NEWS & UPDATES

Dear Austin ISD,
I have been so impressed by the creativity, resilience and flexibility I’ve witnessed in our remote classrooms over the past few weeks. As we celebrate a successful virtual launch of this new school year, we are also preparing for the next four weeks of school when we will begin to welcome students on campus in a phased-in approach.
Thanks to the collaborative effort among students, staff, families and our community, I am confident we are well-prepared for the next stage in our reopening process.
I invite you to review the latest version of our “Open for Learning” plan.
Some of the updates to highlight include:

• More detailed information regarding what to expect from on-campus instruction
• Health & safety protocols aligned with the most recent guidance from health authorities
• Transportation procedures
• Information on our early childhood plan
• After-school learning opportunities

Together we will build upon the foundation our community has created for a successful year.
Regards,
Stephanie S. Elizalde

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FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL INFORMATION

​Hello parents!
 
We know that there are still a lot of questions about the beginning of this school year, and we are hoping to use this opportunity to provide as many answers as we can.
 
Schedules
Students’ schedules are in the finishing process of being finalized, and will be made available to them on Friday, September 4th.​  They will be able to find their schedule through TEAMS, which is accessible through the student portal at ​http://portal.austinisd.org​. 
 
Using the portal
The portal is the district’s one-stop access-point for students. Logging in to the portal gives them access to TEAMS (which contains their grades and schedule) and Blend (their online learning platform), among other useful tools.  In order to access the portal, the student needs to know their login info.  The default login is: 
 
Student Username: S + ID number (Ex. S2101234)
Default Password: First letter of last name capitalized + 6 digit birthdate + lowercase s (Ex. C071603s)
 
If that doesn’t work, email Shelby Counts (​shelby.counts@austinisd.org​) to have the password reset.
 
The first day of school
On ​Tuesday, September 8th​, students will NOT be attending school in our school building.  The first four weeks of school are remote instruction, which means that they will be learning at home.  Instead, ​at 9:00am​, your student will log on to Blend and access their ​5th period​ class and log in to the Zoom link on that Blend page.
 
Coming back to campus
On or around ​Tuesday, September 8th, ​we will be sending out our survey to collect information on students who might need to return to campus for our CREW model of virtual instruction. 
 
Other important information
We try as hard as we can to communicate the necessary information as quickly and efficiently as possible, but if you ever need to find out any of the most up-to-date information, you can usually find it at the Anderson website, ​www.andersononline.org​. 
 
Here are some important links from the website: 
 
Daily Learning Schedule:  https://www.andersononline.org/pdf/2020_2021%20Remote%20Learning%20Bell%20Schedule.pdf
 
Video tutorial on accessing Blend: 
https://www.andersononline.org/apps/news/article/1286794
 
Flyer for any Austin ISD tech equipment needs: 
https://4.files.edl.io/ad73/08/28/20/165837-e626ccee-461a-4787-8fca-e46950ab5597.pdf
 
Flyer for Anderson High School tech support: 
https://4.files.edl.io/cbfd/09/01/20/184751-ff9d0f91-ef72-47e0-8b14-783e3a85b454.pdf
 
Sincerely,  The LC Anderson High School Administration Team

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PRINCIPAL COMMUNITY LETTER 8/7/2020

Dear Anderson community,

I am writing to update information as we know it at this point in time. As you are certainly aware, conditions and information in our community seems to be changing fairly rapidly. Last night, the AISD School Board Trustees voted to push back the first day of instruction for students to September 8. Teachers will report on August 18 as we continue to prepare for robust virtual instruction and interactive strategies to keep students engaged and interested. This will result in our campus calendar changing to reflect new dates. The district will adjust professional development days as well (days when AISD staff work but students have a holiday) in order to make up the instructional time lost by pushing back the start date. Please watch for the updated calendar as we will publish it as soon as available.

