Communication

July 2020

March 2020

Helpful Information While We Are Away!

Parents/Guardians,

While we are away from school, it is important for Decatur City Schools to maintain some level of continuity of operations during this unprecedented time. There is information we need to know from you in order to support and serve you, and information you might need from us while we are away. The following are important phone numbers and email addresses for various situations to use until April 6.

  1. Medication Pickup: If your child has medication at their school, it will need to be picked up by Tuesday, March 17 at 3:00 p.m. After that time, your school nurse will make one attempt to reach you by phone. Medications that are expired or not picked up may be disposed of per Federal guidelines. If you have any questions, please contact your student’s school and ask to speak to the school nurse.

  2. Sickness: It is very important for DCS to know if a student or immediate family members test positive (lab confirmed) for COVID-19! Why is this important? Due to the incubation and transmittal period, this information could impact our scheduled re-opening. We will reach out to you for a follow-up regarding any information given. Rest assured that all information will be kept confidential. Please contact us via email at dcsneedstoknow@dcs.edu if you need to let us know of a positive test involving a student or immediate family member.

  3. Student Mental Health/Safety: If a student has mental health or safety concerns, immediately contact 911 if you feel they are in danger. If you need to seek advice, you may email your student’s principal or assistant principal. For their email address, visit www.dcs.edu, locate your child’s school under “Schools” and then click the “Faculty and Staff” tab. 

    Other resources: 

    • National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255

    • Mental Health Hotline: 1-844-549-4266

    • Mental Health Talk: 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or dial 211. You may also visit 211.org

  4. Internet Safety: We will continue to monitor DCS devices for inappropriate or questionable internet usage. This will include internet searches or online discussions regarding self-harm or dangerous situations. A school administrator will receive an alert regarding inappropriate content. If you receive a call from one of our school administrators, please talk with your child about what flagged their account and about general internet safety.

  5. Breakfast and lunch: For information regarding meals for students that are in need of food between March 17 and March 27, please visit www.dcs.edu or the DCS Facebook page for a list of sites for curbside pickup meals. Students may pickup meals at any one of the seven (7) sites. 

  6. Technology support: For issues with DCS devices such as Chromebooks, you may email techhelp@dcs.edu.

  7. Interpreting services: For assistance or clarification of important information we release for our non-English speaking community, please contact Patty Gonzalez at 256-606-6315 or by email at patty.gonzalez@dcs.edu. 

  8. Special Education/EL Support, contact LeighAnn.Pannell@dcs.edu

  9. Events/Activities After April 6: Any activities or events scheduled after April 6 will be assessed as we move forward. 

  10. Effective Wednesday, March 18, all Decatur City Schools buildings and facilities will be closed. No outside groups or individuals should be utilizing the schools or school grounds. 

  11. On a lighter note, and as we are practicing Social Distancing, we will begin online Kindergarten Pre-Registration on March 23, 2020.  You can visit www.dcs.edu, Enrollment, Kindergarten Registration, on March 23 for more information. If you know of Kindergarten age students, please pass this information to them.  

For all other questions and communications related to the school closure, the State of Emergency and COVID-19, please visit our website at dcs.edu or email dcsneedstoknow@dcs.edu.

Thank you

Decatur City Schools

Dear Parents,

I want to thank you for your patience during this unique situation. We have tried diligently to make adjustments as information has become available to us from the Alabama State Department of Education and the Alabama Department of Public Health.

For the benefit of all students, we are prioritizing school feeding and instructional resources. The school feeding information has already been distributed. The instructional piece falls into two categories. All assignments issued for Monday, March 16th through Wednesday, March 18th, where physical attendance is not required, are expected to be completed by April 6th. We are also providing supplemental assignments, similar to summer educational packets, to assist in reducing a gap and/or decline in educational growth.

We are also encouraging dual enrollment and AP Classes to provide as much instruction as possible so that our students will be prepared for exams in May. In addition, the March Madness competition for all K-8 students is still in progress. Accelerated Reader will be open for home access at 4:00pm today until April 5th. As always, we appreciate you in advance for working with us as we strive to provide educational continuity during these unprecedented times.

Sincerely,

Michael Douglas
Superintendent