Update to Inlet View Families
More information about ASD options for your children.
Dear Inlet View Parents, guardians, and students,
The following analogy was shared by a colleague during a zoom meeting with all ASD elementary principals, and my fellow colleague from Rogers Park put it nicely in writing. So here it is;
"Think of ASD as a huge OCEAN FREIGHTER, a boat this size cannot just turn on a dime when a change is warranted to move DOWN the risk level matrix. This kind of boat will need time to adjust to a turn, so know that if we go from a High Risk to Medium High Risk Level, because the case count warrants such a move, then the community and district will have plenty of time to make that adjustment. Another analogy you can think of for the district is going UP in risk levels from Medium High to High. If we are talking about the safety of our staff and students, then ASD can become a SPEED BOAT and turn on a dime to ensure we are safe. If there is an outbreak in COVID cases, we can quickly shut down and go right back to online learning."
In my mind these two analogies helped me with the speed at which things could happen. As most of you already know we are on full time online learning to start the school year and Dr. Bishop will reevaluate after Labor Day. On the ASD website at https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.asdk12.org%2FPage%2F15637&data=02%7C01%7Cahrens_patricia%40asdk12.org%7C3582c00fc8f94a56a6ef08d8325c5aec%7C036ce601e95a4e46a3bd6b742ed4bb35%7C0%7C0%7C637314719522176816&sdata=z%2FCqWvSuVDiPW4ZZLT72CiGjVhYeFnDrVTZ4T6li5j4%3D&reserved=0, we are keeping track of the 7-day and 14-day averages of COVID cases in the Anchorage area. Please continue to check that daily update, as you will be able to see the trend. You will be able to view the numbers for yourself and see if as a community we are going up or down in active cases. It is very helpful, as I check it every day to see what might be coming in the next 2-week period.
As things continue to change, I want to continue updating you with information that helps you stay informed. Here's some more details about the three options available for your students. I hope this provides clarity and helps answering some of your questions.
In education,
Patricia Ahrens
Your Principal
Registration Information
Registration started today, Monday, July 27. I know this is weighing on each parent’s mind. What should I do for my child? What is safe? What can my family handle for a schedule? How can my child get the best education during this pandemic? Even my daughter is not in school anymore, I have been grappling with these questions for a few weeks. Every family has to make the right choice for themselves. We are lucky we have choices, but I know this can also cause a lot of anxiety. Below are the three choices you as a family need to choose from this coming school year. All of this and more is on the ASD website, however I know sometimes it is overwhelming with the amount of information that is out there. I hope this summary is helpful in your decision- making process.
Registration this year will be all online, even for Kindergarten and new to district students.
Here is a brief summary of the back to school options for your students
ASD in School
- ASD In School it means you will have an Inlet View teacher, assigned to an Inlet View classroom and be a part of the Inlet View community.
- You will attend school in person in a blended learning model or online according to the Risk Matrix-High, Medium High, Medium Low and Low.
- In this choice, it is just like a regular year, but the delivery of instruction is based on the risk levels.
ASD Virtual Program
- ASD Virtual it means that you are still enrolled at Inlet View.
- You are still part of our numbers count for our school.
- You are still part of our community and will receive any correspondence that I send out to families.
- You will receive your education from Edmentum’s Calvert Learning.
- The parent/learning coach is the primary support for learning, learning is at the student’s pace and timing, an ASD virtual teacher (not necessarily from Inlet View) helps engage students and monitors their progress, as well as provides support to the parent/learning coach as needed, but to be clear this is homeschooling with the parent as the primary support, not the ASD teacher.
- The student does all the work from home and does not come to the school building.
It is strongly recommended that if your family choses ASD Virtual and you want to change back to ASD In School eventually, that this transfer occurs at a quarter break or a semester break. The curriculum with Edmentum’s Calvert Learning is a completely different curriculum then what we will be using in ASD in School. If you transfer your child back to ASD in School it would be the equivalent of transferring school districts—like if you were to move from Kenai to Anchorage, you would have a different curriculum and it would take some time to catch up and get into the routine. Of course it can be done, but I want to be clear of what switching back and forth between these two curriculums would mean for your child.
ASD Home School Options
IN CHOICE THREE:
- It means that your child is withdrawn from Inlet View.
- You are a full time student in one of the home school options within ASD and that is your school now.
- Your child will not be connected to Inlet View, and your child will not be in the numbers count for our school.
- You will be assigned a homeschool teacher from Paideia, Family Partnership Charter School or Frontier Charter School, however the parent/learning coach is the primary support for learning.
Thank you!
I hope you found this information helpful. Please do not hesitate to email or call if you have any questions.
As Always--Go Orcas!
Patricia Ahrens
Principal
Don't forget Zoom Meeting this Friday!
I’d like to make myself available for a zoom meeting so we can continue the conversation about school start and all things Inlet View.
Here’s the zoom info for Friday July 31st at 5:30 pm
Join Zoom Meeting
https://asdk12.zoom.us/j/9920107703?pwd=SzdJUk5mbWttVm1FS0pGOTRCeUNhdz09
Meeting ID: 992 010 7703
Passcode: leadership
Thank you for your time and looking forward to seeing you soon.
Patricia Ahrens
Email: ahrens_patricia@asdk12.org
Website: https://www.asdk12.org/inletview
Location: 1219 N Street, Anchorage, AK, USA
Phone: (907)742-7630
Facebook: facebook.com/InletViewElementarySchool
Twitter: @PrincipalAhrens