This page contains important information and quick links for parents.
ARIZONA SCHOOLS CLOSED FOR REMAINDER OF SCHOOL YEAR
March 30, 2020
Dear Parents,
Governor Doug Ducey and Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman today announced the extension of Arizona school closures through the end of the school year. Today’s announcement applies to Arizona public schools, both district and charter. The extension follows updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and an announcement from the White House extending physical distancing guidelines until April 30, 2020.
Governor Ducey and Superintendent Hoffman released the following joint statement:
“In alignment with yesterday’s updated federal guidance, today we are announcing the extension of school closures through the remainder of the school year. Today’s announcement is intended to give parents and educators as much certainty as possible so they can plan and make decisions. While this isn’t the outcome any of us wanted, we are grateful for the partnership of schools around the state, who have stepped up to offer virtual and take-home learning opportunities for our students. These efforts are crucial, and we recognize that schools are making every effort possible to continue providing instruction during closures. We also thank our legislative partners for passing legislation ensuring all educators and staff see no disruption in pay. Our number one priority will continue to be health and safety, and we will continue to work closely with public health officials to make the best decisions for kids, families, and our school communities.”
On March 27, Governor Ducey signed legislation to support schools during closures, ensure school letter grades are held harmless, suspend statewide testing requirements, ensure school days are not extended into the summer, require learning opportunities for students to continue, and ensure teachers and staff see no disruption in pay as a result of COVID-19.
While we understand there will be many questions about items such as final exams and graduation requirements and I assure you we will provide answers to those questions, for this week we will be solely focused on our distance-learning program, particularly as this will now be the instruction delivery method for the balance of this school year.
Sincerely,
Fatih Karatas
Chief Executive Officer
Sonoran Schools
DISTANCE LEARNING BEGINS MONDAY, MARCH 30th
Dear Parent/Guardian,
The faculty and administrators of all Sonoran Schools have been working hard all week to ensure your student can participate in distance learning starting this Monday, March 30th.
Teachers have already been in communication with parents and students, providing all the information you need for their specific classes. The following two links will provide you with general parent information about our distance-learning program, how it works on a day-to-day basis, and what you can do as a parent to support continued student learning.
Click here to read about ASYNCHRONOUS LEARNING
Click here to read about EDUCATIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
I understand that this is an extremely challenging and stressful time for everyone and we want to assure you that we took the decision to implement an asynchronous learning environment so that students would have an opportunity to remain engaged in learning while the structure provides maximum flexibility for families. If you have specific questions about your child and distance learning, please contact your school Principal.
I know many of you have questions about the rest of the school year and I want to assure you that we will continue to provide answers for the things of which we are certain.
I would also like to take a moment to provide the following reminders:
TRIPS: All school trips and activities scheduled for the month of April are canceled. We will make a determination in early April about any trips planned for May.
ACTIVITIES IN MAY: We do not know if graduation ceremonies will take place.
MEAL CREDITS: Any meals paid for but not received due to school closures will be credited back to you.
FREE MEALS FOR STUDENTS: We provided links to help families find sites close to home. If you need help identifying sites near you, please contact us.
Everyone at Sonoran Schools works hard every day to partner with you in the education of your student but, beyond that, our small school environments are strong, close-knit school communities that work together to ensure every child feels safe. At this time when our students, parents, administrators, and teachers are forced apart physically, I am grateful that our sense of community keeps us close in heart and in spirit.
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much”
Helen Keller
Sincerely,
Fatih Karatas
Chief Executive Officer
Sonoran Schools
Learning opportunity for students March 23-27:
COVID-19 SCHOOL CLOSURES: UPDATED MARCH 20Dear Parent/Guardian,
We apologize for the delay in communicating with you as planned today. Late this afternoon, Governor Ducey and State Superintendent Hoffman announced that all Arizona schools will remain closed until April 10th. Due to this announcement, we took time to update our planned communications with staff and families.
The faculty and administrators of all Sonoran Schools will use next week, March 23rd through March 27th, to focus on the implementation of our plan to begin distance learning on Monday, March 30th.
