Dear North Colonie Community,
First, I want to thank you all for your continued patience, understanding and cooperation during this difficult time where things continue to change by the day.
As you are most likely aware, Governor Cuomo has closed schools in our region through Wednesday, April 1. With this extended closure, we know that there are many families who may be worried about items that were left in school. Accordingly, each of our school buildings will be open on Friday, March 20 from 9-11 a.m. for students/guardians to retrieve necessary supplies/items from lockers, but we are unable to provide access to individual classrooms as those have already been sanitized and sealed. School nurses will also be present if parents need to pick up medications from the health office. All visitors must enter through the main office and sign in. After the Friday pick up period, all of our buildings will be closed to public access and remain closed to outside parties so that we may further clean and sanitize our buildings to ensure that they are safe and secure.
Additionally, based on advice from the Albany County Department of Health, all school playgrounds and fields (including Walker Field and the track) are closed to the public until further notice.
We recognize that there are many questions and we are committed to working our way through all issues and to providing as much information as we can, as frequently as we need to. Please see the important information below.
Instructional Online Resources
We are committed to providing educational resources for our students during this closure, but it is important to acknowledge that there are practical limits to instructional program continuity. Originally, we announced that our initial district closure was for a week. Our goal for that first week was to reduce student stress and anxiety while simultaneously keeping them engaged and connected to school. Now that the Governor has mandated a longer closure, we will be using the remainder of this week to update our digital learning platform to ensure that it best meets the needs of all our learners. In the meantime, please continue to use the resources that our teachers have archived in a Google document of online age-appropriate resources that you may use with your child. A link to this resource document can also be found under “Quick Links” on our district website. New resources will be shared with families on Monday, March 23.
Food Services
The district is providing free “grab and go” meals to any student in the North Colonie Central School District. There are two times for pickup, where families can receive both breakfast and lunch items. The meals will be handed out each day from 8- 8:45 a.m. and then again from 11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. The following sites are open to all of our families:
- Forts Ferry Elementary School (glass door of the cafeteria)
- Blue Creek Elementary School (back parking lot door, CYC entrance)
- Shaker High School (back glass door near receiving entrance)
Families who cannot pick up meals can contact Food Services at LisaOstrowski@ncolonie.org and arrangements will be made for the meals to be delivered. In fact, you may see a school bus or two on the road delivering those meals. During the closure, times and locations may be re-evaluated to ensure as many children as possible are receiving meals. If there are any changes, we will provide you with updates.
Chromebook Distribution
If you have a student in grades K-4 and need to borrow a Chromebook from the district, we have a process to make those available to you. If you would like to reserve a Chromebook, please fill out this form by noon on Thursday, March 19. Those who reserve Chromebooks will be able to pick them up at Shaker High School on Friday, March 20 at times that will be pre-arranged with and shared by our Director of Technology.
Free Wi-Fi for Students
Charter is offering free Spectrum broadband and Wi-Fi access for 60 days to households with K-12 and/or college students who do not already have a Spectrum broadband subscription at any service level up to 100 Mbps. To learn more and enroll, visit their website.
As you are aware, things are changing by the day. For the most updated information, please visit our district website, www.northcolonie.org. We will continue to provide our community with all of the necessary resources that we can at this time. Thank you again for your support.
Sincerely,
D. Joseph Corr
Superintendent of Schools