Dear North Allegheny School District Parents/Guardians, 

Please read this email in its entirety, as there are important updates to our instructional phases.

The North Allegheny School District will move to remote learning for all students beginning Thursday, November 19 through and including Monday, November 30.
Updates to the Second Quarter Education Plan 
  • Grades K-12 will return to Hybrid In-Person Learning on Tuesday, December 1.
  • To equalize in-person instruction days, the cohort schedule for Tuesday, December 1, through Friday, December 4 will be as follows:
  • Tuesday, December 1 & Wednesday, December 2: Cohort 1 will attend In-Person Instruction. 
  • Thursday, December 3 & Friday, December 4: Cohort 2 will attend In-Person Instruction.
  • We will announce plans for December 7 and beyond by Monday, November 30.
  • Due to the constantly changing nature of this pandemic, this schedule is subject to change. 
  • Activities and Athletics may continue unless otherwise communicated.
  • NA Cyber Academy instruction will continue. 
  • School is not in session on Thursday, November 26, and Friday, November 27 in observation of the Thanksgiving holiday. 
  • All District buildings will be closed to the public beginning Monday, November 23, and will reopen on Monday, November 30.

Since the start of the 2020-2021 school year, it has been North Allegheny’s goal to maximize the time students have with their teachers while minimizing the risk of spreading COVID-19. While we believe that students benefit from In-Person Instruction, there is a rising health and safety risk due to the community spread of COVID-19 as documented in the data below.

Allegheny County Data
North Allegheny is continuing to monitor the COVID-19 data in Allegheny County. As of Monday, November 16, over the last seven days there have been 2,870 COVID-19 cases in Allegheny County, and 4,730 COVID-19 cases have been recorded in Allegheny County in the month of November. These numbers also show a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in children, teens, and hospitalizations.

As of Friday, November 13, Allegheny County was moved to the substantial risk category. This means the county has more than 100 new cases per 100,000 residents over a seven day period, or a percent positivity rate above 10 percent over seven days. Allegheny County has had 100 new cases per 100,000 in a seven day period.

Local Municipality Data
In the municipalities we serve there is an increased positivity rate. Positivity rate is defined as the percentage of all coronavirus tests taken that are actually positive over a seven-day period. Our cumulative percent positivity rate for the municipalities that NASD serves is above 10 percent over seven days (November 4-10).
North Allegheny School District Data
As compared to the county and municipalities we serve, North Allegheny School District has also seen a rise in COVID-19 cases within the District. 

COVID-19 Cases in NASD by Month
Based on our contact tracing, and after consultation with the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD), we do not have any indication that these cases are connected or that COVID-19 is spreading within the District. We are seeing a spike in both students and staff needing to quarantine due to outside positive cases (i.e. a member of the household tests positive, they were around a positive individual at an off-campus gathering). This has resulted in a lack of staff and therefore challenges with covering classrooms and bus routes.

Remote Learning Instructions
  • On Thursday, November 19, all in-person students will move to full-remote learning.
  • Log onto classes via Blackboard and participate in instruction for each course.

Meal Pick Up
  • Meal pick up will be available on Wednesday, November 18. This form needs to be completed by noon on Tuesday, November 16. Meals may be picked up on Wednesday at NASH between 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. for remote learning days November 19 and November 20. A separate form will be sent out to families for upcoming meal pick up dates.

Next Steps
  • The District will continue to monitor positive cases in the District and county. 
  • In observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, NASD will not communicate any new cases from Wednesday, November 25 at 3:00 p.m. through Friday, November 27 at noon.

There is no simple solution to manage public education in this pandemic. There are many unknowns and the situation changes daily. We know that changes to the instructional model impact our families in different ways, so we wanted to allow both our families and staff time to plan for the full-remote instructional model. Please watch for official announcements from the District. We are committed to timely communication and changes will be announced as they occur. 

Our thanks go out to our students, parents/guardians, and staff for your understanding and patience. Stay safe and help one another as we all work to make the best of a very challenging situation. 

Sincerely,

Patrick O’Toole, Ed.D.
Acting Superintendent