As our staff work to make that transition next week, we are providing parents with online learning opportunities for your students to use next week, so that they are still actively engaged in academically relevant learning. Click on this link for that list:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xjWnWdyv9qxRvL9Hc04_luCgsthKZAgZ/view?usp=sharingIn the second half of next week, teachers will be communicating with you and your students all the information you need so that your student is ready to begin distance learning on March 30th.
In addition, next week, you will receive our Parent Guide – a brief document that ensures you know how distance learning will work for your student and your role in it.
To ensure that your student is able to take full advantage of distance learning when it begins on March 30th, it is very important that you take a moment to complete a survey regarding your student’s access to the Internet. The survey link is at the end of this email.
If your student does not currently have access to the Internet at home, several companies have recently offered free services. Please click on these links to explore your options:
https://www.highspeedinternet.com/resources/are-there-government-programs-to-help-me-get-internet-servicehttps://corporate.comcast.com/covid-19https://www.cox.com/residential/internet/connect2compete.html?utm_source=highspeedinternet.com&utm_medium=affiliate&clreqid=d624fdb6-18bb-46b4-83e8-2cd48dac5660https://corporate.charter.com/newsroom/charter-to-offer-free-access-to-spectrum-broadband-and-wifi-for-60-days-for-new-K12-and-college-student-households-and-moreWe understand and sympathize that the continuing education of your student is not your only concern.
MEALS:
For families who rely on school meals, many schools that normally provide summer break meals to all children under the age of 18 in the community are already serving students during the closure.
Please click on this link to view a list of schools serving school meals:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1whTQcN8jk2jtdHwQ3iDTSans8rbiOc1vi5esMBB6gto/edit#gid=0You can also find Food Banks here:
https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbankThis link will show you a list of places to find free meals in the Tucson area:
https://tucson.com/thisistucson/schools/a-huge-list-of-places-to-find-free-meals-for/article_a998ef24-67d3-11ea-9c06-b740ecd2d470.htmlThis link will show you school districts in Maricopa County that are providing meals to Arizona children:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kQw8XFCrtpXMm2vm9EsyEl6qOjhmGMi9VU9J7r1yClA/edit#gid=0This link allows you to search by area:
https://www.azhealthzone.org/summerfoodLUNCH ORDERS:
If you have not yet ordered lunch for April, please place your order by March 25th. You only need to order meals for April 13th through the end of the month.
CREDITS FOR LUNCHES:
If you already paid for lunches for the last week of March, you will receive a credit for the lunches that were purchased but not delivered.
If you order April lunches and school closures continue beyond April 10th, you will receive a credit for the lunches that are purchased but not delivered. Please be patient while we process credits.
TRIPS:
All trips scheduled for the month of April have been canceled; the situation in Arizona and in other states is still just too fluid for us to justify any trip travel in April. Please be patient while each school reaches out to vendors to see what kind of reimbursement or credit may be available.
ACTIVITIES IN MAY:
We will make a determination in early April about any trips planned for May. At this time, it is simply too early and there are too many unknowns to be able to say if graduation ceremonies will be affected.
I am grateful that Spring Break provided our staff with the time and opportunity to address their family’s needs as it pertains to the current COVID-19 situation. Our shared goal now is to focus on the transition to distance learning so that, effective March 30th, we may continue our commitment to providing high quality learning opportunities for our students in a distance-learning environment.
On a personal note, I want to thank you for everything you are doing for your child during this unique time for families, schools, communities, and our world. Your child turns to you for information, reassurance, and for love. We are all on such unfamiliar ground; we are all full of anxieties; and so are our children. Thank you for all you are doing in this difficult time.
Please complete the Technology Survey before closing this email:
TECHNOLOGY SURVEYSincerely,
Fatih Karatas
Chief Executive Officer
Sonoran Schools
TEACHER RESUMES
Teacher resumes are available for inspection in the Front Office.
NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS
This school participates in the National School Lunch Program, which provides free and reduced cost lunch for eligible students. To be considered for free or reduced lunch, please complete and return application to the school. Click on each link to open a pdf document.
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This institution is an equal opportunity provider.