McKinley Parent Information & Overview
2021-2022
Please review this document carefully. We will keep you informed of any changes and/or any additional information as it becomes available. We appreciate your flexibility as all policies are subject to change.
New/Updated information will be noted in yellow. Items marked in teal indicate information will be forthcoming.
Click HERE for the SDUSD Back to School Guide- posted 8.23.2021
Parent/Guardian Action Items in Red
1. PARENT PORTAL - register each child
Login to the PowerSchool Parent Portal to access your child’s new class assignment, attendance record, State testing scores, and to view grades at the end of each grading period
Visit the SDUSD Parent Portal webpage for more information about setting up your Parent Portal account if you do not already have one -
Click on Forms in Parent Portal
Complete School COVID-19 Testing Option
Double check #’s 13, 22 & 24 as this is the info we use to contact parents/guardians
District permission for Student COVID Testing is embedded in Parent Portal. We must have this form completed for each and every child (regardless of if you do/don’t consent)
Although testing is optional, we are hoping to have 90% of our all onsite students tested weekly
Testing begins Wednesday, September 1st
PARENT PORTAL FOR RETURNING FAMILIES - UPDATE YOUR CONTACT INFO IN THE PARENT PORTAL
Update your phone numbers, email addresses, and home address in the Parent Portal so we can contact you with important information, in the event of an emergency, and so that you receive important information from the District. You are also welcome to contact Sandy Jameson with updated contact information.
Again, verify #13, 22 & 24 as this is the info we use to contact you.
2. CLEAR PASS- Done Daily before 8:00
Link to Clear Pass Job Aide
3. Subscribe to McKinley PTC
As a public school all instructional materials are provided by the school. There are no items required for purchase to start school. Teachers will provide a wishlist of items for classroom use and purchasing such items is optional.
WHAT’S COMING HOME TO PARENTS DAY ONE
You will complete these two paper forms for each of the children in your family and return those to your child’s teacher on Tuesday, August 31st.
Health Office Consent Form
21-22 Universal Form
ARRIVAL & DISMISSAL
Drop Off & Pick Up Locations
Veteran McKinley Parent Volunteers will be masked and wearing bright neon yellow vests. They will be standing outside all school entry/exit points in the morning for the first day.
Entry & Entrance Points to School
Families will not be permitted on campus to walk their children to their classrooms or pick them up at their classrooms at the end of the day. Parents are permitted to wait with their child outside the gate. Please wear a mask and maintain physical distancing.
ARRIVAL
McKinley is requesting SYMPTOM CHECKLIST , please ensure you can answer “no” to each question prior to coming to school. In order to streamline entry, we ask that you complete CLEARPASS for each of your children before 8:00 a.m. each morning. We run a report at 8:02 and that report is used to quickly check students into campus when the gates open.
Gates will be open at 8:15am. Please DO NOT arrive or line up early- we want to minimize groups waiting outside campus.
We have established multiple points of entry and it is generally based on the entry/exit closest to student classrooms. Students will access the campus via their established Entry & Entrance Points to School and will go directly to their class number on the blacktop. Teachers will be on blacktop to assist.
Our school parking lots are for staff only
Parking is in the neighborhood and will be impacted. Please avoid parking on Felton (3 minute limit). Parking on Palm Street is often available. We strongly encourage you to walk to campus if at all possible.
There is a great deal to manage the first few weeks. We’d prefer students NOT ride scooters, bicycles for the first two weeks of school until entry & exit has been streamlined.
Be patient and kind, the morning and afternoon pick-up will be busy- please allow time for this and drive safely.
DISMISSAL
Students are dismissed at the gate in which they enter
Character Builders or Prime Time Staff will provide coverage for students enrolled in their program on all Early Out Days
Dismissal time for remainder of the year:
3:00 on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday
12:15 on First Day and all Thursdays.
12:15 Dismissal also on-
November 16, 17, 18 & 19, 2021
December 16, 2021
March 16, 17, 18, 2022
March 25, 2022
June 14, 2022
Siblings CAN drop off and pick up siblings. We ask that the older sibling drop off their younger sibling first and then proceed to their class through the campus. At dismissal we ask that the older sibling be released 5 minutes early from class to go to the younger sibling’s class and wait for them to pick up. They will exit the younger sibling’s gate.
HEALTH & WELLNESS ILLNESS & ABSENCES
COVID Testing for Students -
Begins Wednesday, September 1st
Parents MUST Complete Parental Permission in Parent Portal
Parent/Guardian Permission is required as this is a medical procedure
Additional informtion will be coming from our School Nurse
Any symptoms on our daily symptom checklist require a student to stay home for ten days or provide a negative Covid test (PCR only).
