April 6 health updates

  • Posted April 6, 2020
City School District of Albany logo

Governor extends school closure through April 29

Governor Cuomo extended the closure for all New York schools Monday through April 29 due to continuing concerns about the spread of COVID-19. 

All schools remain responsible for continuity of instruction, distribution and availability of meals, and childcare, with an emphasis on serving children of essential workers. For our school district, this means that Friday, April 10 (Good Friday) and the entire week of April 13-17 will be days of instruction for students. 

Tuesday board meeting cancelled

The Board of Education budget meeting that had been scheduled for Tuesday night has been cancelled. The board’s next meeting will be Thursday, April 16, when development of the 2020-21 budget proposal will be the primary agenda item.

The April 16 public meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m., and will be held via video conference as we continue to adhere to social-distancing guidelines. 

June Regents exams cancelled

The New York State Board of Regents announced Monday that all June Regents exams will be cancelled. We are awaiting additional guidance and will share information when we receive it. 

A message from Superintendent Adams

Thank you to our students, families, staff and community members for your patience and understanding as we work to address COVID-19 concerns and transition to online learning through Google Classroom. 

Take a look at this video message from Superintendent Kaweeda G. Adams. 
 

Chromebook distribution update

While the district is preparing to distribute additional Chromebooks to students and families without computer access at home, we want to share a reminder you can request a device by leaving a message at your child’s school with the following information:

  • Student name
  • Student grade
  • Student ID number (if available)

Following this process will help us meet the needs as efficiently as possible. We are developing a distribution process this week and will have more information in a future daily update. 

K-5 academic resources available this week

The district is distributing print ELA and Math materials for K-5 students this week through our seven meal distribution pickup locations. We are distributing these materials to supports students and families who do not have computer access at home.

We will distribute the materials from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., through Friday at the following seven schools:

  • Albany High School (Washington Avenue entrance), 700 Washington Ave.
  • Albany School of Humanities (ASH), 108 Whitehall Road
  • Arbor Hill Elementary School, 1 Arbor Drive
  • Giffen Memorial Elementary School, 274 South Pearl St.
  • Schuyler Achievement Academy, 676 Clinton Ave.
  • Tony Clement Center for Education, 395 Elk St.
  • William S. Hackett Middle School, 45 Delaware Ave.

College Board moves AP exams online

College Board will conduct all AP exams in an online environment this year due to the spread of COVID-19.  There will be no on-site, paper-and-pen exams conducted, even if school reopens prior to the testing dates.

All online AP exams will be structured the same way. The tests will have Free Response Question(s) (FRQs) and students will have 45 minutes to complete the written task(s). Students with disabilities will receive their accommodations if those accommodations have been submitted and approved by the College Board. Teachers will notify students of specific exam information.

Students who choose to opt out of the tests this year will have the testing fees refunded. Teachers and Albany High School administration are in contact with students and families in regard to these changes. More information can be found on the College Board website.

National Grid assistance

National Grid has put a number of practices in place to assist families and lessen financial hardships during the COVID-19 crisis. These practices will remain in place until at least the end of April. They include the suspension of collections-related activities and service disconnections, more flexible billing and payment options and crisis intervention support for customers in need.

Visit National Grid’s COVID-19 Information section for more information and ongoing updates.

Meal program service expanding

The City School District of Albany announced Monday morning that it will expand its meal delivery service beginning Wednesday. The district opened registration on a first-come, first-served basis, and was nearing capacity as of 6:30 p.m. Monday.

The district as has served nearly 50,000 total meals during the three weeks of our school closure, including more than 27,000 meals last week.

As a reminder, we also have seven school locations for our meal pickup service in addition to our daily delivery service. Each of these school sites is open from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. each weekday:

  • Albany High School (Washington Avenue entrance), 700 Washington Ave.
  • Albany School of Humanities (ASH), 108 Whitehall Road
  • Arbor Hill Elementary School, 1 Arbor Drive
  • Giffen Memorial Elementary School, 274 South Pearl St.
  • Schuyler Achievement Academy, 676 Clinton Ave.
  • Tony Clement Center for Education, 395 Elk St.
  • William S. Hackett Middle School, 45 Delaware Ave.

