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Weekly district communication to SASD families
September 11, 2020

Dear Shaler Area families,

We’d like to start off by saying thank you for your support, patience, and understanding during this first week of school. The week was not without its challenges as we navigated a very different start to the school year, but we are so proud of the resilience displayed by our students and staff. We will continue to learn and overcome these challenges together. 

Our virtual classrooms look very different from the spring. By now, each of your students have had the opportunity to experience synchronous (live) and asynchronous (recorded) instruction with their teachers. Despite all of our planning and preparation, we anticipated that there would be some technology issues to work through, and we are grateful for our IT Department that has been working around the clock to provide high quality technology support to our students and staff during this remote setting.

The department resolved the technical issues with submitting daily attendance via Infinite Campus, so all students are now required to log their attendance by 11:59 p.m. for each school day. This can be done via the Infinite Campus Student Portal or Parent Portal. To view step-by-step instructions on how to submit attendance, click here.

For those still experiencing technical issues, there is a Tech Support link on the left-hand side of our homepage that will continue to be updated with helpful information, and it also includes a link to submit a tech support request: https://forms.gle/SZt21sszydN7WGBn7. Additionally, the IT Department will be available for live in-person support at the Central Office boardroom next week from Monday through Wednesday, Sept. 14-16, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Please be patient with our staff as they work to respond to each request.

As a reminder, we are continuing to provide free grab-and-go breakfast and lunch to any student age 18 and younger, each weekday. Healthy meals are an important part of the school day and we are committed to providing food service regardless of the instructional model in which we are operating. There are three locations to pick up the meals, which will be packaged together:


  • Shaler Area High School, 381 Wible Run Road, (dock area on Paul Schweiger Way behind the school)

    • 11:00 a.m - 1:00 p.m.

  • Christ Lutheran Church, 917 Evergreen Avenue, Millvale

    • 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

  • Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 66 Grant Avenue, Etna

    • 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.


As we look at the coming weeks, we will continue to share a weekly update on the district’s plans to transition to the hybrid model. As mentioned earlier this summer, the district will remain in the 100% virtual model through October 9. The first day of hybrid learning is scheduled for Monday, October 12.  We are committed to sticking to this timeline unless there is a significant change in the level of community transmission in Allegheny County.

Once we transition to the hybrid model, students will be divided into two main cohorts based on last name. There will be some exceptions based on the commitment form you completed earlier this summer in an effort to keep siblings with different last names in the same cohort.

  • Students in Cohort A will attend school in person on Monday and Tuesday and participate in online learning (at home) on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

  • Students in Cohort B will attend school in person on Thursday and Friday and participate in online learning (at home) on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. 


Shaler Area will offer a full virtual learning option to all students who cannot participate in in-person instruction for any reason.

We will continue to share information related to our transition to the hybrid instruction model in the coming weeks. We also will host a series of virtual Open House events closer to the transition to answer specific questions related to the hybrid instruction model.

Please remember that if you have concerns or if your student is experiencing any difficulty in the virtual learning environment, you can contact your student’s classroom teacher, building principal, or school counselor. These staff members are here to help you and your student. Thank you again for being our partners in education as we navigate an ever-changing situation and unique start to the school year. 

Sincerely, 

Sean C. Aiken 
Superintendent of Schools 

Bryan E. O’Black, Ed.D. 
Assistant Superintendent