Mountain View Learning Academy

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

Please use the following link to access this month's newsletter: https://www.smore.com/z0kv7

Back To School Informational Meeting is scheduled for August 25th at 9:00 am. Please join us!

Plan Distribution:

Good Morning MVLA Families, If your child is in need of a Chromebook, we will distribute them starting tomorrow, August 18th. To help with traffic flow, we have assigned the following time slots to each grade level: 1st - 9:00 am - 10:00am 2nd - 10:00 am - 11:00 am 3rd - 11:00 am - 12:00 pm 4th - 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm 5th - 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm 6th - 8th - 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm If you have multiple children, please use the oldest child's assigned time slot. Please park and walk down the ramp to the office window. We will distribute the devices from there. You will need to complete the check out form, so please bring a pen. In addition, we are offering insurance on the devices for $25 dollars. We are only accepting checks or Venmo. If you are not able to attend the assigned pick up time, Chromebooks will be available for pick up on August 19th from 8:00 am to 11:00 am. Students may use his/her own device if preferred. Chromebooks will not need to be reissued from the spring, however, the teachers will send home usage agreements to be completed. Please practice social distancing when in line. Thank you, Yvette Maier

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

Good Evening, I'm very happy my teachers returned from break today. They just received their class list and will be sending out welcome emails to their families by August 18th. ~Mrs. Maier

Please join me for an informational webinar meeting about the upcoming 2020-21 school year on August 4th at 5:30 pm. Please submit all questions you may have by Monday, August 3rd to ymaier@alpineschools.net. https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kb7Yv84FEL

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.

Good Afternoon Families, It is extremely important that you choose the learning model that works best for your student and family in anticipation of our return to campus. If you have not already, please fill out the survey by this Friday, July 31st: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PSV68FS We will not be able to place your child in a class until this survey has been submitted. As we plan for the upcoming year, the district continues to update the website with information regarding COVID 19 and our plan for the 2020-21 school year. They have recently added a Frequently Asked Questions page which you might find helpful. https://www.alpineschools.net/o/ausd/page/coronavirus-updates--15 Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions or concerns. I am looking forward to seeing all of you as soon as possible. Please stay safe and healthy. Yvette Maier

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

AUSD 2020-21 Registration Extended Until Friday, July 31 We are extending the 2020-21 Student Learning Model Registration until Friday, July 31 at 4:00 PM. While we will be beginning the year with distance learning, we plan to transition to face-to-face learning when health conditions allow. It is imperative that each child is registered for the learning model of your choice by Friday, July 31 so that we are able to staff appropriately. If a registration form is not completed for each child we may not be able to place your child in the learning mode of your choice when we reopen our campuses. Please check our COVID-19 webpage for a list of frequently asked questions. This page is updated daily with all communications and key information. The 2020-21 Student Learning Model Registration registration form can be found at the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PSV68FS

As a follow up to our Town Hall Meeting we have posted a Frequency Asked Questions page on our Covid-19 webpage. The link to the page is located at the top of each our webpages located at www.alpineschools.net

Please read our new parent update on Reopening Schools. All updates are posted on our Covid-19 D webpage. https://www.alpineschools.net/o/ausd/page/coronavirus-updates--15

As a reminder, the AUSD Virtual Town Hall Meeting on Reopening Schools will take place tomorrow, Tuesday, July 21 at 6:00 PM. The link to the Town Hall meeting is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81537574279

We realize that there are many questions about the reopening of our schools. We will be hosting an AUSD Town Hall meeting to share specifics of the plan. Please submit any questions you might have to returntoschools@alpineschools.net.

​We are continuing our plans to reopen schools on August 19. To ensure that your child is placed in the learning model of your choice and we are able to staff appropriately, the 2020-21 Student Learning Model Registration form is required to be filled out for each student. The registration period will be open until July 27, 2020. If a registration form is not completed for each child we will not be able to place your child in a learning model. Parents registering for a learning model will have the flexibility of changing models. We will provide a window at the end of September for families to reassess their learning model choice for their children. To complete the 2020-21 Student Learning Model Registration form please access the link below. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PSV68FS

Dear AUSD families, I hope this email finds you and your family safe and well. We know the last several months have been challenging for everyone as we have adjusted to the changes that have occurred as a result of COVID-19. We wanted to provide you with an update on the preparations our schools have been making to reopen our facilities and resume in-classroom instruction. First, as we have stated before, our goal remains that if the rules and regulations permit schools to operate in person, we believe it is our moral imperative, when safe and possible, to provide the option for students to return to school and learn in classrooms with teachers. Our focus remains on reopening schools in August with students attending classes in person. In short, we plan to offer in-person learning Tuesday - Friday. In addition, we will also offer a full-time distance learning model, independent study, and a homeschool option. In the coming days, you will be asked to complete the 2020-21 Student Learning Model Registration form. It is essential that you complete it as soon as possible so we can effectively plan staffing models and ensure that your child is placed in the learning model of your choice. Parents registering for a learning model will have the flexibility of changing models. We will provide a window at the end of September for families to reassess their learning model choice for their children. As we continue to move forward together, I want to thank you for your continued patience, support, commitment, and trust in our District. While school procedures and protocols may look different in our new reality, I want to reassure you that the heart of our work remains focused on providing the best educational programs to our students. Our commitment to our mission is unwavering and we are proud to be able to serve our Alpine community. Sincerely, Rich Newman Proud Superintendent

The deadline to apply for #PEBT benefits is July 15 (next week)! Students who receive free or reduced price meals are eligible for up to $365 for groceries while schools are closed due to #COVID19. If you haven't received a PEBT card, apply today at https://ca.p-ebt.org/en/.