April 13 district updates

  • Posted April 13, 2020
City School District of Albany logo

Important health department notice

The Albany County Department of Health is looking to contact anyone who was at M&M Variety, 108 Lark St., between Tuesday, March 31 and Wednesday, April 8 during the hours of 7 a.m.-4 p.m. The health department is investigating possible exposure to COVID-19. 

If you were at M&M Variety on those dates and times, please call the health department at (518) 447-4659 whether or not you are experiencing symptoms. 
 
Also, if you were at the store from Thursday, March 26 through Monday, March 30 from 7 a.m.-4 p.m., and you are experiencing symptoms, please call the health department at the same number. This time period is outside of the 14-day quarantine window and those who visited the market during this time period AND have symptoms should also call.

Magnet, pre-K registration changes

Please note that we have updated the registration dates for our magnet schools and 4-year-old prekindergarten programs since the April 10 district update. The new timelines for kindergarten registration and the 3-year-old pre-K process remain the same. 

Magnet and 4-year-old prekindergarten update

  • April 27 – Both lotteries will be conducted remotely
  • * May 4-15 – Magnet registration (this is a change from the April 10 district update)
  • * May 11-22 – Prekindergarten registration (this is a change from the April 10 district update)

Kindergarten registration update

  • May 27 – Kindergarten registration opens 

3-year-old prekindergarten lottery update

  • May 4-22 – Lottery applications available
  • June 3 – Lottery
  • June 8 – Registration for 3-year-old pre-K seats 

We will have more information about the registration process for each of these areas. Please stay tuned for those details. 

Chromebook distribution

The district has distributed nearly 2,170 Chromebooks to students and families over the last two weeks and is continuing efforts to meet the needs of those families that are without computer access at home. 

This process will continue to be managed through the schools. We also are working with T-Mobile for hotspots to help the approximately 550 families we have identified with no Internet connection at home. 

Families can help us in this process in two ways. When you talk with your child’s teacher, please let them know that you have a need for computer access at home. Your teacher will help gather the necessary information. Families also can call their child’s school and leave a message 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 moving forward. 

Meal program updates

The district served nearly 9,000 meals last Friday (breakfast and lunch for both weekend days) and 3,200 more Monday to raise the total number of meals served during the school closure to 73,423. We also will expand our meal delivery service again this week to allow us to serve even more families. 

As a reminder, we have seven school locations for our “grab and go” meal pickup service in addition to our daily deliveries. These school sites are open each weekday from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.:

  • 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 City School District of Albany’s Technology Help Desk is available to 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 should be directed to each student’s teacher or principal. 

You also can find instructions and other helpful Google Classroom guidance in our online instruction section.

Night School online learning

Online learning began Monday for Albany High School Night School students via the Apex Online Learning Program. 

Each student has been assigned to a teacher to assist with their progress. Night School teachers are available Monday-Thursday from 3-5 p.m., to support students via Google Classroom and email. In addition, teaching assistants are available from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. daily. 
 
Night School coordinators: Monday-Thursday from 3-5 p.m.

Night School teachers: Monday-Thursday from 3-5 p.m.

Teaching assistants: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. daily

Digital resources on the website include the following: 

Each Night School student will receive a call Monday night from one of the coordinators to see if you have any questions. If you do not receive a call, please call Greg Baker after Monday night at (518) 475-6416 or email him or Lindsey Simmons to ensure we have your correct contact information. 

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. 

Health insurance assistance

NY State of Health is committed to ensuring access to affordable, quality health insurance for all New Yorkers so they can get the care they need during the COVID-19 crisis. 

Many New Yorkers are likely to be eligible for health coverage with financial assistance through NY State of Health due to their loss of coverage and income. NY State of Health opened a Special Enrollment Period last month to provide a safety net for people who are uninsured in difficult times like this. 

You can apply for health insurance immediately through NY State of Health. If you lost employer coverage, you must apply within 60 days of losing that coverage. 

Because of a loss of income, New Yorkers may also be eligible for Medicaid, the Essential Plan, Child Health Plus or subsidized Qualified Health Plan coverage. 

Visit NY State of Health online for more information. You also can contact the Marketplace directly at (518) 486-9102 or NYSOH@health.ny.gov.

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.

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.