Following the information from the AISD Board of Trustees last night, the first 4 weeks of instruction will be all virtual with teachers teaching synchronously during the assigned class time. Students are expected to be available and online during the real-time two-way class session. Grades will be given based on the work students complete and submit to the teacher. Teachers will record class sessions and post on BLEND for students who are not able to be online at the designated time. Whether your child is in attendance during the synchronous class session or views the recorded instruction, he/she is responsible for the content and work assigned. We encourage students to commit to the structure of their daily class schedule and make arrangements to be online at the designated class times. Our instructional day schedule is a mixture of synchronous and off line work time so that students are not online exclusively for extended periods of time. During virtual learning it is essential to have structure and expectations in place to guide students in using their time during the day.

AISD will submit a waiver request for an additional four weeks of virtual instruction, and if granted this period of time will be used to transition smaller groups of students back to campus in phases. This second four-week period would take us to early November which hopefully will give COVID-19 numbers the time to reduce risk.

We will follow a rotating A/B schedule that will remain the same when we physically return to campus. Since the next few months are still uncertain in terms of when/whether we will be able to return to “normal school days”, teachers are focused on building strong virtual lessons and creative ways to keep students interested and engaged. In addition, we are building in time for teachers to be availble for online tutoring, office hours and Q&A sessions for students.

We had planned to send out an Anderson Family Survey to our students and parents today asking your preference on whether your student(s) will remain engaged in virtual learning or returning to campus physically in small groups with a teacher. These groupings are called Covid Response Education Workgroups (CREW). We will work from the survey information to keep students who reside together in the same CREW (if indicated on the survey information submitted). Otherwise, CREWs will be comprised of students in the same grade level (similar academic courses). However, we plan to delay sending out the Anderson Family Survey until next week.

During the school day, students will remain in the same CREW classroom all day with the teacher. Meals and snacks will be eaten in the classroom. We encourage students to bring their breakfast, snacks and lunch. AISD Food Service will provide meals so long as students have filled out and submitted lunch applications and/or deposited money in their respective www.SchoolCafe.com account.

Items students will definitely need when returning to campus physically:

• Refillable water bottle – water fountains will be turned off. We do have water bottle refilling stations.
• Breakfast/Lunch – items brought from home or arrangements made @ www.SchoolCafe.com
• Headphones/ear buds – to be used in CREW room during synchronous instruction sessions
• Face mask – comfortable enough to wear all day

Given the delayed start date for students, the Anderson Family Survey will be sent out next week. Currently AISD has sent out a second version of the AISD Family Pulse survey that we encourage you to respond to. The district is using this information to determine how many students/families need their children to return physically to campuses (when public health conditions permit). There are many questions around this information: mainly, what happens if more students than a campus can physically accommodate (following CDC guidelines and social distancing) need to return to campus? At this time there is no definite solution. Although the district is considering utilizing space at other campuses and in the community to accommodate the students and staff needed. None of this is official or decided as they are engaging in problem solving discussions.
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When virtual instruction begins on September 8, students are to use their AISD student email to sign into the student cloud where the student schedule will be visible. From there, students sign into BLEND where their courses/teacher information is accessible.

Stay connected with all the information and activities at Anderson High School:

• Check the website: www.andersononline.org
• Subscribe to the Trojan Times newsletter:   http://eepurl.com/VPrpD
• Subscribe to the daily announcements:  www.andersononline.org - Contact us, Faculty & Staff, Diane Newberry and click “subscribe” to receive the daily announcements containing information about club meetings, school pictures, calendar reminders, etc.

Look for the Anderson Family Survey next week.

Sincerely,
 
Sammi Harrison, Principal
L. C. Anderson High School

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LETTER FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT 8/7/2020 REGARDING SCHOOL START DATE OF 9/8/2020

Dear Austin ISD Family, 
Early this morning, the Austin ISD Board of Trustees approved a revised school calendar which reflects students’ first day as September 8. 

