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West Ada School District Update
October 16, 2020
No Students in School Monday Due to Substitute Shortage
Dear Students, Parents and Guardians,
It has come to our attention that many teachers have taken a sick day on Monday. The numbers indicate that out of 2145 classroom teachers in the West Ada School District, 652 have taken a sick day for Monday, leaving us with approximately 500 positions unfilled.
Principals, administration, teachers and staff worked hard to cover the absences, but unfortunately, we cannot. With safety in mind, and due to supervision concerns, we are regretfully unable to hold school Monday. We will reassess the situation on Monday and give parents, guardians and staff an update.
We want to thank all the patrons and parents who offered to cover classes, but due to the application and fingerprint process required by law, it will not be possible to do so in time for Monday.
We do have a need for substitutes in the West Ada School District, please click here for more information.: www.westada.org/SubstituteApplications.
Sincerely,
Dr. Mary Ann Ranells
Superintendent of Schools
All Grade Levels Following Alternate Day Schedule
The Board of Trustees voted to move ahead with following the alternate day schedule while in CDH category red. All elementary students who were phased into in-person learning every day will begin following the alternate day schedule once again.
T1 or T2 team designations can be found in PowerSchool.
Next Week Calendar for All Grade Levels:
- Monday – No School
- Tuesday – Team 1 attend school in-person. Team 2 attend school remotely.
- Wednesday – Team 2 attend school in-person. Team 1 attend school remotely.
- Thursday – Team 1 attend school in-person. Team 2 attend school remotely.
- Friday – Team 2 attend school in-person. Team 1 attend school remotely.
Alternate Day Schedules: www.westada.org/AlternatingDaySchedules
Pandemic Plan: www.westada.org/Learning2020
Summary of Positive COVID-19 Cases
West Ada School District’s COVID-19 taskforce has created a dashboard sharing positive rates among students and staff using the best privacy measures possible. Releasing positive cases by school district provides the most anonymity for individuals, as more than 38,000 students and 5,000 staff make up the West Ada School District. When the taskforce considered sharing this same information by school, the number of students remains in the hundreds for our smallest campuses, but the number of staff can become a couple dozen creating significant privacy issues. For this reason, West Ada School District’s COVID-19 taskforce has been cautious about releasing data on positive cases by school building.
The dashboard provides positive case numbers by grade level. In the coming weeks, the taskforce will release more data to include school by school positives, absentee rates and how cases in school buildings impact school district operations.
This data is updated as information is available, and it includes Virtual School House students and staff. District Service Center staff are not yet included. The data is collected by the school district’s health services department.
Potential Changes to Athletics Following Release of CDH Recommendations
Earlier today, West Ada School District sent a letter to families regarding athletics. Since that time, Central District Health has provided the community with recommendations for youth sport activities while our county is in red operations.
West Ada School District administration and activities department are currently reviewing the CDH recommendations and will update families next week with changes to athletic operations.
Here is a link to the recommendations provided by CDH: https://www.cdhd.idaho.gov/pdfs/cd/Coronavirus/Resource%20Docs/schools/Youth-Sports-CDH-Position-10-16-20.pdf.
Technology Tips for Alternating Day Education
As we move to an alternating day schedule, it is important for each student device to run smoothly on a daily basis. Following the technology tips below may help your district device work properly at school and at home.
Restart Your Device Regularly
Restarting your device regularly can help to ensure you are ready for school the next day. Restarting is a great first step in troubleshooting issues, helps clear device's memory, and can help devices connect to new wireless networks.
Students should power off their device when leaving school each day or while it charges each night. There may be times that devices need to be left on overnight to receive updates, and this information will be communicated to teachers and families when appropriate.
Logging Into the Filter
Students will need to log in at home and at school to connect the filter to the different wi-fi networks. When connecting to any new wi-fi network (Grandma’s house, daycare, etc.), students may need to log into the filter. Logging in should hold for 28 days per login; however, it is good practice to log in regularly to ensure proper access to online content.
Logging into the Content Keeper filter is what allows the District's systems to recognize the appropriate online permissions assigned to a particular student. Not being logged into the filter may cause the student to be denied access to online content.
- Login to the District Filter (Content Keeper) on an iPad
- Login to the District Filter (Content Keeper) on a Laptop
Microsoft Teams
If Teams is not functioning as expected it may help to quit Teams and relaunch using the steps below. Just clicking on the ‘x’ in the top right corner does not completely quit Teams. It is still working in the background. Completely quitting or logging out often resolves most Teams issues such as assignments and calendar appointments not displaying.
In order to assist with troubleshooting issues with Microsoft Teams, sign out of Teams completely:
- Quit and Restart Teams on an iPad
- Quit and Re-Install Teams on an iPad
- Quit and Restart Teams on a Laptop
- Sign Out/Into Microsoft Teams on an iPad
- Sign Out/Into Microsoft Teams on a Laptop
Requests for support can be entered from the technology help desk form or parents and students can contact the Technology Service Desk Monday – Friday from 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. at 208-350-5300.
RapidIdentity Web Portal
Your West Ada School District online resources are now available using our new web application portal, RapidIdentity. This portal provides access to District web applications from any internet-connected device. Log into the portal at https://apps.westada.org or click the “Web Apps” link found at the top of the West Ada School District home page to access your online applications!
To learn more about RapidIdentity, please click the appropriate link below:
Students: www.westada.org/RapidIdentity-Student