Dear Trailside Families,

In order to avoid the spread of the COVID-19, Governor Dunleavy mandated that all scheduled public school days between Monday, March 16, 2020, and March 30, 2020, will be non-student contact days in which students will not be attending school. All after school activities will be suspended during this time.

Here are a few updates in regards to a student's needs assessment, medications, food, IEP meetings, district resources, physical/mental well-being, and student belongings. Please be mindful that things are changing from day to day in regards to our response to the current situation. I will do my best to keep you updated along the way.

Student Needs Assessments

Teachers will begin contacting all Trailside families this week. When you get a call from them, they will ask you a series of questions that will help us know how to best serve your family in moving forward if school should be canceled for an extended period of time. We appreciate you taking the time to chat with your child's classroom teacher to determine the next best steps for all of us.

Food

-While schools are closed, the ASD student nutrition program will provide meals from 10:00 am- 2:00 pm. Each student will be able to receive a pre-packaged breakfast and lunch meal. Meals will be available at the following locations: Abbott Loop Elementary, Airport Heights Elementary, Central Middle School of Science, Chester Valley Elementary, Chugiak Elementary, Creekside Park Elementary, Fairview Elementary, Fire Lake Elementary, Government Hill Elementary, Homestead Elementary, Klatt Elementary, Lake Otis Elementary, Mountain View Elementary, Muldoon Elementary, North Star Elementary, Northwood Elementary, Ptarmigan Elementary, Russian Jack Elementary, Taku Elementary, and Williwaw. The closest school to our area is Northwood Elementary.

-The Children's Lunchbox has put together some food pantry boxes. Each one contains breakfast, lunch, or dinner with enough food to feed a family of four. Each family will receive

three boxes while supplies last. This organization will distribute the food pantry kits from March 16-20th outside the Spenard Recreation Center from 12:00-1:00 pm and outside the Fairview Recreation Center from 2:00-3:00 pm.

IEP Meetings

If you have a previously scheduled IEP meeting, we are going to honor your time and still conduct the meeting. However, we will be doing so using an alternative method of delivery. We will be using Zoom, which is a computer-based program that allows us to meet while practicing social distancing. You will be allowed to attend the meeting via computer (you will need internet) OR telephone. We will call you to discuss the process before your scheduled meeting. Thank you for being flexible!

District Resources

Please look at https://www.asdk12.org for the latest ASD COVID-19 information. All updates will be posted there.

Physical and Mental Well-Being

The muni has setup a COVID-19 hotline. Just dial 211 and you will be connected with local resources to assist you.

Belongings

On Wednesday, March 18th and March 19th Trailside Elementary will be open to families from 11:00 am-2:00 pm to pick up any personal student belongings that you should need such as snow pants, glasses or other pertinent items. We will be allowing a small number of people at a time into the building to gather student belongings. When you enter the building, you will be asked to sign in and you will need to be escorted to the classroom to get the belongings. Thank you for your patience and your understanding of this. If you need to schedule an alternative time, please contact Trish or Karen in the front office.

If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please contact me anytime at 742-5500. Our front office staff and administrative team will be here all week to answer and address anything that comes our way. Thank you for helping to keep our community safe by avoiding the spread of the virus. Together, we can get through this! Please let us know if you need anything. Your Trailside family is here to help!

Sincerely,

Heather Jones

Principal