From the beginning of this pandemic, our goal has been to ensure health and safety for our students, staff and families so as not to contribute to the spread of COVID-19. During the last few months our team at Austin ISD have been working to prepare to kick off the 2020-21 school year in a remote setting. This model had previously been approved for funding by the Texas Education Agency and was in line with local health guidance. Recently, guidance has changed and AISD is now required to offer in-person instruction in order to receive necessary support and funding for closure beyond the first 8 weeks of the school year.  

A delayed start recognizes that the directive from local health experts is a more informed approach to protecting the health of our Austin community as a whole while still operating within TEA guidelines for funding. Among our teachers and campus support staff, a delayed start allows them to strengthen relationships with families and further build expertise with teaching and learning online. 

The calendar begins with four weeks of remote learning and an opportunity for on-campus instruction during the first four weeks for students who do not have access to reliable technology or internet connectivity. Pending approval from the TEA, there will be an additional four weeks that will serve as a period where students who selected on-campus instruction may return to on-campus learning in phased-in smaller groups. These plans are subject to change based on the guidance of local, state and federal health authorities and the TEA. 

We will continue to remain agile as guidance may shift, and we commit to communicating with you as we receive more information. Further updates will be posted in the coming days and weeks at www.austinisd.org/covid19.  
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We are hopeful that this delay will protect the health of our Austin community and better support strong instruction and equitable access. 

For more information, see our FAQ in English and Spanish. 
​
Sincerely, 
Paul Cruz, Ph.D. 
Superintendent 

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PRINCIPAL COMMUNITY LETTER 7/24/2020​

Dear Anderson community,
 
I hope this finds you and your family healthy and safe. We are busy making plans to begin instruction on August 18th as originally designated by the AISD official calendar for the 2020-21 school year. We will begin the school year with at least 3 weeks (at least until September 8th unless this period is extended due to public health concerns) of virtual learning as announced by Dr. Cruz earlier this month.

During the 100% virtual learning, students will be expected to be online for synchronous instruction with their teacher(s) during the designated class period times. Grades will be given based on the work students complete and submit to the teacher. Teachers will record teaching sessions and post on BLEND for students who are not able to be online at the designated time. Whether your child is in attendance during the synchronous class session or views the recorded instruction, he/she is responsible for the content and work assigned. We encourage students to commit to the structure of their daily class schedule and make arrangements to be online at the designed class times. During virtual learning it is better to have a structure of expectations in place to help guide students on using their time during the day. When circumstances arise that prevent being online the recorded instructional session is available, but we hope that this will only be the case on rare occasions.

We will follow a rotating A/B schedule that will be the same for us when we physically return to the campus. Since the next few months are uncertain and unpredictable in terms of whether and when we will be able to return to face to face instruction, teachers have been building instruction virtually to be robust, rigorous and engaging. We are also building in time for teachers to be available for online tutorials, office hours and Q&A opportunities for students.

All  returning Anderson students should have devices (Chromebooks or their own laptops) from last year as well as reliable internet access. AISD has hotspots to distribute to students who need internet access. It is important that students who are new to Anderson reach out to us now to let us know if you need a device, hotspot or charger in order to be ready to begin instruction on August 18th. Incoming 9th graders from Murchison were to keep their Chromebooks and bring with them to Anderson. Incoming 9th from Burnet, Sadler-Means, Martin or Paredes will have to return their Chromebooks to their respective middle schools and we will set up a time for devices to be delivered to these students (likely a drive-up distribution site with date/time to follow).

Students/parents should have received an email sent June 30th from AISD listing the student’s course selections for the upcoming school year. This is not the student’s actual schedule as we are still hiring and building teacher schedules. But, it is the current list of courses the student selected. In the past this information was mailed (hard copies USPS) to student home addresses. The email delivery is different this year so be sure to look for that information. If there is a course that your student doesn’t want or there is a mistake in the courses listed, please reach out to the Counselor’s Office via the google doc and list the schedule change you need made. Course selections can be changed until August 1st so time is of the essence for a change. When the master schedule is finalized with teachers and class periods assigned, students will be able to view that information via the student portal in the AISD cloud.

