environment that supports everyone. Lastly, as we move forward and open our schools, I also ask that each of you join me in supporting our students and staff as we all work together to make our community proud of the way we respond in reopening our schools.
With great respect and hope for the future,
Dr. Rich Newman
Proudest Superintendent on Earth
Good afternoon CELC families. Our official first day of virtual learning starts tomorrow at 9:00 am. We are so excited to see our Cubs on Zoom. The CELC staff is ready to see those precious smiles! We are experiencing some technical challenges with our Chromebooks. Some of our Chromebooks are set on kiosk mode. This mode limits the ability to add bookmarks and is also causing some families difficulty accessing Zoom. The Tech Department is working to solve this problem and we are hoping that it is resolved by Monday at 8:30 am. The District has set up technical assistance for AUSD families. If you need assistance, please contact our Tech Department at helpdesk@alpineschools.net. Thank you in advance for your patience, grace and flexibility as we launch this school year. It was great to see many of you last week at our drive through materials pick up. If you were unable to make it, please contact your teacher to set up a time to pick up your student’s bag of materials. Don’t forget to keep an eye out for Mrs. Ripke in the community. She is trying to connect with 100 current, former or future Cubs by the 100th day of school. This weekend, she sighted her 9th Cub. Follow the fun on our Facebook page #cubinthecommunity. We love our Cubs!
Good afternoon parents. CELC is looking for School Site Council Members for the 2020-21 school year. If you are interested, please review the document in this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bDB7kE995oty3yGFjxTsVtnJn96rXJMMlwFrvcUmxdw/edit?usp=sharing. You can either fill out the document and email it to Charlene Brown at cbrown@alpineschools.net. Or, you may read the document and email Charlene to let her know that you are interested. Please include a statement about yourself. This document is also in your student's Google Classroom.
Class placements will be posted in Parent Vue at 12:00pm today. Back to School Night is at 5:00pm tonight. Zoom links are being emailed out at 7:00am. Your child's teacher will email you more information after 12:00pm today. We hope to see you tonight. If you are not able to make it, the presentations will be recored and available to view at a later time.
Please click on the link to view directions and details about CELC's Drive Through Materials Pick Up. https://www.smore.com/yux6g
Update on COVID-19 Watchlist
Dear AUSD Families,
You may have heard the news that the County of San Diego was removed from the state’s COVID-19 watchlist and wonder what it means for Alpine Union.
This is encouraging news that could help pave the way for us to reopening schools this fall. However, there are some important things to keep in mind. First, these numbers will need to stay within the acceptable range for at least 14 days before schools in San Diego County will be allowed to reopen without a waiver. Second, when we are allowed to return to face-to-face instruction, we hope to make the transition as seamless as possible for our students, staff, and families by beginning with our hybrid model as outlined in our AUSD Reopening Schools Plan and the AUSD Safe Schools Parent and Student Reopening Guidebook.
While we keep a close eye on the watchlist, we are also planning on submitting a County of San Diego Elementary School Waiver next week so that we may begin to reopen our campuses.
The process for reopening our schools remains the same as our plans have outlined. For the last several months, we have been developing and updating our reopening plans to do everything possible to ensure healthy environments for our students and staff. As you can imagine, the process for reopening is very complex. District leadership has also been working with our employee associations to develop memorandums of understanding that address working conditions in our schools before employees return to school sites.
As a reminder, we have created two options to support our parents as Distance Learning begins: Extended Student Services and Alpine COVID-19 Learning Pods. Information on both options are available on our website on our COVID-19 webpage.
I appreciate your flexibility, support, and understanding as we adjust to these ever-changing conditions. I will continue to share updates as they become available. You can also find the most current information on our reopening plans on our COVID-19 webpage.
I very much look forward to seeing our students back on campus in the very near future.
Stay well and healthy!
Sincerely,
Dr. Rich Newman
Proudest Superintendent on Earth
Hello Creekside parents! This is a reminder that if you do not have wifi access to support your Cub during distance learning, please email Charlene Brown at cbrown@alpineschools.net. The district has a limited amount of hotspots for families that need support.
Please view the August newsletter for the latest news and updates. https://www.smore.com/cazf5
Creekside enrollment is still open for the 2020-21 school year! We have space available in TK and K. Please call the office for registration information. 619-659-8250 We are scheduling appointments to help you with
the process. Creekside is the place to be!
Hello Creekside families. If you have not done it yet, please fill out the the Student Survey to help us get to know your child. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScxeu3bIi8XqdrUSdMZfpIiy55QxdFrSQGLmY7g5FY2R4Q0CA/viewform
Good morning Cubs! If you were not able to attend the Parent Meeting Last Night, the slide show is on the CELC FB page. In addition, the presentation will be posted on our District website by Monday, August 10.
Please join us tonight at 6:30pm for an Informational Parent Meeting. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89034748336
The CELC office in now open! Call or email to schedule an appointment to complete your student's registration. Please follow our social distancing protocols while on campus. 619-659-8250 cbrown@alpineschools.net
Good morning future, current and former Cubs. It is time to launch the 2020-21 “Cubs in the Community” campaign. Connecting with kids is one of the most essential part of building relationships and fostering learning. Mrs. Ripke has set a goal to connect with 100 future, current, and former Cubs in the community by the 100th day of school. If you spot Mrs. Ripke out in the community, please say hi and take a picture with her. Former CELC staff count too! Our pictures may look different this year due to social distancing; however, all of the love will still be there! She can’t wait to hand out hugs again when it is safe. Her is her first Cub of the year!
Come join Mrs. Ripke on Thursday, August 6 at 6:30pm to learn more about what to expect for the upcoming school year, including distance learning schedules, supply distributions, assessments, re-opening procedures, and more! Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89034748336
Current and incoming Cubs, please take the District survey to choose your preferred “Learning Model” in preparation of our possible return to campus. Even though we are beginning the school year with Distance Learning on August 24, we need all of our families to select which model they would like once we are able to come back on campus for face-to-face learning. If you have not already, please fill out the survey by Friday, July 31st. Thank you! We appreciate your support and input. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PSV68FS
AUSD is looking to hire friendly, enthusiastic, and passionate individuals to join our team. We are hiring custodians, child care workers and other positions. These and other positions can be found at Edjoin.org, search Alpine Union.
We’re thrilled to announce Alpine Union School
District’s new app! Access our Reopening plans, cafeteria menus, news updates, emergency notifications. Download the app from the Apple of Google Play store. Search for Alpine Union School District.
Dear AUSD Families,
We realize that everyone is eager for answers as to what school routines will look like when the new school year begins. With this in mind, we have designed the AUSD Safe Schools Parent And Student Reopening Guidebook. It provides a road map for how our schools will operate in the 2020-21 school year. The guidebook along with all communications and updates are posted on our COVID-19 page on our website. The Guidebook, our Reopening Plan, and the list of Frequently Asked Questions and other resources are located on the page. Here is the link to the Guidebook. https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/819514/2020-21_AUSD_SCHOOL_REOPENING_GUIDEBOOK.pdf
Good morning Cub families! Mrs. Ripke and the staff are busy preparing for the 2020-21 school year. The office staff returns on Wednesday, August 5. We will be open by appointment only. If you would like assistance with registration or need to drop off paperwork, please email Mary Barkley (mbarkley@alpineschools.net) or Charlene Brown (cbrown@alpineschools.net) to set up an appointment. Staff will also be on campus to answer the phone beginning the 5th. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please email Mrs. Ripke at tripke@alpineschools.net. We look forward to welcoming you soon!