Technical support for students and families

The district’s Technology Help Desk may assist students and families with issues related to connecting a Chromebook to wireless access points, or with student login to the Chromebooks or the Clever suite of applications. You can reach the Technology Help Desk from 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. each weekday at (518) 475-6195. 

Please note that the Help Desk cannot assist with matters related to use, content or activities within any of the district instructional applications or Google Classroom. Questions regarding the use of Google Classroom, instructional resources, learning tasks or expectations related to instructional content need to be directed to each student’s teacher or principal. 

Free WiFi opportunities

We would like to provide these reminders about WiFi access for Albany families.

  • The City of Albany has partnered with FirstLight Fiber to offer Albany FreeNet, a free high-speed WiFi service. Any WiFi-enabled device – laptops, smart phones, PDAs, etc. – can connect to the network wirelessly wherever there is coverage. For more information, including a coverage map, you can visit http://albanyfreenet.net/.
  • WiFi at all Albany Public Library branches and two city parks (near Lincoln Park pool and Washington Park playhouse and skate park) remain turned on, so you can access them if you are in close proximity to those locations.
  • Spectrum is offering free Internet access to Capital Region households during the COVID-19 closure. The 60-day offer includes free WiFi access and is only available to households that aren't already Spectrum customers. Other restrictions may apply. Call 844-488-8395 to enroll. Installation fees are also being waived.
    • Spectrum also has an online map to help you find free WiFi locations nearest to you. 

You also can check out this ABC News article about what companies are doing to increase WiFi and Internet hotspot access: 

Be counted for Albany in the 2020 Census – from home!

This is an important reminder that in spite of the closures and significant precautions in place due to COVID-19, the 2020 U.S. Census is underway. The Census Bureau is carefully monitoring the situation and follows the guidance of federal, state and local health authorities.

The most important thing you can do is respond online, by phone, or by mail when you receive your invitation. Responding now will minimize the need for Census Bureau workers to be out in communities following up. Help your community – and help the Census Bureau adhere to social-distancing guidelines – by responding online to the 2020 Census. Do your part. Stay home. Get counted.

OCFS childcare survey

The New York State Office of Children and Family Services is asking parents, guardians and caregivers who are in need of childcare to complete a Parent Need for Childcare survey. 

Based on the information collected in this survey, OCFS may be able to help families find the childcare program to meet their needs. It may be a challenge to find childcare due to COVID-19-related closures. However, OCFS is trying its best to support families to find high-quality childcare programs.

The OCFS website also has several resources available.

YMCA childcare partnership

The district is partnering with the YMCA to offer childcare services for health and emergency-response personnel. The YMCA is administering and staffing the program, which operates from 7 a.m.-6 p.m. daily at the following six schools:

  • Arbor Hill Elementary School, 1 Arbor Drive
  • Eagle Point Elementary School, 1044 Western Ave.
  • Giffen Memorial Elementary School, 274 South Pearl St.
  • New Scotland Elementary School, 369 New Scotland Ave.
  • Schuyler Achievement Academy, 676 Clinton Ave.
  • Sheridan Preparatory Academy, 400 Sheridan Ave.

The program has a limited capacity, with a maximum of 30 children per school (three classrooms with 10 children). The YMCA is staffing each room with two employees.

Online registration is available. Health and emergency personnel needing childcare are also welcome to call the YMCA at (518) 869-3500.

Picking up medications at school

In the event of an emergency, parents and guardians who need to pick up medication that is currently stored at school can contact Health Services Coordinator Suzanne McCarthy to schedule a time to pick up the medication.

Parents and guardians can contact the health services coordinator at (518) 475-6730 or smccarthy@albany.k12.ny.us. They should be sure to include their child’s name and school, and the best phone number where they can be reached. The health services coordinator will contact them to make arrangements to pick up medications.