Students who received an Incomplete grade for a course Spring, 2020 have been contacted by the Counselors and Assistant Principals. Any student who received an Incomplete in a course can make up the incomplete via a Garza Online course. This course gives the student a pre-assessment, then prescribes 10 lessons based on TEKS for that course and then provides a post-assessment when the student has completed all of the assigned lessons. These grades are then sent back to the Spring, 2020 teacher of record who will then be able to make a decision about the student’s final grade. Students have this opportunity to complete the course through December, 2020.

Many of these students have completed the remaining coursework during this summer. Students who were not able to complete the Garza Online courses over the summer will have through December, 2020 to do so. Contact your student’s Counselor if you have questions about this.

Knowing that we will have students learning virtually as well as face to face (at some point in the future) it is essential that we have a schedule that is realistic and does not require students to be tied to a screen for hours on end. The schedule below is the framework that we will follow for virtual and face to face instruction for the Fall, 2020 semester. Teachers will have one hour synchronous learning with live two-way communication with students during the designated class time. After the 1st and 2nd block in the morning, there will be an hour of “work block” where students are working independently on content and assignments given in the first two blocks of the day. Teachers are available for online office hours during the “work block” times for students who need more support, clarity or feedback on their work. Friday will be a rotating A or B day as designated by the official Anderson calendar. Friday classes are asynchronous, but will require an assignment to be turned in for each class on the asynchronous day. There will be a synchronous Advisory time on Fridays (regardless of it being an A or B day) from 1:00-1:30. The asynchronous Fridays will also allow our custodians to deep clean each classroom area prior to classes resuming on the following Monday. 

Students who have no way to connect to virtual learning will be given the option of printed hard copies of academic work. We hope this will be very, very few students as AISD will provide devices for students/families who reach out and let us know this is needed. More information may be found HERE.  

The point at which we are able to return to face to face instruction on campus, we will continue the above schedule for synchronous instruction in each class according to the student’s assigned schedule. In this plan, we are dividing up the school into teams.  Each team will have 3 classrooms, 4 teachers, and 36 students.  Each teacher would supervise a homeroom class of 12 students, and those students will not be moving classrooms.  We will have students grouped randomly in these groups of 12. Students will not change classes; they will remain in the designated classroom participating in synchronous instruction online. Students will need headphones or ear buds to be able to manage this. The teacher in the room is also teaching synchronously according to his/her assigned teaching schedule.

During that time the students in the room will be working independently on their own assigned work and participating in their online live class activities. Students will eat breakfast and lunch in the same classroom (45 minutes). The rationale for this model is limiting exposure and safety protocols for social distancing and sanitization procedures. In the event of a Covid-19 positive person, this allows us to quarantine the 12-13 individuals (for 14 days) rather than a student’s 8 classes full of peers and 8 teachers (potentially 170+ people). This model allows us to build a smaller community group to support students individually during this challenging and uncertain time. Since the Fall, 2020 semester is fraught with so many variables that we cannot control providing safety through limited exposure and daily teacher support is our best option. Students will be able to come to campus after/before school for extra-curricular activities (where social distancing and safety precautions will be followed). Students may choose to do the instructional day virtually and report to campus for extra-curricular activities. This model also allows us to pull designated groups of students together on Fridays (once we are able to return to Face to Face) for specific activities and supports. While there are still potential issues to work through with this plan, and the risk of exposure is minimized, we feel like this is the safest way to allow a portion of our students to come back to the school building in person.  
 
When we are able to return physically to campus for face to face instruction, we need families to decide whether their student(s) will remain 100% virtual learning or return physically to the Homeroom of 12 with a teacher model. We need your decision by August 21st. We will send a survey to families right after this community letter is delivered. We must know how many and which students will be reporting to campus so that we can follow all CDC guidelines for social distancing and safety. We ask that once selected, students remain in either 100% virtual or face to face on campus through the grading period. Families can opt in or out between grading periods and with prior (2 weeks) notice.

