September 3, 2021
Dear Shaler Area families,
Thank you all for a great start to this school year. We have been so excited to have our students back in school and see them reconnect with each other and their teachers. Thank you for your support and contributions to such a successful start to 2021-2022.
As we look to the rest of September, we want to share some additional updates below.
Universal Masking
Earlier this week, the Wolf Administration and the state Department of Health announced that all students and staff in K-12 schools are required to wear a mask or face covering when indoors, effective September 7, 2021. A full copy of the order is
available online. Shaler Area plans to abide by the Department of Health’s order.
District Transportation
We’d like to thank all of our families for their patience and understanding with district transportation this past week. The beginning of the school year always poses challenges with new routes and unforeseen delays. Additionally, we have experienced a number of delays due to weather, flooding, downed trees, and construction. Our Transportation Department continues to work in conjunction with ABC Transit, Inc. to make route adjustments to improve our routes.
Food Service
Shaler Area families can now use SchoolCafe to manage their student’s meal accounts. SchoolCafe is a free tool that is available online and as an app from the App Store and Google Play. SchoolCafe replaces My Payments Plus to manage meal accounts. Student breakfast and lunch service are free for the school year, however, a positive balance in the student’s meal account is required for a la carte items. More information about SchoolCafe is available on the Food Services page:
https://www.sasd.k12.pa.us/FoodServices.aspx.
The district encourages families to apply for free and reduced-price meals even though meals will remain free for this school year. Students who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals may also qualify for other discounted or free benefits. For the fastest way to apply or see if you qualify, visit:
www.compass.state.pa.us. As a reminder, families must reapply each year even if they qualified in the previous year. If you need additional information or need assistance with the online application please contact Sue McElhinny at
[email protected] or your building’s social worker.
COVID-19 Summary
Our goal remains to keep our students in in-person instruction, five days a week, for 180 days of the school year. With this in mind, we ask that you and your students use precaution not only at school but also outside of school and at home. We have seen a steady rise of positive cases within the county over the past week, and we all want to do our part to slow the spread of the virus and maintain the health and safety of our students and staff.
Below is a summary of the positive COVID-19 cases in our district since the start of the school year on August 25.
- One student at Shaler Area High School tested positive on August 27.
- One student at Scott Primary School tested positive on September 2.
- One student at Shaler Area Elementary School tested positive on September 3.
These cases have been added to the district’s
COVID-19 Dashboard. As a reminder, daily notifications about positive cases will not occur this school year unless a student is identified as a close contact, however, a summary report will be shared with all families on a monthly basis.
Again, we thank you for your support in kicking off another school year and look forward to working together to make this year a great year for our students.
Sincerely,
Dr. Sean C. Aiken
Superintendent of Schools
Dr. Bryan E. O’Black
Deputy Superintendent