Message From the Superintendent, Oct. 26, 2020

Disponible en: Español

Dear Aldine Community,

Our campus communities continue working to support our students’ educational journeys despite these unusual times. Each week I have started off by visiting campus, and I am amazed and proud of our students’ strides and the innovative solutions our educators are identifying every day.

Here are just a few of the examples of how #AldineAnywhere is showing up for greatness this year:

Drew Academy welcomed Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and HP. The two combined their efforts and donated laptops to students from Eisenhower, Hoffman, Anderson, Carver, and Drew.
Our campuses celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month in unique ways. Over at the Rose M. Avalos P-TECH School, students heard from inspirational speaker and author Marlon Lizama who urged students to “Write your story and share it right now, statistics are writing our stories, and they aren’t your truth.”
Red Ribbon Week took place, and our students promised to be drug-free. Students wore red and heard from counselors and other presenters on the importance of this issue.
During our board meeting this month, we celebrated Miguel Chacón, a senior at Blanson CTE, who was named a National Merit Semi-Finalist.

Attendance and Grades are Important
Whether your student is learning from home or at school, engagement and attendance are key to their success. The district’s official attendance period for At-Home Learning students is the class called “homeroom” (for primary and elementary schools) or second period (for middle and high school campuses). If they are not physically present on campus or do not log on to Schoology, they are marked absent.

As a reminder, lessons are available for all students every day by 8:30 a.m. If they cannot attend school because they are ill or have a doctor’s appointment, students may log into their Schoology account by 11:59 p.m., and their engagement will count as part of their attendance, and they will be considered present for the day. Students can access Schoology by visiting aldine.schoology.com.

But, being counted present is not the same as completing assignments and keeping grades up. At-Home Learning students should be checking in to every class on Schoology, engaging with the lessons, and completing assignments, quizzes, and projects. All grades, for At-Home and On-Campus learners, for the 1st 9 weeks were uploaded to the Home Access Center today, October 26.

PreK and Kindergarten Enrollment Now Open
Big dreamers start small! Do you have a little learner in your life? There is still time to enroll students in prekindergarten programs. Each of our 12 primary schools has planned special fall enrollment events that allow families to select the learning option that works best for them. Visit your neighborhood campus for details about the event and how to enroll.

Also, we are excited to offer technology devices to all primary students. The district will lend all PreK and kindergarten students an iPad to assist with learning regardless of the learning model selected. Please make sure to visit aldineisd.org/primary to learn more.

Free Breakfast and Lunch Available to All Aldine ISD Students and Children 18 and Under
Beginning Tuesday, October 27, Aldine ISD Child Nutrition Services will extend meal bundle pickup services to provide FREE breakfast and lunch to all Aldine ISD students and children 18 and younger. Learn more about the following changes on our district website.

Students Learning At-Home

Meal bundle pickup will be available from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday and from 4 to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Aldine, Blanson CTE, Carver, Davis, Eisenhower, MacArthur, and Nimitz high schools.
Six additional curbside meal sites have been added: Mead Middle School, Carroll, Goodman, Kujawa, Harris, and Marcella elementary schools.
Aldine ISD employees can also take advantage of the evening meal bundles. Employees can pick up meals for their children on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 3:30 p.m. at any of the high schools providing evening meal bundles.

Students Learning On Campus
Elementary, middle, and high school students learning on-campus will have an opportunity to take home weekend meal bundles each Friday after school. This will include breakfast and lunch meals for Saturday and Sunday.

Beginning October 30: Available at Middle School, Ninth Grade, and High Schools
Starting November 6: Available at Elementary Schools

Parent Training Opportunities
Our Family and Community Engagement (FACE) team members work hard to provide families with information, support, and resources for a successful school year. Each week, FACE offers online opportunities to connect. Please see below for the next session.

Topic: Technology Training
Date: Tuesday, November 3

English Session
9:00 a.m. Technology Training
Link: http://bit.ly/technologyPT

Spanish Session
11:00 a.m.
Link: http://bit.ly/tecnologiaPT

Continued Commitment to Safety
The greater Houston area has seen an increase in community spread over recent weeks. Fortunately, here in AISD, we continue to see very few positive cases. We are aiming to keep this number low. Please reference the COVID-19 dashboard for an overview of the reported positive cases by school. Our protocols follow the Texas Education Agency’s reporting structure, which communicates cases Monday through Saturday and considers a case active for 10 days.

Our district carefully monitors emerging guidance from the CDC as new details become available. As a reminder, in the event of a positive COVID-19 case, each campus/department will follow the Three Cs:

Contain (student/staff will wait for departure in the wellness room on each campus)
Contact (all those who have been in close contact with the individual are notified)
Communicate (share information about confirmed cases with our community)

As we learn of new COVID-19 cases, we follow all of our cleaning and safety protocols and review each case to determine what steps need to be taken to ensure the safety of students and staff.

Although it is tempting to relax on precautions and succumb to “COVID fatigue,” I urge each of our parents and staff to continue to socially distance, wear masks, and stay home if unwell. These things will help to keep our community healthy. Eisenhower High School senior theatre student, Vuong Duong, put a fun twist on Lin Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton song “You’ll Be Back” to remind us to stay safe and wear our masks.

Please remember that Tuesday, November 3 is a student holiday. All campuses will be closed in observation of Election Day and many will be used as polling locations. I look forward to seeing many of you in-person or online in the weeks to come. Please know we remain committed to creating an optimal learning environment for our students because they deserve the best.

With Aldine Pride,

Dr. LaTonya M. Goffney
Superintendent