Students may apply/qualify for free or reduced meals at the link below. Otherwise, students will need to deposit money in their school account in order to have meals delivered to his/her assigned classroom once we return physically to campus.  Please go to www.schoolcafe.com to apply for free/reduced lunch status or to simply deposit money into your student’s account in order to pay for breakfast and lunch meals for your student. Students may bring their breakfast/snacks/lunches from home as well. Lunch deliveries (Grubhub, Favor, etc.) are highly discouraged as we do not have the staff to deliver lunches to students individually and students are not to leave their designated Homeroom. We have to be able to limit exposure during the school day in order to provide the safety everyone needs. Food service will have lunch items available for students to purchase using their school lunch account monies.

AISD is providing supplies for sanitizing desks, learning spaces, and classrooms. Students will be required to wear a mask when on campus (except when eating his/her lunch) as well as to be compliant with social distancing around others. We will have temperature screening stations (10 total) when students are entering the building. We will check for masks and complete a Covid-19 screening questionnaire with each student upon entry. Any student who is showing symptoms and/or a temperature higher than 100.0 degrees will be assigned to a staging room where the parent will be contacted about the situation.

Monday, August 10th we will have a virtual Transition Camp for incoming 9th graders. Information will be shared about schedules, breakfast and lunch options, Counselors, absence notes, permits to leave during the school day, etc. Our students leaders on campus will devise the activities with the focus on making all students feel welcome, supported and how-to’s on making your high school experience fun and successful. More information to follow on this as it becomes available.

Trojan Charge will be delayed until we are able to return physically to campus. Students will then be able to complete the process of parking permits, freshmen receiving their Class of 2024 t-shirts provided by the Senior Class of 2020, and other process. We typically do not issue lockers as students rarely use them. However, if your students needs a physical locker we will collect their information and issue a locker to those who request it. Also, hard copies of textbooks are not issued any more as digital versions of state adopted textbooks are available to all students via their Chromebooks. However, if you require a hard copy of the textbook we can issue those to you upon request.

Anderson will have a Drive-up Registration for new students on August 3-6th at the front circle drive of the campus. The hours are 9-11 and 1-3. More information to follow as families are to remain in their cars and staff with bring registration materials to the vehicle. Further if you enrolled online and want to check the status of your student’s enrollment, course selections, etc. please email: mary.andrade@austinisd.org or stephanie.villegas@austinisd.org

Stay connected with all the information and activities at Anderson High School:
Check the website: www.andersononline.org
Subscribe to the Trojan Times newsletter:   http://eepurl.com/VPrpD

Subscribe to the daily announcements: www.andersononline.org -contact us, faculty & staff, Diane Newberry and click subscribe to receive the daily announcements containing information about club meetings, school pictures, calendar reminders, etc.

I appreciate everyone’s willingness to help. Our teachers are committed to providing the best teaching and learning possible. We recognize that every family has concerns and circumstances that guide their decisions. Teachers and staff also have health concerns and pre-existing conditions that must be considered.

Hopefully, by January, 2021 we will be able to return to “normal school” as we knew it prior to Covid-19. We appreciate everyone’s patience and grace as we navigate these unpredictable and changing parameters.

Our wonderful PTSA is working diligently to provide items the school will need to support daily instruction and enrichment. They are working with parents in our community who are asking how they can help. At this time we are exploring providing bluetooth microphones and speakers as teacher voices are muffled when wearing masks. In addition, we are seeking small video cameras to use as the embedded cameras and microphones in our laptops are sometimes not adequate. Disinfecting wipes or paper towels and spray bottles of disinfectant or alcohol will always be useful in the classroom. We have a community partner that is working to provide face sheilds for staff who need students to be able to see their faces when speaking.

Thank you for being a supportive and caring community with the best interests of our students always taking priority. Please feel free to reach out if you have a question or concern.
Sincerely,
 
Sammi Harrison, Principal
L. C. Anderson High School