Caldwell School District Update

En español

In this update:

• Our plan to return to in person learning
• Caldwell School District families qualifying for free- or reduced-priced meals last spring qualify for benefit
• Upgrade to Warren "Moke" Strong Sports Complex
• New greenhouse at Caldwell High School
• How to access Google files without internet
  
• How to access Otis a free training resource
• "What is Patriotism to Me?" Essay contest
  

Dear Caldwell Families,

Thank you for your patience during these first weeks of our unusual school year as we started in remote learning. You may remember our plan was to provide families consistency and operate in distance learning through the month of September and re-evaluate health conditions in our community September 21 and make a decision about October.

I took great joy this week that the health alert in our county changed from "red" to "orange," meaning health officials are starting to see the level of spread of COVID begin to recede. This is good news!

This improvement allowed our Board of Trustees to approve our athletic teams to return to competition and for us to make cautious preparations to return students back to school in our hybrid learning model in October.

Next week, we are excited to greet elementary and middle school students back in small groups representing 25% or less of the school population. School procedures will be different and this will be a great first practice of physical distancing, washing/sanitizing hands, and wearing face coverings -- all will be required when our schools open in a hybrid model.

We're bringing students on campus so we can assess their learning using state and district tests. This will be essential information as we develop plans to address gaps in learning.

While students have been learning at home, we are excited for the completion of two projects. Below I share details of improvements to the Warren "Moke" Strong Athletic Complex that will be ready for the Caldwell High Cougars' first home football game and the long-planned new greenhouse to support our agriculture program at Caldwell High School.

These were made possible thanks to our community's approval of a plant facilities levy.

Dr. Shalene French

Caldwell School District Superintendent

Families of children who last spring were eligible for free or reduced priced meals should have received a letter from the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare this month about a one-time benefit. This is not a scam.

Here's what is happening:

• This benefit is called Pandemic Electronic Benefit (P-EBT) and is a one-time payment of $302.10 per child.

• The criteria used to determine eligibility for P-EBT is based on whether a child was eligible and enrolled in the School Meal Program (free or reduced school lunch) through the Idaho school system on March 23, 2020, when schools were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The intent of this one-time payment is to replace the value of free/reduced lunches children would have received during the time Idaho schools were closed.

Below we have two "how to" videos for families:

How to access Google files without internet

How to access Otis a free training resource

Below is information about a writing contest sponsored the the Veterans of Foreign Wars for middle school and high school students. The deadline is Oct. 31.

Committed to Caldwell School District's mission, vision, and values to ensure equity and access for all students.

Email: nfrench@caldwellschools.org
Website: www.caldwellschools.org
Location: 1502 Fillmore Street, Caldwell, ID, USA
Phone: (208) 455-3300
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/caldwellschools.org/
Twitter: @CSD132Sup