Mountain View Learning Academy

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

Good Evening Families, I am looking forward to having the children return to site this week. We have many new protocols in place. I know the routines that many of you have become familiar with over the past years will now be different, however, I hope that you will follow all the guidelines to ensure that we can return to school safely. The staggered drop off and pick up times will be the biggest change, but will help alleviate traffic if all parents adhere to the schedule. The teachers will take the children on a tour of the school to ensure they are familiar with the campus. I hope they are as thrilled as I am to return to some normalcy. See you next week! Yvette Maier

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

MVLA Reopening Video: https://vimeo.com/457958139

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

Joan MacQueen Middle School remains open as a temporary evacuation center. We have A/C, food , water, restrooms, and wifi. Yes, animal friends ARE welcome! #AlpineStrong #United #OnwardandUpward

Tuesday (9/8) - AUSD will be providing FREE Grab and Go Meals for the week for all children 18 and under @ JMMS from 11:00 - 12:00 pm. #AlpineStrong #UnitedWeStand

Monthly Newsletter Please view our monthly newsletter: https://www.smore.com/sw527

We have opened up Joan MacQueen Middle School gym. The gym is air conditioned and we have wifi, food, restrooms and water. We also welcome your pets. Red Cross is on site setting up. #AlpineStrong

#ValleyFire Update: Overnight, the Red Cross team provided safe shelter for three families affected by the fire. The Temporary Evacuation Point at JMMS has closed. The Temporary Evacuation Point at Steele Canyon remains open.

We are excited to once again welcome our youngest students back on campus. Today, our preschool students began face to face learning. We look forward to all students returning in the near future. #onwardandupward #learningtogether #Alpine

Good Evening Families, Congratulations on making it through the first week of distance learning. The families, students and staff showed incredible unity during this first week. I would like to thank all of you for working together in such a collaborative manner. I hope we are able to continue the momentum throughout the next several weeks. I personally can’t wait to have all the students and staff back on campus. Our hopes are the majority of the students will return to school and participate in the hybrid plan. Regardless of how you answered on the last survey, we would appreciate if you let office know if you have changed your mind with the learning options that were outlined. For example, if you chose the hybrid plan and would like to continue distance learning then please call the office. If you are staying with the learning option you selected on the survey, you do not need to let us know. We are making every effort to put all siblings on the same A/B schedule. In addition, we are working with the principals at the other sites to ensure the siblings at SHS, MVLA, CELC, BOES, and JMMS are on the same schedule. We are attempting to put all pods together as well. We will inform you of your schedule by next week. MVLA will have a slightly different A/B schedule due to their unique alternative program. The students will attend 3 days a week with the A/B schedule alternating weeks. The teachers are identifying families that will stay with the pure homeschooling option. Please let them know if you are one of them. We distributed close to 200 devices to Shadow Hills and Mountain View Learning Academy students. If you have trouble with your child’s device, you may reach out to our help desk via email- helpdesk@alpineschools.net. Anthony, our technician, is a computer genius and very helpful servicing your needs. Remember our office is open and fully staffed from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm if you have any questions. I hope you and your family have a great week! Yvette Maier

As we continue to plan for the reopening of our schools we want to ensure we have an accurate accounting of each student’s preferred learning model. We will be offering students the option of participating in Distance Learning, returning to school for face-to-face learning in the A/B Day hybrid model, independent study, or our home school program. We realize that you may have rethought which learning model you want your child to participate in. If you would like to make a change to the model your child will be participating in when we reopen our campuses on September 21, please contact the school office by Wednesday, September 3. -- Rich Newman, Ed.D. Proudest Superintendent on Earth Alpine Union School District The Destination District of East County (619) 445-3236

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