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Dear Alma Families,
Thank you for your grace, patience, and support as we navigate providing a high-quality academic experience for our scholars in these unprecedented times. Please know we are committed and working hard to create the best remote and in-person learning models for our scholars and staff alike that are aligned to CDC standards, guidance from the Department of Education, and meet the needs specific to the community we serve.
We recently surveyed all of you to get feedback on the effectiveness of our in-person, socially distanced Orientation and also conducted a Family Needs Survey to better understand how we can support you during this challenging time. Thank you for your feedback!
We were pleased to hear that 99.5% of families felt safe at Orientation! Health and safety continues to be our number one priority. Over 80% of families surveyed indicated that they received a chromebook if they needed one. We are thrilled to have distributed over 500 chromebooks since early March as we know this is a critical tool for all of our scholars learning remotely. All families who answered the survey indicated that they were able to utilize an interpreter to communicate if needed. Ensuring that we are able to communicate with our families in their preferred language is critical to building strong relationships and to celebrating and respecting our diverse Alma community.
Thank you also for responding to the Family Needs Survey. Your concerns are important to us, and we are listening and working to respond to your needs. From your survey responses, we have determined four main areas that are of the most significant concern to families:
- Access to chrome books
- Access to reliable internet
- Access to childcare
- Food insecurity
Alma staff have made these concerns a priority. Work has already begun to mobilize a plan to respond to each of them. To date, we have fulfilled chromebook needs of 90% of our families, prioritizing those with the greatest need. We expect a new order of chromebooks to arrive in the next two weeks, and anticipate that all needs will be met by the end of October. In response to reliable internet concerns, we have distributed hotspots to many of our families during orientation. To alleviate food insecurity concerns, we have restarted the meal pickup program. We hope that access to these meals will help ease some of the issues centered around food for our families.
Meal Distribution Information
We are distributing meals from both campuses in two different time slots to maximize pickup potential for families who need it. Families may pick up meals from either Alma campus depending on what time is most convenient. Menus will be posted weekly on Alma’s social media and website.
- Ottiwell Campus
- 9:00-10:30 am daily Monday-Friday
- Grab and go bags of Breakfast/Lunch/Milk
- Please arrive at the rear entrance by the Cafeteria
- Douglass Campus
- 4:00-5:30 pm daily Monday-Friday
- Grab and go bags of Breakfast/Lunch/Milk
- Please arrive at the backdoor on Earle St. behind the gym
Providing access to childcare continues to be a challenge both in our community and nationally. While we wish this concern could be addressed more rapidly, the reality is we aren’t able to bring more scholars and staff into the building just yet. Right now, we are aiming to bring back kindergarten and first grade four days per week in person beginning at the end of October. We are still assessing how to make this safe and feasible for our youngest scholars, and we will communicate with all of our families as we finalize these plans. We will be hosting a Family Zoom Meeting this coming Wednesday, October 7 at 5 pm to share more information about these plans.
We are committed to supporting our scholars and families. If there are any additional concerns you may have, please reach out to your campus to ask for support. We are here to help.
In service,
Will Gardner, Executive Director