PLEASE do not send your child to school if they have the following
Do not ever with or without chills/rigors (fever defined as temp >100.0 that does not resolve within 30 min. without medication)
Cough
Shortness of breath
Nasal congestion/rhinorrhea (runny nose)
Sore throat
Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea
Fatigue
New loss of taste/smell
Headache
Muscle or body aches
Poor feeding or poor appetite
If you report your child sick
Until our phone system is updated with a direct connection to the Attendance Clerk, we are asking that you report absences by completing this absence form
Upon receipt, our attendance clerk will forward your child’s name and information to our Health Office
The Health Office staff will contact you to discuss symptoms and next steps
Absences and Tardies A student will be considered tardy if they arrive after all check-in is complete and the gates have been closed. If you arrive after this time, please check in at the office.
Absence Due to Quarantine
If a student participating in onsite learning experiences COVID-like symptoms, the following attendance procedures will occur:
The student will be sent home and asked to provide a negative COVID test (PCR only) in order to return to onsite instruction.
If the student is absent for less than 3 days while waiting for the negative COVID test, their attendance will be marked as “illness” and they will have the same number of days as their absence to complete any make-up work.
If a student’s COVID test comes back as positive OR if they need to quarantine for 10 days due to potential exposure, families can request a short-term independent study contract for the student to complete while they are absent.
Some students may be eligible for “in-school” modified quarantine (if they were close contacts from a school case, they have no symptoms and can get tested twice per week). Follow County “Decision Tree” for more instructions.
COVID TESTING
CLASSROOM PLACEMENT AND TEACHER REQUESTS
The staff at McKinley works hard to build equitable, balanced, and diverse classes across a number of factors including gender, race, academics, social-emotional needs as well as other factors. We appreciate your patience and understanding as this is a delicate and ever-changing process as enrollment shifts right up until the start of the school year. Class rosters are posted on Parent Portal and may be updated as our enrollment changes. Please check Parent Portal on Sunday evening when we anticipate stable enrollment will be reflected.
Classes are created based on district class size guidance:
Grades TK-3 have an average of 24 students per class
Grades 4-5 have no more than 35 students per class
There are no teacher’s aides provided in the General Education classrooms
As a school policy, we DO NOT accept requests for specific teachers.
COMMUNICATION
Again, we strongly encourage you to: Subscribe to McKinley PTC
We realize the McKinley phone message is outdated, but the new system requires that this be updated via the District Vendor, so please know we are waiting for this to be done. If you call our main office and the phone is not answered, you will hear an outdated greeting from our principal from the summer. Until the Vendor updates our access, you will be unable to leave a voicemail. In the interim, if your phone call is not answered, please email our Front Office Email .
Office staff are available to answer phones and manage the front office from 8:00 - 4:00 Monday - Friday. The main office line is 858.988.2400.
If you would like to communicate with our principal, you can do so by contacting her at: Principal Ganderton
If you would like to communicate with our Health Office staff, you can do so by contacting them at: McKinley Health Office Nurse
Most staff will share their preferred method of communication with you. Please note that response time to calls and emails is 24-48 hours for all staff members.
Prime Time can be contacted at: Prime Time Site Supervisor
Character Builders can be contacted at: Character Builders Site Supervisor
SCHOOL & DISTRICT FORMS AND INFORMATION
Universal Form for all Parents (You will receive this in your First Day Parent Packet. Please complete & return to your child’s teacher)
Update your contact information using the Powerschool parent portal. Please read the FAQand use this guide to get started.
Clear Pass Job Aide
MEALS
Although the majority of our students bring lunch from home, school meals will be available for ALL students at no cost for the entire 2021-22 SY. All meals must be eaten outside. All plans are subject to change based on availability of staffing.
Breakfast
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Offered in take-home meal bags as students depart for the day intended to be saved for breakfast the next morning before arriving at school. May be revised by district - update to follow
There will be no breakfast in the classroom at this time
Breakfast Menu
Lunch
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Ready-to-eat, hot lunch will be available for all students free of charge. Only one meal per student.
Students will be seated on designated spots 6’ apart throughout the Lunch Court, Tiered Staircase, and under tents. Staff will distribute cafeteria lunch to all students who did not bring lunch from home.
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Lunch Menu
Dinner
Ready-to-eat dinner will be available for students participating in Primetime.
Dinner will also be offered to non-Primetime students in take-home meal bags as students depart for the day.
What's in my take-home meal bag
Will PIN numbers be required?
Elementary school students WILL NOT need to use PIN numbers to receive their school meals.
Will there be salad bars in the school cafés?
To start the 2021-22 SY, we will not be utilizing salad bars. We hope to reintroduce our fresh, California-grown salad bars in January 2022.
Food available for students in need
Copy of Principal’s Presentation 8.26.2021
Please do not hesitate to email us with any additional questions you might have after exploring these resources.
We’re looking forward to a great first day!
In partnership,
Deb Ganderton
McKinley Principal