Education Insider

Welcome to the district's bi-monthly newsletter! At the bottom of this newsletter, you'll find a link to the Community Bulletin Board.

This has been an incredibly tough week, as we experienced the loss of one of our students. I want to thank the crisis support team for coming together to support the student’s family and provide counseling and support to our staff and students.

If your student needs support, please reach out to your principal, counselor, or my office: http://www.asd103.org/contact_us.

The Anacortes School District community has suffered the loss of one of its students. An Anacortes High School student passed away earlier this week.

The district shared this tragic news with staff and high school students Thursday morning. The district is in communication with the student's family, and will provide any needed support during this difficult time.

The high school counseling team is available to offer support to students. Additional counselors are also on staff at the high school.

If you or your student needs additional support in coping with this tragedy or anything else, please reach out to the Superintendent's office, the high school administration, or counseling center: (360) 503-1362.

Additional resources for mental health, loss, and grief are posted on our website: http://www.asd103.org/departments_and_programs/inclusive_services_and_special_education/behavior_and_mental_health

The Skyward Family Access "Student Information Update" is back open! If you didn't take the opportunity to complete it in the fall, we ask that you please do so now during this "second-chance" open period. In addition to basic demographic information, this is where important health, housing & attendance forms are gathered in order to better serve the students in our district. Please login to your Skyward Family Access account and select the Annual Student Information Update alert link !. (If you don't see the ! in your account, you don't need to take action.)

*Accounts that aren't updated run the risk of causing various errors related to your student's enrollment.*

Questions? Please contact your student(s) school office: http://www.asd103.org/contact_us

We held our final committee meeting on Tuesday and presented the outcomes at the board study session on Thursday. The district has a lot of work ahead of us, including finalizing the middle school math recommendations. This work will be shared with the committee and board in March. Dr. Clifford is impressed by the students, staff, families, and community members' contributions and accomplishments. We are committed to engaging and partnering with our community and look forward to ongoing and future engagement. In the spring, special education and English language learner committees will convene. Check out the Community Engagement for Curriculum and Programs webpage to preview the committee work and view final recommendations.

Questions? Contact Assistant Superintendent Becky Clifford, rclifford@asd103.org or (360) 503-1212

This year the district has focused on secondary science and social studies. The high school science teachers have drafted a course sequence of 9-12 science courses. This draft has been shared with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Stakeholder Committee. These teachers have a future meeting to engage in curriculum selection for specific courses or content.

The middle and high school teachers met to verify the course sequence for 6-12 social studies courses, including intentionally integrating Since Time immemorial (STI) content within courses and curriculum. High school teachers will have dedicated time to further map out a detailed scope and sequence for each course and align instructional materials. Middle school teachers will begin a materials selection process for specific courses and content.

The district hosted an SOS family night on Thursday, January 13th. This month, middle and high school staff completed the implementation of the SOS curriculum with students. Families were notified when the sessions were hosted with their students. It is a goal to deepen students’ skills and strategies for health and wellness and support them in identifying when they need additional support as an ongoing preventative approach to health and well-being. It also gives students an avenue to reach out if they need help and adults an awareness of students in need.

Many students are already receiving services through our partnership with the hospital, and we acknowledge that mental health needs have increased since COVID.

Questions? Contact Assistant Superintendent Becky Clifford, rclifford@asd103.org or (360) 503-1212

Governor Inslee has just announced that the statewide indoor mask requirement, including in our K–12 schools, will be lifted on March 21. Until then, face masks will continue to be required for all students, staff, and visitors in all school buildings. In addition, federal law requires masks on buses (including school buses), and the CDC is expected to revisit that order mid-March.

Outdoor masks have not been required during this school year. We know that some students and staff have continued to wear masks while outdoors/ at recess.

Today, the state further lifted outdoor mask mandates to apply to events of 500 people or more. Essentially, masks are no longer required to be worn outdoors by staff or students. People can choose to continue to wear a mask outdoors if they wish.

Once the indoor statewide mask requirement lifts, barring a new requirement from our local health department, masks will become optional in our school buildings.

Staff and students will have the choice to wear a mask at school.

Additional talking points from the state can be found here.

Thank you for your continued support and patience throughout the pandemic.

Does your student need a helping hand with technology? If so, we’ve moved our Tech Support team to each school so that you can connect with them when you next visit. More information about us and our work can be found at https://sites.google.com/asd103.org/tech-handbook/home/our-team. For urgent issues, continue to use our hotline at (360) 503-1220. When leaving a message, be sure to leave your name, your student’s name, and a number where you can be reached. We’ll be sure to get back to you within one school day.

We continue to recruit for paras, subs in all positions, and coaches. We are also going to hire permanent subs that will be able to rotate buildings and positions, and fill in as needed. Please refer to our HR page for openings: https://anacortesjobs.hrmplus.net/JobOpenings.aspx

• Feb 21: No School; Presidents Day
  
• Feb 28: K-5 Half Day (students only): Conference Planning - Please note there is an error in the student art calendar, but this day is only an elementary half day.

An updated school calendar is on our website. May 31, which was reserved for a snow day, will now be a regular school day.

Click the link below to find items submitted for our community bulletin board: