Please review the following information carefully. We will keep you informed of any changes and/or any additional information as it becomes available. We appreciate your flexibility as all policies are subject to change. 

Parent/Guardian Action Items

  1. PARENT PORTAL – Register Each Child
  • Login to the PowerSchool Parent Portal to access your child’s new class assignment, attendance record, State testing scores, and to view grades at the end of each grading period
  • Visit the SDUSD Parent Portal webpage for more information about setting up your Parent Portal account if you do not already have one
    • Click on Forms in Parent Portal
    • Complete School COVID-19 Testing Option
  • Double check #’s 13, 22 & 24 as this is the info we use to contact parents/guardians
  • District permission for Student COVID Testing is embedded in Parent Portal. We must have this form completed for each and every child (regardless if you do/do not consent)
  • Although testing is optional, we are hoping to have 90% of our all onsite students tested weekly
  • Testing begins Wednesday, September 1st

PARENT PORTAL FOR RETURNING FAMILIES – UPDATE YOUR CONTACT INFO IN THE PARENT PORTAL 

Update your phone numbers, email addresses, and home address in the Parent Portal so we can contact you with important information, in the event of an emergency, and so that you can receive important information from the District. You are also welcome to contact  Sandy Jamerson with updated contact information.

Again, verify #13, 22 & 24 as this is the info we use to contact you.

  1.  CLEAR PASS- Done Daily before 8:00 

Link to Clear Pass Job Aide 

  1.  Subscribe to McKinley PTC 

FIRST DAYS

First days are always exciting! Prepare to come to school with a smile and prepare for a high volume of cars around our school. Due to the fluid COVID situation, parents may NOT walk their child to their classroom. We ask that you say your goodbyes at your designated gate, which you can see in the Arrival and Dismissal section below. Here are ways to prepare for the first day and what to bring:

  • Plan for a good night’s sleep and breakfast to start the day off right
  • If you child is returning with a laptop,please ensure it is fully charged and in your child’s backpack with charger
  • Know your child’s entry and exit point so you have a plan for the morning
  • Review information in this document
  • Prepare for the day with a positive attitude 😊

WHAT TO BRING ON THE FIRST DAY

  • Comfortable, closed-toe shoes
  • Sunscreen
  • Hat and/or sunglasses (optional for outdoor time)
  • Backpack
  • Snack
  • Lunch (if not taking school lunch)
  • Reusable water bottle (strongly encouraged)
  • Face mask
  • Chromebook and charger (if a returning student)

As a public school all instructional materials are provided by the school. There are no items required for purchase to start school. Teachers will provide a wishlist of items for classroom use and purchasing such items is optional.

WHAT’S COMING HOME TO PARENTS DAY ONE 

You will complete these two paper forms for each of the children in your family and return those to your child’s teacher on Tuesday, August 31st.   

Health Office Consent Form

21-22 Universal Form

ARRIVAL & DISMISSAL 

Drop Off & Pick Up Locations 

  • Veteran McKinley Parent Volunteers will be masked and wearing bright neon yellow vests.  They will be standing outside all school entry/exit points in the morning for the first day.   
  •  Entry & Entrance Points to School
  • Families will not be permitted on campus to walk their children to their classrooms or pick them up at their classrooms at the end of the day. Parents are permitted to wait with their child outside the gate.  Please wear a mask and maintain physical distancing. 

ARRIVAL

  • McKinley is requesting SYMPTOM CHECKLIST , please ensure you can answer “no” to each question prior to coming to school.  In order to streamline entry, we ask that you complete CLEARPASS for each of your children before 8:00 a.m. each morning.   We run a report at 8:02 and that report is used to quickly check students into campus when the gates open.
  • Gates will be open at 8:15am.  Please DO NOT arrive or line up early – we want to minimize groups waiting outside campus.
  • We have established multiple points of entry and it is generally based on the entry/exit closest to student classrooms. Students will access the campus via their established Entry & Entrance Points to School and will go directly to their class number on the blacktop. Teachers will be on blacktop to assist.  
  • Our school parking lots are for staff only
  • Parking is in the neighborhood and will be impacted.  Please avoid parking on Felton (3 minute limit).  Parking on Palm Street is often available.  We strongly encourage you to walk to campus if at all possible.
  • There is a great deal to manage the first few weeks.  We’d prefer students NOT ride scooters, bicycles for the first two weeks of school until entry & exit has been streamlined.  
  • Be patient and kind, the morning and afternoon pick-up will be busy – please allow time for this and drive safely. 

DISMISSAL

  • FIRST DAY ONLY:    Early Dismissal for ALL Students at 12:15
  • Students are dismissed at the gate in which they enter
  • Character Builders or Prime Time Staff will provide coverage for students enrolled in their program on all Early Out Days
  • Dismissal time for remainder of the year:   
    • 3:00 on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday
    • 12:15 on First Day and all Thursdays  
    • 12:15 Dismissal also on:
      • November 16, 17, 18 & 19, 2021 
      • December 17, 2021
      • March 16, 17, 18, 2022
      • March 25, 2022
      • June 14, 2022
  • Siblings CAN drop off and pick up siblings. We ask that the older sibling drop off their younger sibling first  and then proceed to their class through the campus. At dismissal we ask that the older sibling be released 5 minutes early from class to go to the younger sibling’s class and wait for them to pick up. They will exit the younger sibling’s gate.

HEALTH & WELLNESS / ILLNESS & ABSENCES  

COVID TESTING 

  • Testing for students begins Wednesday, September 1st
  • Parents MUST Complete Parental Permission in Parent Portal 
  • Parent/Guardian Permission is required as this is a medical procedure
  • Additional information will be coming from our School Nurse 

Any symptoms on our daily symptom checklist require a student to stay home for ten days or provide a negative COVID test (PCR only). 

PLEASE do not send your child to school if they have the following:

  • Fever with or without chills/rigors (fever defined as temp >100.0 that does not  resolve within 30 minutes without medication) 
  • Cough
  • Shortness of breath 
  • Nasal congestion/rhinorrhea (runny nose) 
  • Sore throat 
  • Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea 
  • Fatigue 
  • New loss of taste/smell 
  • Headache 
  • Muscle or body aches
  • Poor feeding or poor appetite 

If your child is sick

  • Until our phone system is updated with a direct connection to the Attendance Clerk, we are asking that you report absences by completing this absence form
  • Upon receipt, our attendance clerk will forward your child’s name and information to our Health Office
  • The Health Office staff will contact you to discuss symptoms and next steps

Absences and Tardies

  • A student will be considered tardy if they arrive after all check-in is complete and the gates have been closed. If you arrive after this time, please check in at the office.

Absence Due to Quarantine

  • If a student participating in onsite learning experiences COVID-like symptoms, the following attendance procedures will occur:
    • The student will be sent home and asked to provide a negative COVID test (PCR only) in order to return to onsite instruction.
    • If the student is absent for less than 3 days while waiting for the negative COVID test, their attendance will be marked as “illness” and they will have the same number of days as their absence to complete any make-up work.
    • If a student’s COVID test comes back as positive OR if they need to quarantine for 10 days due to potential exposure, families can request a short-term independent study contract for the student to complete while they are absent.
    • Some students may be eligible for “in-school” modified quarantine (if they were close contacts from a school case, they have no symptoms and can get tested twice per week). Follow County “Decision Tree” for more instructions. 

CLASSROOM PLACEMENT AND TEACHER REQUESTS

The staff at McKinley works hard to build equitable, balanced, and diverse classes across a number of factors including gender, race, academics, social-emotional needs as well as other factors. We appreciate your patience and understanding as this is a delicate and ever-changing process as enrollment shifts right up until the start of the school year.  Class rosters are posted on Parent Portal and may be updated as our enrollment changes.  Please check Parent Portal on Sunday evening when we anticipate stable enrollment will be reflected.  

Classes are created based on district class size guidance:

Grades TK-3 have an average of 24 students per class
Grades 4-5 have no more than 35 students per class
There are no teacher’s aides provided in the General Education classrooms

As a school policy, we DO NOT accept requests for specific teachers. 

COMMUNICATION

Again, we strongly encourage you to:   Subscribe to McKinley PTC 

We realize the McKinley phone message is outdated, but the new system requires that this be updated via the District Vendor, so please know we are waiting for this to be done.   If you call our main office and the phone is not answered, you will hear an outdated greeting from our principal from the summer.  Until the Vendor updates our access, you will be unable to leave a voicemail.  In the interim, if your phone call is not answered, please email our Front Office.

Office staff are available to answer phones and manage the front office from 8:00 – 4:00 Monday – Friday.    The main office line is 858.988.2400.

If you would like to communicate with our Principal, please email Deb Ganderton 

If you would like to communicate with our Health Office staff, you can do so by contacting McKinley Health Office Nurse

Most staff will share their preferred method of communication with you. Please note that response time to calls and emails is 24-48 hours for all staff members. 

Prime Time can be contacted at:  Prime Time Site Supervisor 

Character Builders can be contacted at:  Character Builders Site Supervisor

SCHOOL & DISTRICT FORMS AND INFORMATION 

MEALS

Although the majority of our students bring lunch from home, school meals will be available for ALL students at no cost for the entire 2021-22 School Year. All meals must be eaten outside.  All plans are subject to change based on availability of staffing.

Breakfast

  • Offered in take-home meal bags as students depart for the day intended to be saved for breakfast the next morning before arriving at school. May be revised by District – update to follow 
  • There will be no breakfast in the classroom at this time
  • Breakfast Menu

Lunch

  • Ready-to-eat, hot lunch will be available for all students free of charge. Only one meal per student.
  • Students will be seated on designated spots 6’ apart throughout the Lunch Court, Tiered Staircase, and under tents.  Staff will distribute cafeteria lunch to all students who did not bring lunch from home.   
  • Lunch Menu 

Dinner

  • Ready-to-eat dinner will be available for students participating in Primetime.
  • Dinner will also be offered to non-Primetime students in take-home meal bags as students depart for the day.

 What’s in my take-home meal bag

Will PIN numbers be required?

Elementary school students WILL NOT need to use PIN numbers to receive their school meals.

Will there be salad bars in the school cafés?

To start the 2021-22 SY, we will not be utilizing salad bars. We hope to reintroduce our fresh, California-grown salad bars in January 2022.

Food available for students in need 

If families/guardians were unable to attend Ms. Ganderton’s Informational Meeting, the presentation can be viewed here: Principal’s Presentation 8.26.2021

Please do not hesitate to email us with any additional questions you might have after exploring these resources.

We’re looking forward to a great first day!

In partnership,

Deb Ganderton
McKinley Principal